We played a great game. Superb job by the offense. Baker has come a LONG ways.

Turnovers were the difference … and our defense is still a huge work in progress.

Gillam … I’d cut him

We made several key mistakes and they made none. There is your difference...

Baker was good until we needed him to be good and then he wasn't. Game is 60 minutes, but that being said, I don't put any fault on the offense, they played well enough to win with atleast a high school defensive effort.. whole defense stole their game checks today. But noone more than Joe Woods. We have players that thrive on aggressive attacking schemes like what Gregg Williams ran, this soft zone crap just doesn't work. Either adjust or fire him. We don't have time like before to wait to see if he figures it out. Our window to win is now. I agree about punter, he wasn't good last year either and they are easy enough to find. You literally have one job requiring two steps, catch it and kick it. Can't be folding during the most crucial point in the game

Backer was great today

Tough game. I’d say it was a choke job in the 4th quarter by the entire team. We had this game in the bag but we gotta finish.

Honestly, there’s no moral victories, but our defense will be better. First game of the season, no reason to panic.

Honestly I'm more worried about the injury to wills then the loss. We proved we can hang with the chiefs even with mahomes. They wont beat us in the playoffs if we play them again. Getting there of course is the problem. Especially if we have to do it without our starting LT.

Go root for Pittsburgh and get the hell off this board.

100% agree with this...

Offense played well.. though second half struggled a bit... that fumble killed us...

Defense played well first half.... second half struggled.... that long TD ended the game for us...

I heard it was just a tweek. Whatever that means

Scottish Hammer’s drop and Chubb’s fumble killed us.

Was hopeful. But then I realized at half the Browns were going to lose another opener. I have seen this movie too many times. Maybe next week...

Without those we win.

Some how the line dropped to a magical +5......hmmmmmmm......

The Hill pass was unbelievable…

Yes, the defense is truly still a work in progress. Slowing down the chiefs is hard for any team but thinking we’re close to balanced is pretty off at this point. Hopefully we can learn and build because learn and build we must. The only answer we had for their offense was our offense keeping theirs on the sideline. The offense looked great, Baker looked great. He needs to not make that last pass but so be it. I hope this gets him playing with a chip.

That fell apart in typical Browns fashion. Same old Browns.

First half was fun. Offense looked good until it really mattered.

Defense doesn't look any better than last year.

Him and chubb no mistakes allowed

Chubb’s rare fumble was a killer yes

First, NOBODY outside of this board and die-hard homers thought we would win today. The effort was admirable but the monkey of losing the first game was still on our backs. That along with some dumb luck killed us! I mean when does Chubb fumble in the clutch? When does hammer drop a punt snap? When does this offense go 3 and out back to back?

We played the best team in football, dominated the first half, and battled dumb mistakes in the second. It's almost like the game got in their heads when KC took the lead. Dammit I hope Baker is not a big game choker...

I love this team. Thought I was going to have a stroke before it ended. Angry we lost, but feel it was a team loss and not on any individual. And DC Woods needs to put some work in because this roster is easily a top 5 or 10 defense with an average DC. I know it's early for the D, but after 5 or 6 games we need to see that they are much better than today. You can't give Mahomes this same kind of D play in the playoffs.

0 Punts 1st half, I was so nervous on our 1st punt and then it happened. I would NOT cut Jamie.

I agree w/ Romo Baker was trying to throw it away...

We are a good team and I think we are going to ne there at the end.

Ignore him super. This the same guy who got angry when posted bakers first 3 season stats compared to drew brees first 3 season stats. This guy told me to stop comparing baker to QBs from 30 years ago! Keep in mind brees was still playing lol. He tries to make himself out to be the football guru but the only problem is he is NOT. Lol

sorry guys - I thought for sure the Browns would win.

I don't think he's fumbled since the 2 in the Patriot game 2 years ago. At least I don't remember when else

New to the board...

Not hard to read the D when it looks the same for almost an entire half.

The Browns is the Browns.

Seen this movie too many times to even get sad anymore.

Life is a constant series of disappointments that don’t make sense.

I wouldn’t even mind if we were bad, but the Browns exist outside reality.

This is just ridiculous.

At least he has a great grasp on the obvious

That fumble was at a bad time. But did not effect the games outcome much. IMHO...That ridiculous prayer that Mahomes threw up for grabs, while Johnson was having tea looking into the stands for autographs, while Hill waited for the ball was the back breaker.

That is the play that changed the game.....maybe we should cut him?

Tough loss.

I don't think we can blame Woods for a game against the Chiefs....thats stupid.

It looked to me that the gameplan was to play soft, keep things in front of us and make the Chiefs use clock. A solid plan IMO and it worked minus the play to Hill.

So if we are firing people, along with Woods we probably need to fire Chubb, Baker, John Johnson, Schwartz, Gillan, who else am I missing??

I agree

Just read these replies and I don't get it. The defense played okay, but that incredible pass by Mahommes won the game. You only see lucky stuff like that once in a while, and well, it happened.

Our offense is going to be very hard to stop, and I believe the defense will get better.

The fumble hurt, but the defense stepped up and held them to a field goal.

The Hammer dropping the ball sealed the deal.

All in all, I am very proud of this team. They went into a place that is very hard to win in, and led almost the whole game against a team that is notorious for big comebacks.

IMO, this was a preview of the AFC championship game.

A win would have been sweet, but it is what it is. Time to move on.I don't see many teams that are going to beat us. Not as bummed as I usually am, and now I'm even more excited about the next game.

We went toe to toe with the best, that should mean something.

Another thing: the addition of Schwartz is a welcomed sight. Let’s hope he grows confidence and consistency

Welcome.

Look, I don't like the outcome any more than any Browns fan but we did play well and well enough to win. No one had us winning this game . KC is a Super Bowl caliber team and they have the best home field advantage in the league. We lost by 4 points in a game we could have won. The 2 fumbles really hurt especially the dropped punt attempt. Baker was trying to throw the ball away and was tripped from behind as he let it go or there wouldn't have been the INT. We are where everyone thought we'd be after 1 game and we played them tough. On to Houston

I agree with this. The Browns will be a huge threat this year.

Kansas City played mistake free football. The Browns did not.

It is tough to beat Kansas City at home. The crowd was a factor.

The Baker sack on first down by Chris Jones was a big plat that led to the punt.

I believe our D will get better also. Today couldn't have been a tougher test. MG came through with a big play at the end when he had to.

I think some people are being way too hard on the Defense. I was expecting worse with all of the personnel turnover, but they really forced the Chiefs to work for their TDs with exception of the ridiculous play by Mahomes and Hill. The game came down to mistakes and the Browns just made a few big ones. Can't give the Chiefs easy points.

Loved this game, can't way for the next one!

I see a competitive team, that still can't win. I see the same old thing, a team that grabs defeat from the jaws of victory. If you can't beat the top teams, you can never be a champion.

The D played pretty awful, I'd fire Woods, immediately. It was also a big mistake to let Sheldon Richardson go, and I'm not sure bringing in Clowney will do much for this team either, I don't believe he's ever quite lived up to his draft status. I


The Browns played a good first half and fell apart in the second half. The Browns did beat themselves but it doesn't matter how they lost, they lost. Until they can win, nothing else matters too me and by win, I mean beat the top teams and win a Super Bowl.

I'm nearly speechless at that ending.

Browns offense played a hell of a game. Stefanski called a great game.

I though it was going to be a repeat of the playoff game when Browns punted back to Mahomes late in the 4th. Garrett gave the offense a chance.

Kudos to Schwartz for what he contributed.

Three costly turnovers.

Not impressed with the overhauled defense.

I feel like this is how it's going to go for the next 10 years against the Chiefs. It feels like late 80s Cavs vs Michael Jordan led Bulls.

Browns will have another opportunity to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs.

We are going to win a lot of games this year. Hand wringing and lamenting over this loss is ridiculous. KC is a great team and we hung with them once again. When we face them again post season, it will be a different story.

Stop with the negative crap. This is a very good team, we knew this first game would be a likely loss. Not a big deal.

Glad YOU are not making decisions in Berea.

thats rich coming from you, and I've never said two words to you..let along talking about qb's 30 years ago...FYI..I'm a Baker fan. obtuse one aren't you

Agreed

KC did Not play mistake free football!


Those are just idioms people say.

KC offense played very fast. We will see them again in the playoffs. The difference will be there will be a season of film on them, and our D will be better.

yeah cause you're the shining example of a coherent fan right...oh pittsburgh won today!

The worst thing about this loss is that currently Pitt and Cinci are a game up on us in the division. After the Ravens play we could be all alone in the basement.

I love when people say noone expected us to win anyways so who cares that we lost...lol, thats just a bad saying. I guarantee you the 53 orange helmets thought they could win. Defense and mistakes cost us the game. We don't have the ability to overcome them yet. I also think it's quite presumptuous to say our defense will get better. It looks alot like last years. I still think it is the scheme. Woods needs to adapt, you can't run the same looks the whole game, you have to adjust and we seem to always be one series behind the adjustments. Our offense will win us alot of games because not many teams will be able to score like we do. We better have the defense sorted by postseason.

