DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2021 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 14 Raiders 16 Postgame thoughts

This is where I am right now, and I hate it. As depleted as we were, we had a real chance. But, as usual, the conservative, wimpy ass play calling, does us in. I’m tired of losing like this, go all in and at least go out with some respect. Very disappointed in this game, we had every opportunity to win.

Fate ! seriously ! Remember our talk after the Steelers game ? This isn't a betting site... The Browns are losing and to bet they win the division is asinine ! not going to happen my friend , just not !

Whatever. There's plenty of blame to go around. Our season is over it's not even worth arguing.

Given the situation I thought it was a Herculean effort. I don't quite understand the vitriol. I hated the drops, the missed FG, the other drops, the injury to MG, the no calls on MG... I wanted a pass on our last 3rd down - because while the run with Chubb was safe and put the ball in our best players hands, it was also predictable and "safe" and I would have liked to take the opportunity away from them. Mullins played plenty well enough to trust him with a roll out or play action pass in the 3-5 yard range. 2 minutes is an eternity for a team to get a FG.

Season isn't over. Detroit just beat Arizona ... you got to play the games. A win on Christmas Day keeps our hopes alive, and you just gotta hope the other games fall our way and AFC North teams lose. Stranger things happen.

I would have rather been blown out by 30+ points than a last second FG with a team full of 3rd and 4th stringers. I'm so bitter right now I hope the marquee teams get wracked with COVID during the playoffs, see how they handle it

Hmmmmm, Jerrod Cherry on the post game show just confirmed that we still haven't learned our lesson in the fact that we played conservative, not to lose football against the Ravens and it ALMOST cost us the game. There was an opportunity to learn from that and not do it this game but we failed and it DID cause a loss.

That's the most disturbing part for me. It's more disturbing than getting blown out or losing because you don't have the right talent. You know why? Because it's something that's actually within in our control to fix relatively easy and we're not doing it. It's been that way since last year, see the KC game, Dallas game, Baltimore win, I could go on and on and on.

Playing not to lose is never correct. You've got to have the fire. Take the chance when the game is on the line, that's what separates winners from losers.

Coaching has easily cost us 3 very winnable games this year....Where would that put us in the standings?

One thing I forgot. If stefanski was calling the plays it would not have even been a close game. His arrogant BUTT needs to be the head coach and that's it. Needs to put his ego in check

I am as upset about this loss as I've been about any loss all year. A tremendous effort for naught. Squeaking out this one would have made for at least one, if not two, of the games we coulda, woulda, shoulda won earlier in the year given the circumstances.

Watching the whiney ass Raiders racing around celebrating after needing last second heroics to beat our 2nd and 3rd team made me want to puke.

I'm not terribly upset about this loss because I didn't think we had a chance in hell after the first 3 punts. It was amazing to me that we might have won.

We need our guys and coach back and on to Saturday.

Play calling on both sides of the ball was the absolute worst when it HAD to be at it's best. Shameful and hurtful. You had a chance to put the game away so you put your foot on their throat and do it. QB rollout, another screen, something to show you want to win instead of hoping to win.

The contrast between the Ravens and Steelers cultures, their aggressiveness, their expectations that they will win no matter the situation or adversity, the way their big time players step up when it matters most compared to the Browns is stark. It's why the Browns will go yet another year without winning the division. What's that 30+ years now?

It's almost comical at this point. Being a Browns fan isn't fun. It's become some weird badge of honor where people look at you with sympathy while somewhat admiring your loyalty.

I was prepared to not be too upset in the first half either... even though they only had 7 points, they seemed to be gouging our defense at times and our offense was non-existent... then we came back, then we took the lead... and, as often happens to us Browns fans, I dared to allow myself to consider we might win... I swear, that's the first time I've made that mistake in 48 years.

We got the ball back after the INT.. one first down almost puts away, two first downs and we are absolutely kneeling on it...

We come up with stretch run left for 2 yards, stretch run left for 5 yards (all of which were Chubb), stretch run right for no gain, punt... really creative, who would have seen that coming? Run a screen pass, a bubble screen, a playaction quick hitter, something that the defense might not be 100% expecting... I was hoping AVP would be different, he did exactly what Stefanski would have done. Play to win the freaking game.

