Browns Make Big Kicker Announcement After Week 14 Implosion

The Cleveland Browns suffered their fourth in the last five games on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Browns struggled to produce points against Pittsburgh after scoring 32 on Monday Night Football vs. the Denver Broncos. 

In that game, veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins was 3-for-3 on extra points, but 1-for-2 on field goals. Hopkins missed a 47-yard field goal but made a 45-yard kick. 

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Steelers, the Browns knew that starting QB Jameis Winston would need to play a clean game, along with Hopkins. Cleveland didn’t get either of those things as Winston threw two more picks, while Hopkins missed two field goals.

The 34-year-old Hopkins missed a 38-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the first half, which would’ve cut the Steelers lead down to three points. 

Then to open up the second half, Hopkins missed a 43-yard field goal wide left, which would’ve cut the Browns’ deficit down to three points again. As you can imagine, Cleveland fans weren’t pleased with Hopkins’ missed kicks as it’s starting to become a reoccurring issue.

However, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t ready to turn the page on the veteran kicker yet. After Sunday’s loss, Stefanski told reporters that Hopkins is our kicker, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Heading into Week 14, Hopkins only made 16-of-23 field goals for a career-worst 69.6 percent. Most of his misses this season have come from 50-plus yards away (4-for-8).  It’s not a surprise to see Stefanski sticking by his kicker. However, Hopkins has missed at least one kicker in four out of his last five games, which is alarming.

The Browns hope Hopkins’ kicking woes are behind him because they cannot afford to have a repeat performance next week against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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