Everyone expected us to lose. Of course the players thought they could win, they wouldn't be in the NFL if they didn't. But at least we agree on Woods.

ohhhh ok....nice try. You could at least own it.

Did you pick them to win. You have them losing on every negative play even when we're up by multiple scores

Any word on Wills?

Maybe the most predictable result is the over reactions. If we had won there’d have been over reactions the other way. People gots to chill.

This is the $64k question

We won't know how our D will be- injuries, covid, etc.
I didn't watch the game, listened only. My two cents, we could have won if our punter could punt the ball. Jamie Boy had never had 80000 people screaming at him....his was one of the biggest mistakes. How Harrison gets kicked out of a game, that is big mistake. And as a team we lost the turnover battle big time.

They scored a TD in 14 seconds or less....can't give up that easy a score. A team loss.....GO Browns!!!!

j/c...

I love how they called it on the bench and then someone from New York steps in and they reverse the call. All they seen was the shove. I think the player on the ground was holding his foot. At least it looked that way

Maybe should wait before unloading my thoughts ...

- The fumbles were the difference. In a game where we could not afford to make mistakes, we made two.

- Harrison, be smarter than that. Don't care who started it, just be smarter. This team relies on you.

- Did Granny Williams even play? Don't recall seeing him out there. Higgins for that matter, either.

- I get that it is KC, and this is the first game for our defense. But Kelce and Hill did to us today what they did to us in the playoffs. I would have thought there would be some noticeable difference.

- Nice to see some DBs making tackles.

- Other than that pick, Baker was spot on.

- Terrible weekend for our household. OSU and CLE lose. UM, CIN and PIT win.

I actually agree with this. The coach put himself in the middle of the situation…

Did DPJ do anything? I didn’t notice him. Schwartz looked great. He almost came down with a huge catch, but the db broke it up at the last second. And we could be better with OBJ.

I heard it was a tweek. Whatever that means

I missed this part (had to get a handle on the smoker). I'd love to see some sort of conclusion because losing Harrison for majority of the game isn't minor.

I saw the O play really well overall. I don't expect mistake-free football with how aggressive we are on that side of the ball. Their D made plays when it mattered and ours didn't. I expect the D to get better.

I was VERY surprised by how involved Schwartz was and how well he did. I was surprised to see Walker drawing the Kelce assignment as much as he did.

Let’s hope Jed will be okay within a few weeks

The Chiefs have 3 players. Mahomes, Kelce and Hill. For the 47th year in a row, we have no defense for TEs. Very little QB pressure against a new KC offensive line. Extremely disappointed once again with Joe Woods defensive play calling and schemes with all the "talent" we have.

Offense looked awesome and will keep us in games. Baker looked extremely comfortable and very accurate. I love, love, love Chubb and Hunt

I think Harrison got thrown out for stepping on the players stomach. He did not do it intentionally. He was stepping over him and another kc player pushed him and he lost his balance then the coach pushed him and he pushed back. It was not his fault.

Mahommes was getting rid of the ball quick, and was stepping up in the pocket letting the rush go around/behind him.

I thought his TD run was embarrassing. It was Mack and someone else that got absolutely smoked (hope they picked up their jock straps as they left the field).

I wish we'd find ways to run Kareem more. You can see how juiced he is to play his old team.

Another thing: please don’t give us Romo any more. We never win when he’s on the game haha. And when we’re collapsing he’s so annoying

The only poster I have on ignore because I cannot stand him. I question whether or not he's a true fan.

Greedy did play.

Give me a lot more of these this season:

I thought we were going to win right up to when we didn't. I'm A little down but not to much since I know we will win a lot of games this year.

I have to give the Chiefs credit,specifically Sorenson. If he doesn't get a hand on Baker's foot he doesn't throw that pick.

I personally was happy with the game plan. Forcing the Chiefs to play mistake free ball and eat up the clock would have worked if not for our miscues in the third and fourth quarters.

DPJ made a nice catch on 3rd down for a first down on the final drive when he was blanketed by the DB. It was his only target of the game.

Outside of the 75 yard pass to Hill the D played GREAT.

What game were you watching???

KC is a scoring machine and defending AFC Champs!

Haha

Baker was 21-28 for 321. Only 9 passes completed to wide outs.
Landry caught 5 for 71
Swartz 3-69
Peoples-Jones 1-4

TEs caught 7
Njoku 3-76
Hooper 3-27
Bryant 1-17

RBs 5
Hunt 3-28
Chubb 2-18

The game was way better than that Steeler Bills stinker.

I have almost no complaints about the offense other than the turnovers. Truly, they looked threatening and confident the entire game. We really have something there. It’s the defense where the glue is obviously still very wet. Hopefully that’s all it really is. Just didn’t look cohesive, couldn’t anticipate. Why oh why did we never adjust to letting Kelce roam in our zone D. Come on with that already. Why do our def ends continuously go fast to the outside pushing Mahomes up into the pocket. Why not spin inside? The outside pressure was not working (except the one sack).

When you are playing a Playoff team, it's best if you don't make mistakes.

Our LBs are worrisome still. Very little speed. I wonder how long it will be until JOK can be on the field most of the time … he’s at least got the speed and suddenness that we need.

When they went 5 wide on the goal line it was a joke lol … Kelce just had his way with the matchup

I wish we wouldn't keep benching Higgins for rookies. We really needed his clutch factor out there today.

Baker does well, when he gets behind his feet get happy and we know what happens...

Two bad fumbles..

Second half penalties hurt...

Losing season openers is no surprise..

Still not sure if Not playing starters in pre-season is a good thing..

Lots of games left... Last season the Browns were 0-1 and ended up winning 11..

Chill is a good thing !!!

Yep... when we got the bal back in the fourth I thought we were winning with no time left...

So did I

We played like we where the same old Browns.

Sitting back and letting them catch the ball all day long and only rushing four.

Rashard Higgins, Zero Targets on the day. And
The Browns lose.

I think that's the point.

They jinxed us 3 times during the game

Very upset that we made 3 or 4 HUGE mistakes...

Equally upset that we forced 0 big mistakes from the Chiefs...

Good point DC. We didnt do anything to force a KC mistake really. They aren’t gonna beat themselves … gotta heat them up like TB did

Nothing that happened prior to the last minute drive was relevant. The QB has to be able to put the team on his shoulders to win games. Baker has zero come from behind wins against contender-quality opponents. Zero. In 3+ seasons. All of his signature wins against contender-quality opponents, he was playing from in front the whole game.

I hear moxie. Competitor. Wants to win. But when it matters most against the teams you need to beat to win it all, he doesn't deliver.

That's the difference in the game.

The Browns will win a lot of games. The Browns will probably make the playoffs. Baker should get extended. Good QBs don't grow on trees. But I don't ever think the Browns will win it all unless Baker can demonstrate he can put the team on his shoulders to win a game against a contender-quality opponent. Not the Cincinattis of the world.

j/c...

Hopefully, based on this info, Wills misses little time.



Cleveland Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. left the game in the second quarter with an apparent left ankle injury. By video, he suffered a standard grade 2 inversion ankle sprain. Wills was carted to the locker room and is listed as questionable to return. We believe he has a chance to return with tape support.

Update:Wills has been ruled out of the game.

https://profootballdoc.com/#/squads/6117788fb4ae7b421fb7bd2e/players/613326fa3772132507452690

so when the RB fumbles and the punter botches a snap and the DB allows a ridiculous completion after Baker carried them up to these events he still supposed to throw a perfect pass while having someone grabbing his foot and overcome Everytime!!!

This is a hard truth for any champion caliber QB, even if they don't win a Championship. I'd like to think Baker will get there, but at the moment, he's a great motivator when all is going well. After The Hammer muffed the punt, a sideline shot showed QB1 getting po'd about the gaff. I get it, it was a crap play by Gillian, but Baker's job is to go convince the rest of the team not to worry and he'll get it back.

Ok - so I wasn't there, none of us were - it's just an impression that I had from my Lay-Z-Boy...

As I stated. 3 players.

Mahomes - 337 yards 3 TDs
Hill - 197 yds and 1 TD
Kelce - 76 yds 2 TDs

That game.

The Defensive scheme, was questionable and did not show much, if any adjustments. We paid a lot of money to upgrade the Defense and I sure do hope they gel. Woods has NO excuses this year.

Well that sucked.

First half saw lots of good things. Marched down the field and made some ballsy calls on that first drive.

Defense left something to be desired although we were playing one of the top offenses in the league. Felt we had no pass rush, aside from the sack at the end of the 4th quarter. Ejection of our safety was very lame, considering he was shoved by a coach. But he shouldn’t have thrown that punch either. How much did losing him hurt our defense?

