CLEVELAND -- A few thoughts on the Cleveland Browns' 23-21 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium.
What it means: Browns running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery worked for the Ravens prior to coming to Cleveland. Montgomery said during training camp that the Ravens always looked on the Browns as a team that would play Baltimore tough, then make mistakes at key points of the game to give the Ravens a victory. The Browns did that again with a new coach and new quarterback, bungling the last three or four minutes en route to a last-play 23-21 loss. Not getting a key first down, throwing poor passes and failing to catch well-thrown ones, wasting timeouts, having 12 men on the field, giving up a big catch on the Ravens' game-winning drive -- the Browns wasted a good effort in a winnable game due to late mistakes. They are an improved team, but until they win in crunch time, they won't win overall.
Stock watch: The Browns have to shore up their run defense. Baltimore was without Bernard Pierce and turned to rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro, a fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina. Yet the Ravens still ran the ball well against the Browns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and totaling 160 yards for the day. Baltimore had run well in its previous two games, so it wasn't a shock. What was a concern was the Browns' inability to stop the run even though they knew it was coming. No doubt this will be an area of focus for the coaching staff during the bye week.
Manziel package: Johnny Manziel was involved in a trick play that could have gained 39 yards had Terrance West not been penalized for an illegal shift. Manziel's trick play involved hiding on the sideline and catching a pass from Brian Hoyer after Manziel had run the read-option the play before. He scampered up the sideline, but the play was negated by the penalty on West. The reason the Browns ran Manziel for those three plays against New Orleans? To set up the trick play for Baltimore.
Game ball: With the game in the balance, the Browns' offense had two drives that used up less than a minute and went nowhere. But prior to that, Brian Hoyer had the team in position for a win. Hoyer completed 16 of his first 17, and the one incompletion came because Jordan Cameron fell after getting tangled up with a Ravens defender. Hoyer finished 19-of-25 for 290 yards and a 127.1 passer rating. He did not come through in the final two drives, but to that point, he had overcome numerous Browns mistakes to put them in position to win.
What’s next: The Browns have an early bye week before returning for a trip to Tennessee to play the Titans on Oct. 5 in Nashville.