For a brief instant, when we took the lead and the crowd was in a frenzy yelling "de-fense", and then the interception........I thought to myself that this is what it felt like in the Sipe and Kosar years, late December games going down to the wire, fans going nuts, playoffs on the line, screaming at the TV. Sorry you younger fans never got to experience that. We might be there now. Let's see.

Almost forgot, the end of this game sucked a big one.

It felt much like those years, only difference is that if Schottenheimer had called 3 running plays, Kosar would have changed one of them at the LoS and hit Ozzie Newsome for 12 yard pass down the seam and we would have won the game.... then lost in the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion.

Having an offense that Cannot! or Will not throw the ball down field, I mean 25+ yard attempts, is NOT a characteristic of teams that win playoff games any time in the past 2 decades.

Having an offense that cannot or Will not throw the ball down field, I mean 25+ yard attempts, is NOT a characteristic of any of the AFC WEST teams in their divisional games.

Having an offense that can not or will not throw the ball down the field, is holding the Browns back.

Nick Chubb runs that were stopped for losses, once early in the first half, and once early in the 2nd half, are TOO TELEGRAPHED PRE-SNAP, it is a Tell! like in Poker, to sit the RB, 11 yards deep in a tunnel by himself waiting to receive the handoff, and the first time the Raiders brought a blitz for a 7 yard loss.
If you are going to make a run play look like a run play and not even a chance of pass, then you are hurting the Browns success.

With 2 minutes to go, coming out of the 2 minute warning and a LEAD, and the other team with no timeouts, on 4th and 3, if you Go For it, and make it, you only have to kneel down to win the game.

Just like 2018. When you PUNT THE BALL BACK, when the WIN was right in front of you, Losing the game was in not taking the chance.


Can we finaly put an end to the FALSE STATEMEN THAT DEENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, BECAUSE THIS TEAM NEEDED AN OFFENSE, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE ONE.
And I'm NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TALENT! Somewhere, These Browns, must have got it in their heads, that
BASIC AND EASY???

Basic and Easy is the way to win a championship? They look basic and easy and generic in every play they run, and I'm not talking about trick plays either, I mean,
they have been OUT COMPLEXED, in every game since the Patriots game, and were in the Cardinals game too.

And I'm tired of them not having an offense, a passing offense, or a two minute offense, or a passing game that takes chances.

Nick Mullens, out of Nowhere, came in and demonstrated the best 2 minute offense this team has run, (late in the first half)
SINCE BAKER MAYFIELDS VERY FIRST GAME AGAINST THE JETS IN 18.

And if Mulllens hadn't come out o nowhere, I suspect the Coaches would have coached any ability to move the 2 minute offense out of him.

And Finaly. The snobs at the NFL East coast, West Coast, Hollywood, and league offices, are never going to let the Browns win anything in any of our lifetimes, and that is just how it is, just more evidence.

The Field Goal Kicker is fine. McLaughlin is greater than Parkey was in leg strength.

The team needs a passing offense, a 2 minute offense, and an offense in general.

Not sure that a 100% re design of the entire OFFENSE wouldn't be an improvement, but!
Who in the Browns organizational history is going to come up with anything that is an improvement.

THE BROWNS DEFENSE on holding teams to low scores, Well!!! If the Browns Offense can't score at all, then the other team doesn't have to try and score a whole bunch to be ahead do they.

Going up by one point in the fourth was never going to be enough. You just knew they were going to give up the game defensively. I got sucked in with greedys int. After running Chubb into a wall for the 30th time again and again? I was convinced that we would lose.

This team plays like a scared little brother who never wins. Defeated over and over by the jerk older brother who lives in his head.

We will never be anything but the loser little brother in this division. And we deserve every minute of it.

I’m so sick of this BS from this BS team and am embarrassed and ashamed to have brought my poor family into this. I honestly feel guilt.

The browns will never be anything but losers.

This season was ruined because of Covid and injuries.

