Cleveland Browns Week 10 Winners and Losers

Could a Week 13 bye be the worst thing to happen to the 2016 Cleveland Browns? Sure, losing the starting quarterback in Week 1 would be on the list. Josh Gordon’s inability to stay clean would get honorable mention. Hell, I’d even listen anyone who wants to say the Cavs and Indians winning makes things look even worse in Berea.

The 13th-week bye, however, allows this Browns team to have 10 losses, their latest occurring this past Thursday, when most other teams have yet to even play 10 games. It allows for this downward spiral to pick up speed the way pennies do when you drop them down those giant tourist funnels. It allows for no time to regroup on a week-to-week basis—the players, the coaching staff, the fans–as Cleveland has now had to endure nearly three consecutive months of disappointment and subsequent reaction.

The 2015 Cleveland Browns, who you could argue lucked their way to 3-13, didn’t lose their 10th game until December 6. If you put faith in things like Vegas odds or RPI, the Browns will have their 12th loss on November 27. Throwing a bye week in the middle of this shitstorm would only serve to delay the inevitable, but it would at the very least allow the Browns to put a semicolon between two equally horrible elements. Quarter-based colleges start their winter breaks two weeks before the Browns get a chance to collect their thoughts. Not having a bye until the calendar turns to December is both unusual and cruel on multiple levels. As if this team needs help losing the fan base.

WINNER: Cody Kessler

Before he was yanked midway through the contest, Kessler was 11-for-18 for 91 yards, one touchdown pass, one sack and no interceptions. He barely throws the ball past the line of scrimmage (something for which he was deemed a loser less than a week earlier), and is not about to be on the short list of quarterbacks who any head coach would want leading their team back from a multi-score deficit. He was, however, done dirty by Hue Jackson, a head coach who told us to trust him regarding the selection of the kid from USC. PFF credits Kessler with being 3-of-4 beyond 10 yards, and 9-of-11 when not under pressure. He was far from the issue, despite the lack of third-down conversions.

Kessler is 23 years old and has more of a future with the Browns than any of the other half-dozen bodies to step under center this season. To not allow him to see the game through, especially when it was simply a six-point gap when the hook was applied, was the act of a desperate man. We can’t blame Cody for this one, especially after he introduced the rest of the world to Seth DeValve.

LOSER: Hue Jackson

Jackson said he pulled Kessler early in the second half to provide a “spark.” Turns out he was right, but said spark was added to a dumpster full of flammable materials. The Browns were down just six points when the first-year head coach decided to put the guy he picked to start the game, and the result was nothing short of a disaster as Josh McCown turned the ball over three times and went three-and-out on four other possessions.

With one move, Jackson—whom we gave the benefit of the doubt on multiple occasions—managed to undermine himself and his rookie quarterback. Kessler was already named starting quarterback for Week 11. Jackson would say he didn’t regret making the move on Thursday night—ballsy in its own right—but if I’m the front office, I dare him to do it again.

LOSER: Josh McCown

Thrust into a game where the Browns were already at a deficit and the Browns were unable to amass much on the ground, McCown was set up to fail out of the gate. We already discussed what happened after he entered, but there is little reason to think we see McCown on the field again (save for an injury).

I’d bring up the series from the end zone late in the game that resulted in two batted passes, but so few people were watching at that point that it’s the whole tree, forest concept.

LOSER: Ray Horton

That Horton is on the hot seat should be no one’s surprise. You could argue that he’s taking unsharpened pencils to a gunfight, but it’s really, really difficult to be bad at every facet of a game. Horton’s schemes lead to little pressure on the quarterback (only 10 of 44 passing plays saw pressure in the loss), allow for big gains via the run, and neither man- nor zone-coverage backfields have proven to be consistent against the pass. Had he not been in Cleveland years back, we may give him the benefit of the doubt. His schemes were bad then, and there’s little reason to believe that an influx of more rookies will make him more successful. Dude just looked down at his watch and it read “Borrowed.”

LOSER: Chris Tabor

Completing the Terrible Trifecta. Couldn’t even make it three minutes without some sort of special teams blunder. When it rains…

WINNER: Jamie Collins

Craig covered much of Collins’ work late last week, but the kid looked like the real deal from kickoff to final whistle. His technique is like nothing else on the Browns’ roster, his ability to read gaps is a welcomed relief. Collins made plays at the line, he made plays in the open field, and when he didn’t bring ball carriers down, he disrupted the play enough to allow his defense to swarm. A solid second game for the Browns’ newest addition.

WINNER: Danny Shelton

We’ll let Pro Football Focus drop some science on the doubters:

If there is any solace that Browns fans can take away from the loss, it’s that nose tackle Danny Shelton is a monster. The Ravens had 11 runs hit off of either A gap (next to the center, on either side) at an average of 2.9 yards per carry. Shelton wasn’t racking up the stops like he has been for most of the season, but he affected almost every run play. Shelton was also one of the lone linemen able to get pressure on Flacco, as he notched two pressures and multiple other wins.

Not bad, kid.

LOSERS: Cameron Erving, Spencer Drango, and Joe Thomas

First, Cam Erving:

https://t.co/2pnj78cCpz

Second, Spencer Drango:

And finally, Joe Thomas was victimized on the first interception from Josh McCown, and once again on a strip-sack late in the contest. The guy is still elite, but Thursday was not his best night as Terrell Suggs had his number on multiple occassions.

WINNER: Briean Boddy-Calhoun

Who would’ve guessed that one of the best receptions of the game would come from a reserve defensive back?

LOSER: Jimmy Haslam Jr.

If you want the entire organization reporting up through you and Dee, you’re the one to blame for a 0-10 record. Delegation doesn’t free one from responsibility. This team wasn’t supposed to be good—in fact, one could argue that being 0-10 is exactly what this organization needs given the one-game cushion for the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. This said, these last few weeks have been outright embarrassing and you deserve every negative column written about you and your team. Don’t worry about leaks or sources; worry about being competitive. The entire league is playing a different game than you are. You’ve going on Year 5 of being an owner. That’s on you.