The wheels clearly came off with the Chubb fumble and subsequent botched punt.

I'm going to call BS on the intent of your stat..

Second Baltimore game last year, we got the ball after the kick-off on our own 25 with 1:51 left and down by 7.. Baker went the length of the field and scored the game tying TD in under a minute. It's not his fault the defense let the Ravens walk right back down the field and kick the game winning FG.. Baker scored 22 points in the 4th quarter of that game.

And you can say 3+ years but in reality, last year is the only year where we had much of a chance to beat a quality opponent..

No excuses for Baker. But I believe by the end of the season the outcome may be different.

So when Harrison was tossed the TV guest official said any time a flag is on the ground NY can review any play....does this mean that all instigators will face punishment now that they can/will be caught? Or does NY reserve the right to oy review the flags thst Vegas gives them permission to?

Not sure anyone can really cover him. Reminds me of Antonio gates on his prime

I have no problem with Harrison getting tossed for shoving a member of the opposing teams coaching staff, you just can't do that... but what Romo said happened to lead up to him shoving the coach was dead wrong.

What's impressive was that Mahommes got up from that. Clowney hit him so hard he knocked Garrett backwards (who hit him from the other side).

The replay was clear...there was no Su stomp and the coach initiated contact....if youbare gonna review things then at least not show bias and be legit.

Did he get rejected for the shove or for stepping on the player. Either way he got screwed

I'm simply going to piggyback off of your post. I do not believe it was ever a realistic expectation for people to believe this D was going to look like a masterpiece in the first game with all of the new players in a new system. I mean I see nothing wrong with wishful thinking and optimism, but for God's sake, people shouldn't mistake that for realistic expectations.

I do not believe Baker intended to make that pass that led to the interception late in the fourth quarter. It looked to me he was already in the process of throwing the ball before he stared to go down and it was simply too late for him to correct the throw. After watching him for four quarters that wasn't a pass the same QB I watched in that game would throw if he could have changed up.

And all of the hand ringing over one botched punt attempt by Gillan?? Dear Lord people. How many times has that happened again?

And Chubb rarely fumbles. Sometimes the Gremlins bite and today was that day.

Mahomes usually always gets his and he did. This defense is going to improve. The talent is there. I'm not football guru. I get things wrong at least as often as I get them right. But people argued all week that this D would come out on fire. That only happens when you gain familiarity within a system. That only happens when what you do is like a reflex rather than something you have to think about. It will come.

Have a beer, have a Xanax, meditate or smoke a blunt or dab. Whatever it is that helps you gain your composure and perspective. This O is just fine. Baker is just fine. The D will come around with some reps and games under their belts.

It's far too early to call for firings and have a meltdown.

I felt we were certainly capable of covering the spread even with D just beginning to get their feet wet and we did. It's only going to get better from here.

Intercepted of not, Baker! has made similar passes to that interception, at other points in his Browns career, 2 or 3 or more other times, I'd bet.

I meant to say. Post game thoughts.

I didn't see anything, from the ("new") DB's that Sendejo and Terrence Mitchell didn't provide you last year. Specifically JJ3 and Troy Hill.
Did You?
Fine! It's Just, the 6 months of parroting how special these guys are, from the media, day after week, and then,

Yeah NFL players are like Minute Rice. They should be 100% ready almost right out of the box.

No, he didn't get screwed, he's a player, he shoved a coach on the other team.. you can't do that.

The stomp wasn't a stomp... he was getting up from the pile, trying to step over the raised legs of the player on the ground, other Chiefs were rushing in to help up their guy, his foot got hung up on his knee and he put his foot down to avoid falling.. he put his foot down on his stomach but didn't put any weight on it.. then the KC coach shoved him.. then there was a pause and he should have walked away but I assume things were said and he shoved him back.. the KC coach should have also been ejected, I'm not even sure which coach it was.

Harrison should have been tossed, and so should the KC assistant coach who shoved him first ....... especially after review by NY.

wo wo wo, I'm talking bout JJ3, and Troy Hill. NFL Veteran players. Doesn't matter.

The Browns Lost!
This Sucks!

This.

This was a fantastic game with an unfortunate outcome for us.

Until the wheels started to come off - and what did us in was that the wheels just kept falling off - we looked like we were just playing catch out there. It was all coming fairly easy, and the Chiefs looked like they were having to WORK to try to keep up!

It wasn't one mistake that did us in, it was the continual stream of them and that is just too much to overcome.

Harrison getting himself ejected.
Chubb's fumble.
Gillan's gaffe.
Baker's INT.
Conklin's sack where he seemed to not even notice Chris Jones out there until after he was going by.
JJ3 & the 75 yard insanity.
The 3 & Out.

Undo any one of them and we would have still been in it.
Undo any two of them and the game is most likely all but in the bag.

This team is going to be a nightmare for opponents come January.

I will say the the Browns were essentially playin a prevent style of defense for the whole game. Several times Romo commented on the fact that the Browns were playing with 2 deep safeties, and that the underneath passes were there.

It worked except for the Hill TD, but that is Mahommes.

They really did not bring much pressure at all. They are more successful when some additional pressure was brought.

Woods will have to gain some trust in the new players.. I felt that he was too conservative with the defense, and did not really do anything to take away Kelse and Hill

Postgame thoughts:

* I understand why we played the Safeties deep, but man, we needed to get home with the pressure more.

* We pressured Mahomes on almost every play. Myles was close ALL DAY. We just couldn't cover the underneath stuff well enough, or when we did, Mahomes used his legs and made something happen.

* Mahomes did what he does so well ... he beat our pressure.

* Maliks in the Middle: these guys are good. McDowell's early TFL was beautiful. He has a motor.

* Billings looks like he ate a Billings

* Schwartz was a fun surprise. Ski did a good job of hiding him away all summer; I don't think anyone could have guessed he'd have this much of a role already. I'm looking forward to sets where he & OBJ see the field together and both take the lid off the D

* Baker was a monster today.

* Chubb & Hunt - you could tell that both of them wanted this one SOOOOO BADLY.

* Clowney was really damn good. Our run D was solid!

* Guys were swarming and hitting fast.

* This offense moves in BIG chunks.

* In the end, they made more big plays than we did.

This team doesn't believe in 'moral victories.' Their new culture won't allow for something as lame as that.

This team believes in lessons learned. It's what Stefanski has preached since Day One... and the team has bought in.

This game taught some valuable lessons that will stand them in good stead, later in this season:


Gotta close.
Gotta slam the door. Early, and with authority.
Can't make mental errors against a championship team like KC.
Turnovers kill in a tight game.

____________________


Elves are ready.

If they play this same game against anyone but 2, maybe 3 (elite) teams- they pull out the win.

Absorb the loss.
Learn the lessons.
Come back stronger.

This is the season when Browns fans watch their New Culture get established. It may or may not result in a Lombardi, but it will establish a team that can contend for the Lombardi on a regular basis.


Create a team that is consistently "in the hunt," and the rings will follow.

Elves can play straight-up with the best in the league.
They proved it today.
Now, they have to take that next step.


.02

Ridiculous as usual from you.

j/c

I haven't read any of the other comments.

This game felt, to me, like the 'quicksand' Shane described in The Replacements. How everything was going great, until one thing went wrong, then another, then another...

In a alternate dimension, Chubb doesn't fumble, we keep the Chiefs on their heels and score.

We win the game.

Tough pill to swallow losing like that.

It is a four quarter game. You can not make the mistakes we made against a team as good as the Chiefs.

I knew there would be the Baker cracks from some on this Board.

Baker played a great game. Sometimes credit has to be given to the other team. On the int. Baker did Not try and force the ball. The guy who hit him made a great play. Baker was trying to throw the ball away.

IMO the game changer was when we scored to go up two scores. Then Mahomes throws a desperation pass that should have been a int. He got away with it and it was a td.

The momentum changed. The Chiefs got life. Then we gave them 10 points.

You can not fumble. And you sure as hell can not drop a perfect snap on a punt.

That is how you lose to a team as good as the Chiefs.
=====================================================

On to the next game. You must learn from a game like this to win later. I would rather lose now as painful as it was than later.

Some lessons are learned the hard way.

That was the exact phrase I used with my family: we had the chiefs on their heels the WHOLE game, epsecially that drive. We were gonna score another TD. Bad timing.

The punter mishap also deflated the balloon, along with the untimely sack by Chris Jones

It was just the first game. Yes I'm disappointed but I expected the Browns to lose this game. I still say the Browns are going to win the division. They will beat Houston next week.

This was a weird one for me. First, the offense is going to be a monster this year. I will say I'm surprised that we were so TE heavy although I think Njoku needs to be recognize for having a good game. Hooper looked pretty fluid too.

Baker is a different athlete than we've seen before. Dude is in shape, moves much more fluidly and doesn't seem like he's running with a load on his back.

The Malik's had a really good game today. Unfortunately I think they may have been the bright spot from the D-Line.

