4 Browns to Blame for Embarrassing Week 4 Loss

Cleveland Browns fans knew Sunday's game would be tougher without Deshaun Watson at quarterback, but most didn't expect that. Cleveland's offense took a serious nosedive without its QB1, which had a direct negative impact on the defense and led to an embarrassing 28-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.

While a lot of things went wrong on Sunday (and some were out of the Browns' control), there are a few members of the team who clearly didn't help.

Browns to Blame for Week 4 Loss vs. Ravens

1. Dorian Thompson-Robinson

It would not have been fair to expect anything spectacular from backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson going into his first NFL start. That being said, he clearly wasn't up to the challenge.

The poise the rookie showed in the preseason completely evaporated in his first real game as a pro. He failed to make much happen all afternoon, finishing with a meager 121 yards and a 25.3 passer rating. On the seldom times DTR did have a chance to pick up big gains, he struggled to push the ball down the field, including an ugly overthrow to Amari Cooper in the first quarter.

Decision-making was a serious struggle for the fifth-round pick. The very next play after he failed to hit Cooper long, DTR forced a throw into double coverage that unsurprisingly got tipped and led to his first career interception -- the first of 3 picks on the day.

Not only did he make that clear mistake as a passer, but his inexplicable pitch attempt to Harrison Bryant cost Cleveland another 5 yards and a loss of down since he threw it forward.

Thompson-Robinson looking like, well, a fifth-round rookie isn't his fault. After all, he should've been set up better by the coaching staff (more on them next) to succeed. Still, Sunday's contest could've gone a lot differently if DTR looked more like his preseason self.

2. Kevin Stefanski

The Browns' offense was a complete mess in Week 4, and that falls on head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Yes, being down your starting quarterback and top running back isn't ideal. But Cleveland still had a chance to beat the Ravens if its offense was better suited to help DTR in his first start.

Just look at the Browns' first drive. Stefanski oddly dialed up 5 passes and just 1 running play, putting a lot of pressure on DTR to right out of the chute rather than letting the run game take some of the pressure off of him.

Not surprisingly, things stalled in a hurry. On the second possession, Jerome Ford had a 7-yard gain on first down, but an incompletion and an interception ended things in a hurry.

I understand wanting to build the rookie's confidence up a little bit, but he should've been allowed to settle in first instead of being the focal point of the game plan over the first two drives.

Once Baltimore saw DTR wasn't exactly ready for the moment, that made things infinitely easier for its defense. They could stack the box, essentially neutralizing the run game and forcing Cleveland to beat them through the air, which they knew wasn't going to happen.

Stefanski set his team up for a difficult day by failing to hide Thompson-Robinson's inexperience. It put extra pressure on the defense to make up for the offense's consistent three-and-outs, which eventually caused the top-rated unit to make mistakes after they were gassed.

If there was any matchup to let Ford and Kareem Hunt loose, this was it, especially against a Ravens defense that just surrendered 122 yards to Zack Moss in Week 3. Stefanski absolutely hamstrung his offense by trying to force DTR into Watson's role.

3. Elijah Moore

Cleveland's obsession with force-feeding Elijah Moore has already hurt the team on a few drives, and it ended up biting them severely once again on Sunday.

After picking up a massive pass interference penalty that put the Browns on the Ravens' 19-yard line, Stefanski dialed up another Moore handoff out of the backfield. The play went downhill almost immediately, as Baltimore's defense was all over it and quickly in front of Moore.

However, Moore then inexplicably decided to backtrack. And not just a few yards; he ended up being touched down at the 39, losing a whopping 20 yards on the attempt.

It's on the coaching staff for indulging itself on another Moore play out the backfield, but the speed threat is just as much to blame as well. This was simply a case of trying to do too much. He could've admitted defeat and gotten tackled at the 25, still keeping the team in touchdown-striking distance.

Instead, his backpedal backfired and it had major consequences on the contest. Maybe the Browns actually score a TD on that drive, tying things at 7-7. There's a chance the game unfolds in a much different way if DTR helps get his team into the end zone and has some confidence going early on.

Moore's massive mistake can absolutely be looked at a turning point of this unfortunate defeat.

4. Donovan Peoples-Jones

Cleveland needed its playmakers to step up to have a shot at winning without Watson on Sunday. Yet, it seemed like wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones wasn't even trying hard in Week 4.

Forget the 1 reception for 7 yards, as all of the Browns' pass-catchers struggled to put up big numbers. I'm talking about the plays that don't show up in DPJ's box score.

One egregious example that shows the wideout's lack of effort came on Thompson-Robinson's interception. Ravens CB Brandon Stephens had to dive to corral the INT, and it took him a couple of seconds to get up off of the ground. That was more than enough time for Peoples-Jones, who was right nearby, to sprint over and tag Stephens down.

Instead, DPJ leisurely jogged over, got blocked, and then watched the Baltimore cornerback race 52 yards down the field for a near-touchdown return

Peoples-Jones' effort on this play was pathetic. Even Cooper, who was about 5 yards away from DPJ and didn't quite know where the ball was at first, got closer to tagging Stephens down.

This is another turning-point play even bigger than Moore's. Stephens' long return put his team on the doorstep of the end zone, and Baltimore scored a touchdown on its first play to gain a 7-0 lead that it never let go of.

If Stephens gets downed there, that likely buys Cleveland more time to figure things out on offense since the defense was playing so well. Instead, DPJ played a direct role in helping the opposition score.

That's not even to mention DPJ's apparent disinterest as a punt returner on Sunday. He was happy to call for fair catches more often than not, which led him to record just 3 returns on the day. He did nothing when he did have the ball in his hands, totaling just 24 return yards and a long of only 10.

This was a poor showing that Peoples-Jones should absolutely be called out for by the coaching staff.

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