Cleveland Browns playoff hopes and the temperature in Cleveland reach the same number in this weeks’ 3 Good and 3 Bad

3 Bad

Kevin Stefanski’s play calling

The Cleveland Browns need a new play-caller. The Browns over-relied on passing the ball, 31 times, in a game where the cold and wind made it harder to be effective. To make matters worse, Stefanski unintentionally made things harder on the team. On three straight occasions, Stefanski would call a pass play on 2nd-and-not-so-long, only for the pass to fall incomplete, setting up a third and long. This happened three times in a row, and for a man who went to an Ivy League school, you have to wonder how he could be so bad at using common sense. If the weather is bad, you run the ball as often as possible until you have no choice.

It’s not rocket science.

Myles Garrett makes no impact

The Browns’ “best” defensive player, Myles Garrett, had just three tackles on the day. None of them was for a loss. Granted the Saints only threw 15 times today, but Garrett is supposedly a “Defensive Player of the Year candidate”, according to some fans, and he made zero plays against the Saints today. Believe me, if it wasn’t for his contract, I wouldn’t hold him to such a standard but he has that contract. This means he doesn’t get the same excuses that other guys would get. If he’s going to be called an all-time great, he has to play like it far more consistently than he does.

The NFL failed to use common sense

The game was below zero with wind chill, and the elements absolutely affected the play to some degree. The NFL should have moved the game due to the conditions, because not only are you going to have an awful and ugly game, but you’re risking the health of the players. You can only be so tough before mother nature wins. This was the third coldest game in Browns’ history, and it really didn’t have to be.