The secondary looks fast, had some fantastic PBU's and almost had a few picks. They didn't look out of position on every play like they did last year. M.J. Stewart had a pretty good day.

Can anyone tell me what the role of our LBers are in Wood's defense? I get they aren't the focal point, but it almost looks to me like they are under utilized or don't really have an purpose. I'm not calling for him to be fired. But sometimes its like we have 11 players on the field, but we aren't playing with 11 players.

Only just coming to read the board. I was disappointed after the game, but only because we were so very close to winning. Before the game my hope was that we played well, looked like a well coached team and that we played hard and disciplined ... we did all that, and the game turned on the 3 things you mentioned - a fumble by Chubb who is world class but not perfect, a botched punt and the very fortunate TD throw by Mahomes. Mahomes played brilliantly, but that play was as much luck as anything.

Baker played a great game. If there is unkind criticism of Baker on this board then it is going to say everything about the poster and not Baker.

I agree. I dont see how someone can criticize Baker after yesterday. I have a friend who likes the bills who texted me saying: “Man, Baker always blows it” … to me he was very good yesterday. He needs to keep improving when we need him most, but I was happy with him yesterday

Other than being mad at Harrison for being a moron, this was what i was most upset about.

But according to some none of that matters !!
Neither does giving up 14 points to a fumble and botched Punt.
Neither does giving Mahomes, Hill and Kelce the middle and underneath all day.

Yesterday confirmed to me what I had felt about this season all along. There's only one team that can beat us. The Browns.

What I saw was a MUCH BETTER Browns Team.. I also saw the Browns beat themselves.. we had them,, then we let down.

After dealing with the loss…

I get all the emotions that people are feeling. We have absolutely blowed for so long with no obvious prospects of getting better that we are all so ready to be the team that wins no matter what - the patriots, chiefs, stoolers. Any step back from that level feels like a disappointment, especially given the crazy talented roster we have built. The fact is, this team is not the complete team we will see. Covid, roster turnover, situational football all requires a gestational period for the team to grow. We’re ALL impatient for the final product, for that team that goes into ANY game confident that they can walk out with a win. We’re not that team yet. It’s very close.

It’s hard to get your hands around the defense. They were SO bad last year. Woods was forced to use players that couldn’t operate in his system. What worries me about Woods is that he’s unable to adjust. I don’t know what the exact game plan was but it looked like the plan was to give them the short game in favor of the long game. Those game plans never look good. It LOOKS like they are having great success against us but the reality is that we’re limiting big plays to stay with them. That scheme is designed to keep the offense within striking distance at the end of the game. We were there.

In the end, mistakes and the ridiculous circus BS that Mahommes pulls off did us in. We will see them in the playoffs and hopefully, our growth will have continued to the level that we are capable of. We had the game in hand. The plan worked. We have to keep pushing.

I did notice one thing that I thought was really interesting. I think it was late in the 3rd, possible early in the 4th but definitely later in the game. Chiefs were still down by 12 but their offense suddenly got super methodical. They weren't rushing at all, just methodically moving down the field. Browns on the other hand were playing as if they were the team down by 12. It was a stark difference, and probably something you won't see unless you play against an offense like the Chiefs. Browns seemed to be desperate to score because they knew a 12 point lead with a quarter+ left wasn't going to do it(?). I dunno, it was jarring for the wrong team to be playing so calm and the other seemingly desperate.

The more I re-watch, the more I like how Baker played. Dude showed up and had a good game. Has to be "extra extra" locked in on those final drives, but it's a long season... one loss isn't going to kill us. This loss might actually be key to our season... offense continues to roll and the D comes together, we should be seeing this KC team again and we'll be ready and willing to take it to them.

add: there seemed to be a lot of confusion on the back-end of our defense. Lots of frustrated hands in the air and pointing. KC can definitely do that to you, but I think there are some low-hanging fruit for this D to iron out. KC Week1 with a re-tooled D is just going to have to go down as a tough draw.

j/c...

Mack Wilson played too much haha

Poor Higgins.

Just a general comment.

I get a bad feeling that the Chiefs are going to be our next Broncos.

Jc

Now thst we’re all reset and calm from yesterday, let’s be clear about something:

Baker is one baaaaaaaddd man. Them throws he was making yesterday. That wasn’t baker from even last year. That look like Oklahoma baker, just out here with assassin like accuracy. Beautiful throw after beautiful throw.

It’s sucks it that Schwartz couldn’t make that one catch, but this guy has huge potential.

Nick Chubb fumbling is like Haley’s comet, so I’m not worried about it whatsoever.

Our defense will get better. We gotta remember that this is still the chiefs, and that’s still Patrick mahomes with the best WR and TE in the league.

This team will be fine.

It really came down to maybe four or five plays. That was the margin of difference between KC and the Browns. I'm pissed they lost it but it's not like they just melted down completely.

In no particular order...

The incompleted pass to Schwartz that was broken up by a defender getting his arm in there just like they're supposed to do. Solid defense by KC.

The muffed punt.

Chubb putting the ball on the ground. That was some solid D and tackling that made that happen.

The last second interception as Mayfield was trying to dump the ball out of bounds. Again, solid D caused that turnover.

I'd make Harrison ride home on a Greyhound bus after that little display. He let the team down in a big way. Even though I really wanted to see him deck the Chief's assistant, you just can't do stuff like that.

KC straight up won that game. They made opportunities for scoring and taking control of the clock. They also didn't make any errors that gave the Browns any edge at all. Despite that, the Browns put up some pretty serious numbers against the Chiefs. It was a fairly enjoyable game, which is a huge improvement over what I've seen the last few years.

Unless the Browns D gets it in gear they will lose a few more like that one. To quote the famous Russian scientist, "Not great, not terrible..."

If the offense plays like that against most of their opponents this year there will be an awful lot of scrub time in the second half. They're going to put up some seriously crazy numbers.

That was a crappy way to end a fun exciting game.

I don't think I am bringing anything to this conversation that hasn't been said. Chubb, Baker, and Gillan all had back-breaking mistakes. You can't have that. Defensively we knew we were going to struggle, and I thought the defense played ok for the most part. There's room to get better, but they played well enough for the Browns to win this game.

Sounds like the injury to Wills is not season ending, that is good to hear.

Mahomes is just so good. The Browns did not get after him enough, but even when they beat their man, Mahomes is just so good sliding out of trouble.

Browns can play with anyone. I love that fans were freaking out after game one of SEVENTEEN. They will get better, and if they have any plans on trying to win a championship, they will likely see these guys again down the road.

I loved going for 2 after that opening drive touchdown. I liked a lot of those first half play calls. They had KC confused all day. Chubb ran well. He had one costly mistake, but otherwise he was a machine.

Baker cannot throw that ball. If he was trying to throw it away, miss it short. Brady does that all the time. Just throw it in the dirt near a wr. Live to fight another down. It was a first down play too, which just stings more. That was a tough way to end the game.

This is fuel. Let that engine roar!

Yeah this loss hurt pretty bad.

I was thinking the entire game "How are we going to blow it this time" and sure enough we found a way to do it. This one was ours for the taking, gotta start learning how to finish these off if we want to take the next step.

Oh well 16 more to go, head still up.

I don't get why the Chiefs assistant, who shoved Harrison to initiate the whole thing, wasn't also thrown out.

Not only that but all the media coverage I've read minimizes Lewis' role. They talk about how Harrison shoved the assistant and then mention that Harrison was shoved.

my dad’s exact quote yesterday. He’s like this trend is not one I have good memories with.

The commentary was abysmal on that incident. First Harrison clearly didn't intend to step on the downed player. That was a result of getting pushed back from the Chief trying to give him a little extra after the play. I don't think anyone has a problem with a coach trying to prevent an injury when players are tangled but what that coach did wasn't that. He should have been ejected. And Romo and company kept a) insinuating that Harrison purposefully stepped on the player AND at least 3 times acted like they had no idea what happened before Harrison hit the coach. It was clear as day!

It would be interesting to know what the original penalty on the KC bench was called for: the player giving Harrison a little extra pushing him back or the coach taking a shot at him.

I know our DBs were playing to keep everything in front but there were more than a few absolutely beautiful pass break ups by them.

The commentary was annoying all game. Maybe its just that we always lose with them, but Romo gets too giddy when we are down lol

j/c

I understand that the new defense will take some time to gel...HOWEVER...our vaunted DLine is either coached quite poorly and/or is simply overrated.

The Chiefs had all new starters on the OLine...rookies at C, RG & RT. They managed to gel in time for the 1st game yesterday.

I think MG is overrated...super talented and a very good player...but he's not the "FORCE" that gets thrown out there. (I realize that will go over like a fart in church...and NO...I don't want to trade him.) Watching him consistently get pushed three yards past Mahommes was maddening. I think he's too/more focused on getting the sacks than he is disrupting the play. JMO.