This season was ruined because analytics loses on gamedays.

Somehow it seems, with all of these tools, something at the top is not doing enough to push the envelope.

This season was ruined because the browns don’t win football games. Period.

I want to See what Chubb would have done on that Run Left, on 4th and 3 after the 2:00 minute warning
I ALSO want to see what the Fake Punt would have done on that 4th and 3 after the 2:00 minute warning, and the lead, and no time outs by the raiders, and the WIN, ONE PLAY AWAY!

And I want to see what would have been the run by Carlos Hyde, on 4th and inches, with an 8 point lead and no time outs by the Raiders, in 2018.

AND I think this entire league is scripted, and it's all bull crud
If you are waiting for the rest of the NFL to play down to your lower level of play, then just give it up.
THE BROWNS HAD MOMENTUM, on that 4th and 3 play, the same situation happened in Baltimore iirc. They got 8-13 yards on a draw to Johnson, and set up 4th and 3, and they punted.

j/c...

- Absolutely brutal loss.

- The stadium was as loud as I have ever heard it when Raiders had the ball on the final drive. You could have heard a pin drop after the ball sailed through the uprights.

- Did not show replay at the stadium, was McLaughlin's FG partially blocked or did he manage to just chunk one? The kick was a good 15 yards short on a 47 yard FG attempt.

- Why can the Browns not find a kicker? The curse of Phil Dawson.

- Not even mad at the players, they gave everything they had and you could see were absolutely gassed at the end of the game.

- I can't remember the last time the Browns got a first down to close out and seal the game. It feels like it never happens. Always playing with fire and getting burned.

- Not looking forward to the game on Christmas Day.

- Another quiet, depressing walk back up the W. 3rd St. bridge.

If the Chiefs and Rams play to win and do, this is pretty much how I see it playing out. Beating the Packers would help at this point too. They are going to be trying to get completely healthy for the playoffs now.

There is just NO excuse to not Go for it on 4th and 3 with 2:00 minutes to go.
lets see the facts.
Browns have the Most Talent, at OL and RB that they've had in 25 years, or equal to.
and,
The Decision NOT to Go for it on 4th and 3 with 2:00 minutes to play, AND A WIN RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU,
dropped the Browns

From the 4th seed in the AFC, to
13th place out of 16 teams in the AFC, because the Raiders, were in 13th place and now they have the same record and a head to head win over your team.

And IF THE BROWNS GO FOR IT ON 4TH AND 3 FROM WHEREVER, WITH 2:00 TO PLAY, AND A LEAD, AND THE RAIDERS WITH NO TIMEOUTS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN IS YOU LOSE THE GAME.

Which they Lost anyway, BUT! IF YOU MAKE IT, YOU WIN THE GAME AND GET TO LEAD THE DIVISION.

But you Punted the $# D^ ball and now you are in 13th place. That's why analytics loses on gamedays.

Here's hoping for a christmas miracle against green bay

I agree on something with Throw! 1st? Sure can't remember another instance.

Throw, you're absolutely right, IMO. The browns should have gone for it to keep the Raiders' offense off the field. Even if we didn't make it, we still would have had to stop them from getting a TD and left time to go down and score ourselves. When I saw them punting, all I thought was, “the D Line is too banged up, to keep them out of field goal range, with woods calling conservative plays.” If we hit them with a 3 and out after turning the ball over there, they kick, and we still have about a minute to return the favor.

Stupid not to go for it, but the right thing to do at the same time.

There is a lot that I can complain about. The missed field goal, the conservative play calling, the bad punt,etc..

The thing is for me we went out there with a third of the team on the Covid list. We had guys who are marginal players like Moffat, Stewart, Togai, Hance, and Dunn playing meaningful minutes. They were playing their hearts out and were devastated by this loss. I'm not about to call them losers.

welcome to cleveland mullens

Heartbreaker for sure. I was working this evening and only say the 4th quarter (ignored social media and texts so when I got home I wouldn’t know the score beforehand).

I I was annoyed on our last drive when the ref blew the platMy dead early and cost us three or four yards. On third down, I would have thrown it, and even before the play I was hoping we’d go PA and get an easy one.

