Browns: 5 good and 5 bad from the Ravens rematch

The Cleveland Browns blew an opportunity to have a shot at the AFC North title by losing to the Baltimore Ravens 47-42 on Monday Night.

The Cleveland Browns barely lost their Monday Night Football clash with the Baltimore Ravens to a tune of 47-42. It was a game of ups and downs and unique circumstances all around. The Browns failed to make any meaningful impact defensively against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, and it was ultimately their undoing, as they couldn’t stop the Ravens at all from moving the ball. The Browns in fact lucked out because Jackson spent the first half slipping and sliding on the field, negating his ability to make plays. A prolonged bout of cramps then interrupted his second half as well. Considering how effortlessly he torched the Browns defense, one has to wonder if the game would’ve been close had those two situations not popped up.

The story for the Browns was Baker Mayfield’s big game. While the backs and offensive line (mostly) were great as well, they’re expected to be. What Mayfield needed to do was beat another top defense this year and he did just that time and time again. While some will argue that the Ravens defense was banged up, and that’s why Mayfield looked good, that’s not true. Mayfield took the team down the field in the first quarter and put a touchdown on the board with relative ease. He clearly could play with this defense at full strength.

The problem became Kevin Stefanski’s play-calling and putting his team in a bad spot. Like with Mayfield’s interception, which he deserves blame for, but it was first down and you were inside your own 20 with your backs against the goal line against one of the league’s best defense. You don’t run the ball with your All-Pro rushing offense?

Stefanski keeps trying to play analytics and the cute play calling is costing his team. He’s clearly our coach of the future but gosh, he has so much improving he needs to do because he single-handily got out-coached last night.

By the by, don’t blame Cody Parkey. The wind was nonsense all night. Yes, he left four points off the board, but you know who left more? The Defense, who left 42 points. You can “IF PARKEY ONLY….” all night but guess what, if the defense did their job, then Parkey’s misses don’t matter. Kickers miss sometimes. He did not cost the Browns the game, the defense did.

Enough recap though, let’s see who landed where this week.