McDowell looked terrific until he ran out of gas. Seeing Anthony Walker's back-of-jersey chasing the ball carrier down field reminded me of...well...insert any Browns MLB STR. No one else on D was noticeable to me...Stewart wasn't awful in place of Harrison.

Woods was given a TON of talent this off-season and it didn't show all that great yesterday. We couldn't get home on Mahommes time and time again. Not once (seemingly) were we content to keep him in the tackle box and I don't remember anyone disrupting the middle of the line.

No one can cover Kelce and Hill for the amount of time that Mahommes had yesterday...that guy makes his living on broken plays throwing the ball to uncover-able guys in a scramble drill. Defenses MUST get pressure on Mahommes...I'd rather send Walker up the middle (even if fruitlessly) on a blitz/contain than watch him chase Kelce (absolutely fruitlessly).

The new defense didn't look all that different than the old defense...the salve on the wound is that it did open against the Chiefs and on the road...so there is some meaning there...until you remember the Chiefs OL that was 100% new guys.

Yep. I think Johnson had a great pas break up in the end zone.

People need to chill on the Woods hate. We got a lot of new guys who haven’t played together on defense and they did pretty well. It’s gonna be ok.

Mack Wilson needs to go. Dude literally handed Mahomes his running TD. Mahomes was scrambling then decides to turn it up field and Wilson comes from the goal line out to meet him but over runs the play when all he had to do was to come out get in front of Mahomes and stop so that he could contain him.

Wilson has always been bad. We just dont have any better, which is hard to believe.

Comparing Wilson to Pittsburgh LBs, Buffalo LBs, etc. is sad

I think Mahommes did more than his fair share to mitigate the mismatch in the trenches. He got the ball out quick and tended to move up in the pocket instead of his run backwards tendency. I also think our interior D got gassed in the second half. I think Malik will be a force but his conditioning let him down in crunch time. I didn't see as much push later on in the game. That looooong drive in the 3rd must've killed them.

I don't expect our D to be one of those dynasty-level suffocating defenses. I expect them to be more of an opportunistic D. One that can keep the game from getting out of hand, and give the ball back to the O at least a couple times. That didn't happen yesterday (did we take the ball away even once?). I think we saw some good things out of our Dline, but not enough.

Ward had a beauty on Hill. Ran with the guy up the field and across the whole way and came in and knock the ball out of his hands.

This is my oversimplified layman's point of view in a memo to Coach Stef: When a play opens up like it did with Nick Chubb going about 20 yards untouched for a score, use that play again and again until they stop it.

Honestly, I feel our D played well yesterday. Look at who we were playing; probably the best O and QB in football and we had a bunch of new guys playing together in their 1st game. If we played that way against the Jets or Texans I might have some concern but not KC. JMO

That huge hole for the TD was also great use of motion. We really manipulated their defense

My thinking is similar - if not the same -...even with my disappointment.

I just hate to hear the word/excuse "gel" for a defense that played against a new OL with three rookies all side-by-side who stymied the DL all day long and when it mattered. And...No excuses for "gel" for the DC...he's the one who chose to not have them play a single snap together in pre-season. May have mattered...may not...but he doesn't get the "gel" excuse because he didn't take advantage of getting that process started.

The only IDL I noticed yesterday was MM...and he was gassed after the first half (as you also noted). After yesterday, I think we need an additional DT on the gameday roster. If we insist on keeping Billings (which I don't get) while waiting on MM to get in "game shape/stamina" (which I am more-than-willing to do), then we're gonna need another body to bang in there.

I agree. The Chiefs OL had more of an excuse than us yesterday and they got it done. Keeping it in perspective, there were a lot of good things for us. But at some point we just gotta win

Additional Thoughts:

* I don't recall hearing Newsome's name at all. That's a good thing for a DB. A ROOKIE DB. In fact, Mahomes went after Ward quite a bit. This should have a LOT of Dawgs very, very excited.

* The DLine is taking some heat here. It really, really shouldn't. They did really well yesterday. No, they didn't get eleventy-seven sacks in Game 1 against one of the most elusive QBs in the league, but they applied pressure all day long and shut down the run. Mahomes just Mahomed.

* Law of Unintended Consequences: Harrison. Him getting ejected when we already had Delpit inactive put us in a position where we were thin at Safety. When players started to dehydrate and had to start getting IV's to stay on the field, that meant that we were even thinner. Bad things happened; Mahomes made us pay.

I'm Mad as Heck!
I'm Outraged!
The defense is the worst thing on earth
2 players!
22-10 at halftime.

The system is broken,... outraged... mad as heck... bout sums it up.

Not one person I was watching with thought we were winning at 22-10. We were just waiting for the Browns-ing.

We noticed 2 things: Chubb is GOOD, and we hadn't punted all day.

Sure enough, Chubb fumbles, and punter fumbles (unforced).

Whatever is going well for the Browns will be the thing that makes us lose.

I wish I was just being bitter, but I'm not even mad.

35 years of watching the SAME game over and over again has removed my ability to get mad, or sad. I just accept that we are losers and move on and hope one day the trend can be broken.

.. " Can anyone tell me what the role of our LBers are in Wood's defense? I get they aren't the focal point, but it almost looks to me like they are under utilized or don't really have an purpose. I'm not calling for him to be fired. But sometimes its like we have 11 players on the field, but we aren't playing with 11 players. " {From Devil } ...

Kc starts 3 rookie Ol and we did what ? Anyone ask themselves how is Hill running half way down the field with only a safety on him ? How many snaps did Wilson play ?

Now if it seems like I have a problem with Woods , your right !

Higgin's not seeing the field in crunch time ( think fourth quarter ) is just a big Coaching mistake .. And yes , you can't have three turn overs against a Championship caliber team.

I think this Team can beat KC and I am sure THEY know it .. Just a tough one to loose .. Browns win a bunch of game's this season.

Its good that we didn't hear Newsome's name but I think going at Ward had more to do with Ward being assigned to Hill so much. Outside of Hill and Kelce, the Chiefs didn't really show too much. Having said that it could be argued we limited Mahomes' options.

Did anyone else catch the announcers say that the Chiefs use that Kelce underneath/Hill over the top 38% of the time??

As for the D-Liine... maybe some are being a bit too harsh, but I get the feeling. For most of the game it seemed like our DTs were making more an impact than our DEs.

You were completely mad before the game ever started Throw...

Good points. It seems like our LBs are in no mans land an awful lot .. like without any purpose. they rarely blitz but aren’t good in coverage. The middle of the field always seems wide open

People were making such a big thing out of the KC line having such huge turnover, and they did.

However, did you know that MaHommes was sacked only 22 times all of last year? Know why? Well, look at what he did to our DL/pass rush so often yesterday. He would feel the rush, and escape. It happened many times yesterday, and it happened on the long pass to Hill.

Mahomme is just really good. You have to contain him in the pocket, and still give him no time. That's a hard combination against a player with his ability as a passer, and as a runner to escape pressure.

The one thing I've noticed a day later is that there is much less wrist slitting than the usual first game loss... that statement alone is enough for hope about this season for all the neigh Sayers.

I've wondered the same, seemed like we didn't utilize them on blitz, stacks, or a stunt (Though admittingly I missed a handful of plays yesterday) Seems like we leave them in a read zone...Either they can't read the plays, because imo they all seemed slow to react minus a few plays. Though I will say Mack Wilson looked a little better versus last year. And Anthony Walker had his hands full changing calls with that potent KC offense.

Good post, and I agree with everything you said. Though Myles is easily our best defender, I think a lot of people think he's some of Reggie White or Strahan...While I've said it for years he's more along the likes of Simeon Rice (whom was a fine edge rusher)

I could be totally wrong, but Malik Jackson probably had more pressures in the first half than anyone, but I didn't notice him in the 2nd half...McDowell looked well in spurts...Takk looks awfully small, he obviously has more twitch than Clowney...But gets manhandled as well. John Johnson looked pretty good out there, though I have no idea what happened on that 75 yard bomb to Tyreek...Must have been blown coverage somewhere.

Good point. Although if we lose to Houston … haha

Player....... REC YDS . TD . TGTS
Tyreek Hill ..11.. 197 ..1... 15
Travis Kelce ..6.. 76... 2... 7

Maybe we should have game planned against these guys?

If we lose to Houston, the sky will fall:

If we lose to Houston I'll put TL's last bolded post as my sig.

This is it in a nutshell. With a totally garbage OL last year, he did what he did. This year, these guys are big and powerful. Yes, they're all new to KC and their offense, but look at how much our own OL was able to gel last year without any in-person offseason - and we run a ZBS. They have an easier adjustment and they made it because they don't have to be great, or barely even good. With Mahomes, they just have to be good enough. Like you said, that 75 yarder to Hill highlights it. Mahomes is going to make his own space.

Sometimes, you just have to give props to the other guys for making their own good plays. It doesn't mean we made a bad play, it's just that they bailed themselves out and prevented us from making a better play than they did. It happens; especially at this level and against a team and offense that is this good.