Our guys played with guts and were valiant in spite of all the things going against us. Some of you are emotional girls. I tip my cap to our team for the fight they showed. And we’re not dead yet, we still have a pulse.

We essentially have the same pulse we had before we lost, we just made the Packers a must win game. Almost nobody thought we would go 4-0 down the stretch and they wrote off the Packers game.... at the end of the day, losing to the Raiders doesn't hurt any more than losing to the Packers, we just needed to go 1-1 in those 2 games to have a chance.... the obvious difference is the Packers are better than the Raiders...

It starts at the top.

Andrew Berry has all the intelligence and the diplomatic skills in the world but does he have the bravery and the positive craziness to change a losing culture?
Kevin Stefanski mirrors his bosses. Great talker, highly diplomatic and a very good human recourse manager but is he a good football coach?

Baker arrived a couple years ago full of positivity and with a winning attitude. What’s left of that after a couple of years where our game approach is about not to lose instead of winning at all costs?

We have a squad full of talent and great players but we have a coaching staff without confidence of their ability.

We’re were we are because of not having the bravery to take our chances, to go all in. Changing that culture starts at the top.

The only reason we’re not eliminated is because our division hasn’t been dominated by any team other than the clowns this year. Usually, the rats or the stoolers have it locked up by now.

This team is nowhere near the level of those teams. Stoolers would have never lost that game. Rats are way better than we are. Those teams fight til the end and usually win.

I don’t blame the guys last night. That team of 3rd stringers showed way more heart than our first teamers. Those clowns are the reason we are in last place. Mullens showed way more “moxie” than baker. Honestly, I’m tired of his empty “chip on his shoulder.” He hasn’t backed that up in months. He’s battled through injuries and team injuries have hurt but real teams win when beaten up. Battling isn’t enough. You have to win battles. We don’t. Even our wins feel dumb.

It’s the price of expectations. The joke is that this team should have never had the expectations we had going into this season (or any season).

Talk about math all you want. These morons won’t win another game. And we’ll end the season where we belong. In last place.

Of course if I’m wrong, that would be swell.

I will say it again, THE SEASON WAS RUNINED BECAUSE OF COVID AND INJURIES! We have 14 starters on the covid list. Baker was playing hurt all year and is going to need off season surgery.

I went to bed after the game to read a while so I haven't read any of the posts.

All considered it was a good effort and we could have won. I don't really place blame, but the missed 3pts would have been handy at the end. The fact I can't recall the kickers name at the moment tells me he isn't a guy we have to keep. While he was looking pretty good early in the season, we probably need to keep looking for a more reliable kicker. He made the first kick before the TO call, so pressure was the problem with the second kick. A 47 yard kick might not be a chip shot, but it is one NFL kickers need to make.

Mullins looked good enough and gives us reason to move on from Keenum as the primary back-up. His arm isn't great but he is good enough to step in and win games. With some work with the primary players, he will be good enough to put up more points.

Well, it isn't over yet, but we will need help. The only shot now is to win the division. Tie breakers will kill us for any wildcard and we need the others to somehow lose. I haven't looked at the teams remaining schedules, but it seems to me, just thinking out loud, we need Cincy to beat all the teams in the division they have yet to play, we start winning and maybe, somehow, the home game against Ciny at the end gives us the division win.

Maybe as I go back and read the comments someone has laid that all out.

Oh well.

Barry put together a team that made it to the playoffs last year and beat the Steelers. Now all of a sudden, he can't change the losing culture.
Stefanski was NFL coach of the year last season, now all of a sudden, he can't coach.

I know fans are frustrated and expected a lot more. Heck, I thought the Browns were going to win the SB this year. But like I said, covid and injuries ruined it!

Here’s one thing that I never really saw a replay of:

After Greedy’s INT, it seemed like he kinda just stopped and/or didn’t try to run very hard. I felt like he should have tried to gain some return yards, even 15-20. That drastically woulda changed the next possession and subsequent possession by the Raiders. Perhaps even the game.