Week 4 Recap: From Bad to Worse
The Cleveland Browns have major issues. Plural. You might even say that the entire team is one big issue, given the lack of bright spots on the roster.
Kevin Stefanski always talks about winning in all three phases of the game - offense, defense, and special teams. The Cleveland Browns 2024 season has been disappointing along every phase of the game. The defense hasn’t regained its form from last season, and key players have regressed materially. The offense has been completely flat, lacking any identity aside from opening drives and is ineffective in crunch time. Punting has been good, and the coverage team has flashed on kickoffs, but Dustin Hopkins hasn’t been as automatic as last year, with a pivotal missed extra point in this loss.
Mental errors, backbreaking drops, and disastrous penalties were the story of the game against the Raiders Sunday. Those themes were also the story of the loss to the Giants, the win against the Jags, and the loss against the Cowboys.
Those three themes have been the story of the 2024 Browns season. Those three themes are the identity of the Browns. Those three themes are the identity of a bad team.
Good teams put away games when they get up early. Good teams capitalize when their opponent tries to give away the lead late. Good teams control what they can control and don't beat themselves. Good teams have discipline and do the things that don't take talent.
The Cleveland Browns are not a good team.
Improving the Browns is not a simple fix. When a team has an identity issue, it runs deep into the core of the organization and festers. This does not feel like the plucky team from last year that stood in the face of mounting adversity and kept fighting. This season has felt off the rails since the Week 1 loss to Dallas, and pulling up from the nosedive feels like a monumental task.
The Browns need a leader in the locker room to step up. For better or worse, that leader needs to be Deshaun Watson. Watching Deshaun’s frustration on the field made me feel like a players-only meeting is going to happen this week. This is his time to take the reins and get the season under control. Denzel, Myles, or maybe a veteran like Jordan Hicks can bring some accountability to the locker room, but Deshaun is the starting quarterback - the 230-million-dollar franchise quarterback. He has a responsibility to lead, and his ability to do so will be the main determiner of the Browns’ success this year and in seasons to come.
The Cleveland Browns need to take a long hard look in the mirror this week, and be honest about what they see. As a team, they are unable to score more than 20 points. They cannot run the ball and Deshuan has not been good enough to run a pass-first offense. That is a losing recipe in the NFL. Major changes need to be made.