We were in the hole defensively from the start. We committed three turnovers at HORRIBLE times and gave them an insanely short field on one or two of them, and a lot of this all happened within a span of a few game minutes... and we were STILL within striking distance of winning it until that last turnover happened to seal it.

We were the better team; they just made more impactful plays while we really didn't make any.

I agree with your train of thought , but ( you knew it was coming ) We shouldn't have made all three rookies look like Pro bowl candidates ..lol

WATER,

We didn't. Mahomes did. There was plenty of pressure/speeding up of Mahomes. He's just that good.

I agree. Mahomes elusiveness and his creativity, combined with the skills of Kelce and Hill to get open, combined with their continuity together to be on the same page after a play breaks down... it's damn near impossible to stop.

I said, right before the sack of Baker at the end of the first half... neither team has a sack yet, but at least we have knocked Mahomes down a few times..

General reply here...

Our offense played great, until it didn't. I hate that I'm sitting here typing this, because dude was super accurate and a good decision-maker all day, but Baker's 2 worst throws came when the game mattered the most in the 4th quarter. That is going to extend the narrative on him. The throw that he put 10 yds short of Njoku killed a drive. And then the INT...can't control being hit from behind, but that was 1st down. He knew he was running out of time, and he was trying to make too much happen instead of throwing away sooner or just trying to scramble for a bit. He said it himself in the interview. Sorry that the standard is basically perfection, because that isn't fair. But on the heels of 2 other turnovers, with Mahomes on the other side, he had to be.

Also, don't get the hate on the defense. Who cares about the stats for Hill and Kelce? Chiefs scored 33 points, including an almost desperation TD throw. Gave our offense the ball with 3 minutes to score and win. I guess if you were expecting a replay of the SB, you're disappointed, but that was never realistic, IMO.

Finally, still very excited...there were not just flashes, but extended periods of elite play from offense and defense. This should be a fun year.

Oh, double finally, get well Jed!

I think back on how many times we were sooooo close, or how many times we got hits right after the ball was out, and how many runs were shut down within 2 yards, and Malik McDowell's insane TFL to start the game... and I think of how much fun this DL is going to be against teams that don't have a Patrick Mahomes.

It's going to be a fun year, folks!!

I agree. Also looking forward to seeing JOK improve. We really need him to be good.

Yeah, he was noticeably non-existent yesterday.
I know he saw the field, but he appears to have made no impact whatsoever. That needs to change.

PRPL,

100%. The next 3 QBs we face this quarter are: Tyrod, Dalton, Cousins. I like our DL's chances in forcing some TOs.

Yep.

Just watched the rest of the game this morning. Man, losing really bummed me out but we held our own & did really well for quite a while against a really good team with a superbly talented QB.

We are a really good team now and still have the whole season to look forward to. Keep your heads held high and go Browns!

Kevin Stefanski: Jamie Gillan should’ve punted, Ronnie Harrison Jr. didn’t intentionally step on the RB, Jedrick Wills Jr. day-to-day with ankle injury

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/09...m_medium=social

CLEVELAND, Ohio --Ronnie Harrison Jr. won’t be suspended by the NFL for shoving Chiefs assistant coach Greg Lewis, but Kevin Stefanski wouldn’t say if he’ll discipline Harrison more than the fine he’ll receive this week from the league for his ejection.

“I’ll keep that internal, but obviously it’s disappointing when you lose a starter after five plays,’’ Stefanski said. “It’s the oldest thing in football and in sport. The official always sees the second guy.’’




He did say, however, that Harrison didn’t intentionally step on running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire when he was down on the sidelines after the catch. Harrison tripped over him and got tangled up trying to get out of the scrum in the first quarter and was thrown out of the game.

“I do think that any contact that came from Ronnie was incidental,’’ Stefanski said. “If you watch the tape, it’s pretty obvious that he’s getting collisioned as he’s trying to get off of their boundary, but that doesn’t excuse him from retaliating. You can’t do that. That’s something we all know, that the game officials will see the second guy not the first guy.’’

Stefanski wouldn’t say if he felt Lewis should’ve been disciplined for shoving Harrison first, when he felt he was stepping on his running back. He said regardless of what they coach did, Harrison needed to show more poise there.

With Grant Delpit inactive, cornerback M.J. Stewart was pressed into service at safety and rookie Richard LeCounte III filled in.

Jamie Gillan knows he should’ve punted

Stefanski said Gillan had time pick up the fumbled punt and kick it.


“He could’ve and he knows that,’’ Stefanski said. “We talked to him about that in the moment, talked to him about that today. Obviously he knows he has a job to do and we expect him to do his job at a high level. If something like that happens, we expect him to pick the ball up and punt it, and he knows that.’’

The Browns were worried about their kicker, Chase McLaughlin, heading into the game because of a hamstring injury suffered on Friday, and the punter turned out to be the problem.

The Chiefs got the ball at the 15, and Patrick Mahomes threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to produce the final margin, 33-29, with 7:04 left in the game. It proved to be an insurmountable lead.

Jedrick Wills Jr. is day-to-day with his ankle injury

Wills, the Browns starting left tackle, left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, and was replaced by Chris Hubbard. Stefanski said Wills is day-to-day and they’ll see how it goes for the home opener Sunday against the Texans.

JC Tretter acknowledged it was tough to lose Wills, “but Chris is a grizzled veteran and he played well.’'

Baker Mayfield needs to find an incompletion at the end of the game




Stefanski said even though Baker Mayfield was trying to throw the ball away at the end of the game, he can’t throw a pick in that situation, with 1:09 left and the game on the line.

“He needs to find an incompletion there,’’ Stefanski said.

He said Mayfield played well and had his ups and downs, but must protect the ball in that crucial situation.

Odell Beckham Jr. will play when he’s ready

Stefanski made no promises that Beckham, inactive for the Chiefs, will be ready to play Sunday against the Texans.

“We’re just trying to be appropriate with it,’’ he said. “When he’s ready to play, he’ll play.’’

Sure he is good , really good .. But we made him look super human. Just my opinion .. sticking to it ! lol ..

I freely admit I am not now , nor have I ever been a fan of the Woods bend but don't break D .. Looks like he is playing " Prevent " 80% of the snaps .. One of the most un-creative DC's I have watched in a long time .. He had a year to prepare for this game .. Stats do count ; Hill like 11 catch's and Klece 6 or 7 .. And he was usually wide open..

Would love to have all the 22 shots on the bomb to Hill.. How he is running that far down field with single coverage ?? Little confused by it.. Then again I am an old , old , old guy.

I expect us to whip up on a bunch of teams this season .. Playing Championship Teams with Stellar Offensive Coach's will be a different story . I will gladly be wrong ..

guys, i know KC isnt known for rushing the ball like that, but can we acknowledge how great our defense did against the run? we had guys in the backfield damn near the instant the ball was snapped.

When the Browns lost to the Ravens on Haloween last year, they didn't play well.Not enough to win.
But! they played a way that looks similar to the game they played yesterday.
The system is broken. The defensive system, philosophy, is broken.
( I wasn't mad until Bakers interception and it became unwinnable, Baker threw that on 1st or 2nd down, he wasn't that many yards behind the los, A benefit of going slow all the way down to get a td on the final play of the game (to go up 3); did not require that there was 'heartrate raising' lack of time remaining.)

The Ravens game on Halloween looked very similar, to this crappy loss yesterday, so in 11 months the Browns haven't progressed much despite any and all the hype about new players being signed and old ones being waived.

Maybe it's the defensive philosophy.
-

Gordon Ramsey says you should master cooking the basics before you attempt crazy weird combinations.
The Browns- are doing S curves behind the Qb pre-snap and handing off to Jarvis on the goal line?

But they cant stop 2 Players on defense >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<<<<<<<<<<< vvvvvvvvv ^^^^^^^^^ Where'd WHO go?

23rush/73 yards

We will take that all day regardless of the opponent.

The Browns had 26/153. So while KC doesn't rush a ton, they only had 3 attempts less than us, who are team built around the run.

Yes we played well against st the run, especially our dline. We were playing two high safeties most of the game and they still couldn't run. We held Edwards Elaire to 3.1 yrs per carry. Their best runner was Mahomes who averaged 3.6 yes per carry..

j/c.

It was a game between 2 teams. 1 team was going to win, 1 team was going to lose.

The Browns showed they are a team to be reckoned with. Better things will come. A mistake here, a mistake there - we lose. Play the same, fix mistakes, we will win.

So I knew today all the pundits would focus on Bakers last throw which honestly IMO is a tough thing to say one way or the other what he “should have” done while he was getting tripped from behind. With our luck it would have been called a fumble if he tried to dump it.

I was watching Rex Ryan today call out Joe Woods which honestly is my opinion on why we lost the game. This defense still looks as clueless as it did all season and there is just too much talent this year for them to not have schemed for Kelce. It was ridiculous how easy he was working our LB.

