JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Of the many accurate statements Brian Hoyer uttered after a dismal Cleveland Browns effort Sunday, one in particular should be noticed.
"When you get beat like this, it's a copycat league and teams are going to try to do exactly what Jacksonville did," Hoyer said after his first real clunker in nine starts as the Browns' quarterback, a 24-6 drubbing by the previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars.
What Jacksonville did was not complex: The Jaguars stuffed the run and rushed with four defenders, leaving seven in coverage. That took away play-action and made Hoyer less effective because there always seemed to be two defenders for every receiver.
Some teams like to run the ball; the Browns need to.
They entered the game averaging 146 yards per game rushing; they got 69, less than half the season average.
"I think I said early in the week, actually, that this is the best defense we've played, and I think everyone kind of snickered," offensive tackle Joe Thomas said.
But to run that poorly put the Browns in a position where they needed someone to pick them up. And Hoyer did not provide it.
"Today is a good example of when a team wins a quarterback gets a lot of credit, but when they don't he gets a lot of blame," coach Mike Pettine said. "I know he missed some throws. We didn't play well enough around him."
It's one game, but addressing the formula the Jaguars provided will be Hoyer's next challenge as the starting quarterback.
"It's a long season," Hoyer said. "We're 3-3, and we blew an opportunity to be 4-2. We got two games at home [against Oakland and Tampa Bay]. Regroup and stick together."
Hoyer overthrew an open Jordan Cameron in the end zone, missing a touchdown. He had five passes knocked down by defensive linemen. He and his receivers were on different wavelengths at different times.
Hoyer's final numbers: 16-of-41 for 215 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. His rating: 46.3.
"A lot of those plays aren't his fault," wide receiver Andrew Hawkins said. "Plays that he's going to get blamed for aren't his fault. We all need to play better."
Pettine pointed to the pressure from Jacksonville's front four, which led to three sacks and numerous hits.
"With the inability to run the football," Pettine said, "it put us in some predictable down-and-distance situations where they maximized their coverage and teed off on their front four. ... You have to run the ball, get ahead on the sticks, and you have to protect him when he is throwing it, and we did neither."
The Browns were without Alex Mack, lost for the season with a broken leg a week ago. That had to matter -- "He's the best center in the NFL," Thomas said -- but they won't have him the rest of the season. And Hoyer's numbers for the past two games are not pretty: 24-for-58 for 432 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a two-game rating of 67.3.
The up-and-down nature of the NFL shows why the Browns can't judge Hoyer, his future and theirs on one game, two games or even five games. They need to keep playing, let the season play out and see what happens.
The Browns averaged 26 points in the seven games Hoyer finished before Jacksonville. If the Jaguars provided the blueprint to attack the Browns' offense, it's now up to Hoyer and coordinator Kyle Shanahan to counter.
It's still Hoyer's team.
The evidence?
Johnny Manziel never took his baseball cap or earpiece off on the sideline.
