It is hard to decide who deserves more blame for the Cleveland Browns 17-16 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. Quarterback Joe Flacco did his part by missing two key throws and turning the ball over in big spots. However, kicker Andre Szmyt wasn't content letting his quarterback absorb too much blame, leaving four points on the field on Sunday. In a tight game, it is easy to blame the missed extra point or the missed field goal for the loss. Hit just one of these, and Cleveland fans feel as if they find a way to win.
This is far from a hot take when you consider how poorly the Bengals' talented offense was playing and the history of tough Week 1 losses. For the Browns, this is more about how the franchise lost the game than how the Bengals won. Szmyt is obviously an incredible contributor in this and left obvious questions for his teammates to answer. Predictably, Myles Garrett was questioned about the situation and chose the perfect approach.
Browns Star Myles Garrett Defends Struggling Kicker After Tough Divisional Loss
Daniel Oyefusi reported Garrett's comments with the defender offering the following sentiment when questioned: “There’s no more scrutiny on him than the rest of us.” As nice as this is to say and as much as it is the right approach, it simply isn't true. Standing up at the podium and taking mutual responsibility has to be a tough angle to take when you know you did everything in your power to secure the win.
Garrett would finish his day with 2.0 sacks and a handful of great moments that aren't going to show up in the box score. Still, there was no deflection or throwing a failing kicker under the bus from Cleveland's leader. It is exactly what you expect from a player who has proven to be the face of the franchise and an incredible teammate on and off the field. With that said, the Browns have to be second-guessing the decision to go with Szmyt over veteran Dustin Hopkins.
While Hopkins had struggles of his own, the kicker isn't missing the extra point on Sunday. Years of experience and proving he has what it takes to make the clutch kicks should outweigh one bad season. However, the Browns opted instead to go with the unknown and paid the price for this in Week 1. Fans can only hope that this isn't a sign of things to come.
There is no question that Szmyt has the leg and talent to be a potential long-term answer. The issue comes in the fact that it is an incredibly mental position, and it is hard to judge if this was the main factor in Szmyt's key misses, or if it was simply an outlier of a bad day at the office.
No matter the answer, the Browns are going to need to be ready to quickly pivot in another direction if Sunday is a sign of things to come. Perhaps Szmyt isn't the answer he appeared to be throughout the summer after all.