My question is would a guy like Rex have this defense playing with more accountability or is it just the need to gel?!?
https://youtu.be/MuPbta1TwJU

I’m not an X’s and O’s Guy with football … no clue what scheme would fit our defense. I just know that we consistently leave guys WIDE open and seem slow

This is why....


I'm surprised Reid didn't target the rookie more in this game. I suppose even if Ward was on T. Hill, you still target him.

I noticed Newsome on the field, but never in coverage … which is good

Just was going to write about his game performance from my view.

Right off you can see this guy is hard to handle.

He gets in to his bull rush fast and he is powerful.

As the season progresses he will learn more. An incedible find by Berry.

Quite simply we turned the ball over three times. Chubb is not a fumbler, but that killed a drive.

No excuse for the punter.

Baker was hit while throwing. The defender who hit him deserves credit for making a play.

We handed them 10 points. Obviously, they are to good a team to spot ten points.
====================================================

Last year when they beat us. I felt they were the better team.

I don't see it that way this year. Our OL was great. They could not stop us.

Their offense is great but we did ok for a first game with new players. Take away the gifted ten points and the story line is way different.

I think we need to do whatever it takes to trade for a stud LB.

I really don't care if we waste a first, second, and third next year. (I do but you get the point)

LB is such a huge hole that is going to cost us a few more games and a lot of anexiety if this keeps up.

very much agree Bonefish. I thought of your pregame impressions during the first half, and yet had trepidation for the potential comeback.
Harrison's action was the most distressing to me. completely out of line with what Ski wants our culture to be, I would think.
didn't see Gillan's play, apparently didn't know what to do in case of a drop?
I mostly lurk, appreciate everyone's input, going to my first Browns game this week!

Harrison didn't intentionally do it. Stefanski even came out and supported him. Unfortunately, he got the bad end of Tony Romo's comments and an overreaction by the review booth.

very much agree Bonefish. I thought of your pregame impressions during the first half, and yet had trepidation for the potential comeback.
Harrison's action was the most distressing to me. completely out of line with what Ski wants our culture to be, I would think.
didn't see Gillan's play, apparently didn't know what to do in case of a drop?
I mostly lurk, appreciate everyone's input, going to my first Browns game this week!

j/c

Re-watched today...not that that means a whole lot

On the Hail Mary BS TD our DEs crashed into each other like Keystone cops (again by a Woods D) while Mahomes stepped up and slipped sideways.

Joe Jackson had a nice sack where he slipped inside of the "pocket" to nail Mahomes trying to step through. Maybe our big $$$ guys should try that sometime.

Note: I think the D played well...just not well enough and...well...enough. I think they will get it together...even though my confidence in Woods is not very high.

Yeah, I'm sure Woods designed it so our DE's would crash into each other. Did you mean DB's?

It's not the first time he "coached-up" guys who ended up colliding to give the other team a huge play.

Welcome to the board, and have fun at the game. I will be there as well.

So you think he schemed for his players to run into each other or does it make more sense to conclude the players messed up? Inquiring minds want to know.

I think his "scheming" is quite questionable in general. They also "collided" at the QB for the only sack of the day by the big $$$ guys. They sprinted around Mahomes' back all day long.

I think Woods scheme forgot that the Chiefs had rookies at C-RG-RT.

The fact that the big $$$ guys collided on a big play(s) was just another symptom of Woods' "scheme".

Lastly, he coached the guys to insanely continue rushing upfield and to no avail...their Keystone cops collision was a result of a bad scheme.

Does that help your inquiring mind?

Was Mahomes going at Ward or was Ward covering Hill? I think it's more a function of going to Hill than going at Ward.

Yeah, i wonder why they had a problem tackling Mahomes. I mean the guy just stands back there like a statue.

Postgame thoughts:

Offense looked great; we're going to average about 30 points/game this year. Schwartz's speed jumped off the screen; he definitely adds an extra dimension to the offense that was needed.

On defense, McDowell looked awesome the first half; a great pick-up by Berry. It will be fun watching him progress throughout the year. This is a spot everyone was worried about coming into this year, so his emergence is big for this team.

Woods needs a little more time, but I was hoping the defense would look different now that we had more talent. The 2 deep safeties in infuriating to watch, but it is effective sometimes.

The thing I never understand about our defense is our DEs though. Against mobile QBs, our LDE needs to play differently than what I have seen. Their main role on pass plays should be to keep the QB from rolling out of the pocket to the right (most right-handed QBs throw better rolling to the right). Too often they go crashing in past the QB and let them roll out to the right. Saw it on the big play yesterday, and the big play from Lamar last year. We need to rush more disciplined.

If I was playing LDE, I would just wait, and let MG chase the QB right to where I am waiting.

Disappointed that the Browns didn't finish, but instead handed KC a W they didn't earn.

Was proud of the team and the effort just wished it had been 60 minutes and not 50. We had this game in the bag and gave it away.

They won't get off so easy the next time, this team is going to get better and the dumb mistakes won't save KC next time.

Would have joined you guys sooner, but had a very important Dr appointment today in NYC. It appears I am cancer free won't know for sure until the pathology report comes back next week but it looks good. Dr said he saw no new growth and had to remove tissue from the scar tissue from my 1st procedure. I am a very happy sad man today. Sad about my Browns happy I may be getting out from under the big C, at least for now.

I have 2, 13 year old daughters I never saw them so happy, made me cry honest...

In the face of defeat I grabbed a victory. Now get me my trophy Brownies.

Forget the Browns, man. Cancer free? Celebrate!!! Congrats to you, and the drs.

This says it all IMHO.

I think that could be what's going on when sometimes you'll hear folks saying players had the lowest pff numbers ever. It may be the best way to stop the running qb's, and win football games, but then numbers will say, that's awful, you just stood there.

Post game thoughts.
The Browns org. the official speakers, if they don't want to hear or want to make excuses for having new moving parts, there is no one else to blame, it's the org. itself that is deciding to continually bring in new moving parts.
If they want to get to the point where it's not all constantly new moving parts, they could start to keep the parts together, keep some of the parts together.

They were definitely looking to dial up Schwartz and Njoku. That kinda jumped off the screen to me.

That's great! I wish you well with your test reports.

Just wanted to add one thing to your reply DC:

….combined with damn good offensive coach and play designer in Andy Reid.

There are priorities BtB.

The Browns will recover just a bump in the road.

Fantastic News. That is all that matters.

Many more seasons for you and the Browns.

Hold on to what is precious. And nothing is more precious than a 3 year old girl and 13 year old girl.

Browns will take care of the business at hand.

Great news ... wish you all the best and nothing else in life really matters all that much compared to your health and family.

The Raiders succeeded quite nicely in getting to LJ when it mattered...and he's the most elusive QB in the league...by far

The Raider DEs got home and sacked him...causing two game-changing fumbles.

I never saw any of the Raider DL crash into each other like Keystone cops.

Maybe my expectations are just higher than yours.

I’m hoping the signing of McDowell may make our DL more stout against Lamar

That's awesome BTTB! Congratulations, and may all your future scans be boring!

Having been a baseball coach for many years I understand "errors."

However, I can not let Jamie Gillan just walk away and sit on the bench.

You are a professional punter. There is no excuse for dropping that snap. Sorry, but that is for real.

All training camp guys are in meetings. Players are pouring over their playbooks at night. They go to the field after intense weight lifting and physical training. On the field they run through all kinds of drills. Then they walk through plays. Pick up the intensity and run 7 on 7. Practice is like never ending.

Jamie what do you work on? Catch a snap and punt. Catch snaps and hold for place kicker. Catch sanps and punt some more.

Jamie you have to do your one and only job. Catch the ball and punt it.

Do not make that mistake again. No excuses.

Thanks Bone. For the record I have twin 13 year old daughters

Congrats bone!

Good for you Bone. I understand what you and your family are going through. I'm in that situation with my wife but we keep fighting. Take care and congrats!!

I will be saying a prayer for Mrs. Homewood dog to get better. Joking to the side i wish you all the best as well.

In game one with so many new moving parts you may be right. I mean having someone to throw the ball to that is open is also a part of what happened. I just had more realistic expectations for game 1.

I think it's also good to put the reminder out there that it's a 17-game season. This loss won't cripple us.

I have two grandsons.

One just turned 15 and joined the Navy ROTC program as a freshman.

His brother will be nine tomorrow. I live with them.

I cherish them. The gemstones of my life right now.

My grandsons Mom will turn forty next month. My son is 36.

A day never passes when I don't reflect upon how fortunate I have been.

The past is history. Tomorrow a mystery.

Today is a gift. That's way they call it the present.

Stay well.

Even if he wasn't on Hill, they still have Hardman.
This is a damn good sign for our secondary in 2021 and beyond.

I realize that...shoot...I didn't expect to win that game until it started to unfold in front of me.

My issue is twofold:

#1 - We had the same issues last year with lesser talent...dramatically lesser talent. We were "told" that Woods can't run the defense "HE" wants with last year's personnel.

I have issues within that issue. #1 coach the players you have and scheme what they can do. #2 If it "takes awhile" to get it...it's too complicated.

#2 - If it will still "take awhile", then W.I.T.H. did the starters not play together until the opener? As I've opined...the "gel" excuse is complete BS and - if that's an issue - it's on Woods.

Game 1 looked a lot like games 1-16 last year...that's my issue.

I understand. But when you only get home twice, you can't cover Kelce and Hill for as long as Mahomes was given...against rookies at C-RG-RT no less.

Prayers for her that she will be free of the disease that afflicts her, and comfort and strength for both of you, and your family.

That's beautiful.

This was explained before the game and I'll try again. There is a huge difference between man blocking and zone blocking. One is very simple and one is quite complex. It's not as if people weren't warned about that.

We have many new moving parts on this defense and this was game one.

I posted many, many times that this D would take time to learn to play together as a unit. Of course there was a lot of opposition posted that did not agree. You see, you can learn a playbook. That's actually the easiest part. But when you are thinking about what it is you're doing it isn't natural.

Only through playing actual downs and games on the field can you get to the point that what you're doing no longer becomes mechanical but instinctual. That doesn't happen in the first game with so many new moving parts.

Mahomes, IMO is currently one of at least the top three QB's in the NFL. He has made so many great defenses look lost it's ridiculous.

This defense basically went through an entire rebuild as it pertains to players. I saw exactly what I expected to see. For fans who expected to see some finished product straight out of the gate, they were disappointed.

Can not take credit for that.

I heard once and took it to heart.

Thank you Brown and YTown I appreciate the prayers and thoughts. My wife started Immuno therapy yesterday and the Doctors are optimistic it will help keep the cancer from returning. Fingers crossed.

I'll hesitantly agree with you regarding our Dline play. I personally didn't see all the DE's running into each other quite like you are saying, but I do find it disappointing that those guys seem to routinely play undisciplined when up against QBs that we KNOW you can't just run after them as fast as possible. You have to contain them first and go for the sack after. I thought we saw this way too much last year vs Lamar... not that we didn't get him on the ground a ton but more that we allowed him to break contain too much (IMO). IMO, this is more a discipline/coaching issue than anything else.

For the back-end, I think more time is needed to play better against the likes of KC. As I've said before, KC week1 was a tough draw. Over the next few weeks I think you'll see the D come together really well.

I don't think this is really the issue. I think most of those fans were expecting to see something different than last year. I believe there is an argument to be made on both sides of whether or not there was anything different.

I think the talent level of our secondary was a clear improvement. JJ3 and Denzel had some beautiful PBUs, and IIRC they got their hands on the ball at least twice for potential INTs. JJ3 if he looks back just steps before INTs that ball Hill scores on. The secondary as a whole IMO didn't look so blatantly out of position every play like last year.

Communication on the field within the DEF was much better.

I asked on a couple threads what the role of our LBers is supposed to be. I had the exact same question last year.

DLine is a mixed bag for me. Statistically I think our DEs had a really good game, but to me it was our DTs that seemed to be having more of an impact.

That said, I think they handled the run pretty well.

I certainly wouldn't agree with anyone calling to fire Woods but I would like to see some adjustments. I get we're relying on generating pressure from our front 4. Myles registering 8 pressures may be good enough against most QBs, but guys like Mahommes its not. You have to get to him. This frustrates me because sometimes you need to bring a 5th guy and in light of our LBers don't seem to have any other job....

One last area that I think is a fair discussion although I don't know what or if there is a correct answer for it, is when I hear from the announcers that the Chiefs run Hill over the top with Kelce underneath 38% of the time. My initial feeling is that if its that predictable and the talent level in our secondary is legit... maybe they shouldn't be killing us like that. I don't know. Maybe they are just that good to be that can't miss Madden play. Maybe the plan was to let it happen but keep the emphasis on not letting them in to the endzone. Who knows.

Having said all that.. I do think our defense is going to chew up most lesser offenses in the league this year.

100 million dollars 0 sacks .
i may have lost yesterday but I DAM sure would have hurt KELCE,HILL,AND MAHOMES.

You raise a great point!

Hardly any pressure on Mahomeys and Hill and Kelce were barely touched.

If you can't cover them at least tackle the HELL out of them. Make them feel a shot instead of pattycakes!

Mahomes was hit a lot

I saw 2 friendly sacks and a couple of nudges.

It's like the NFL told the Browns not to touch their 2nd favorite player.

We all know who their favorite player is.

Let's talk about the DLine performace...since that is what I keep harping on...

I've explained the issue before and I'll say it again (see how annoying that condescending BS can be?)...

The Chiefs entire OLine is new from last year...an entire re build as you stated above. They are playing rookies at C-RG-RT...they figured out how to "play as a unit" before game #1. Why couldn't our DLine do the same?

Woods did not expose diddly on that Chiefs line...our million $ guys were stymied all day long. Joe Jackson has the same # of sacks as MG...probably more if MG shared his with Clowney.

If we are to give Woods slack because it "takes awhile", then he should have played the starters SOME in the pre-season. It can't go both ways.

I'm not ready to fire Woods...but he will make his own seat warm if the DLine continues to look average - along with the rest of the D - with the studs he was handed.

j/c...

PFF Browns defensive grades vs Chiefs:

Malik McDowell was highest graded on defense: 83.0
Denzel Ward: 74.4
Greg Newsome: 72.6

Link has the rest of the defensive grades.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/09...eplaceable.html

I agree. I am concerned that we have two alpha dogs who are too hungry for the sack...thought that about MG last year...and the play of the two of those guys was either poor coaching (scheme?) or poor discipline as you pointed out.

Those two will eat all day against the Texans and TieRod...but Woods better tighten that crap up before the next tough game.

How can we continuously trot Mack Wilson out there … 40?!

Malcolm Smith .. 29?!

Those are putrid

There was pressure on almost every play for Mahomes. Our guys were bringing it.

For those saying that Woods needs to make adjustments without even knowing what the DE's assignments were to begin with, other than "get sacks, omg!", just what adjustments are you clamoring for?

Mahommes juking out Wilson and walking the ball into the EZ was all I needed to see from Mack. Dude is all talk until the games are for real. For like the umpteenth time, the dude is finally (for real this time) turning the corner in the PS only to go out there and get smoked by a QB (Mahommes is elusive, but he's no Lamar).

Wu can't take his starter spot soon enough, IMO.

Round of prayers all around. His Will. Healing if possible, strength if not. Comfort regardless.

Wishing blessings for all of you. There are no little victories. Blessings in abundance.

Its not enough to just get pressure on Mahommes. You have to get to him.

What adjustments? How about whatever adjustments led to the late game sack by Myles and Clowney? but just a little sooner? How about bringing a 5th guy a bit more often? I saw JOK blitz from the safety position which didn't really work.

You can’t blitz Mahomes from that depth … too easy to react. Gotta stack the line and make him guess who’s coming at him

I was thinking about why we didnt blitz much. Mahomes gets rid of the ball REALLY fast. So, if we blitzed it would be difficult to get to him and we would leave WR/TE open. That would backfire.

I hope we get more pressure against the Texans. Tyrod isnt as challenging. If we dont, I'll be wondering why.

Play I noted in today’s pod. They knew upfield influence would happen & trusted Pat to slide/escape. #Browns had no clear plan for dealing w that. Blitzed JOK from depth (Can’t do that). Either contain 15 with condensing the pocket or spy him. 28 spying would be perfect here.

https://twitter.com/jake_burns18/status/1437841799503093760

Should have kept Sheldon Richardson. Our Dline gets a lot of pressures but I'd like to see what our pressure to sack ratio is and what it compares to other teams. To me it seems like our DEs only try to get by the OT on the outside using speed and leverage they very seldom seem to bull rush or use a swim move to go inside the OT and this allows the QB to step up in the pocket.

I re - watched the first half .. The KC OL did an amazing job handling our front four : Kudos to them !.. If Wilson see's the field again you will know just what kind of shape our LB core is in.

Example : Third and four and KC is on our side of the 50 .. Wood's decides he is going to blitz our safety #56 .. No disguise , he is right on the line .. The scheme has #4 Walker trying to cover Hill .. Woods has LB's running every where trying to decide who to cover. KC's Coaching staff worked him over , period .

Man blocking isn't "playing as a unit". That's zone blocking.

lol, you can tell exactly when safety was like, "oh $&!#".

So you are saying that a man-blocking OL doesn't "play as a unit". Ok...we will just have to agree to disagree on that one.

Re-built OL with 3/5th ROOKIES got their job done...million $ DL did not get their job done. Woods was out-coached..his rope is getting shorter and shorter.

When game analyzers start pointing out what was obvious to armchair DCs on a message board...you might have a problem.

How many times did Garrett and Clowney run right past Mahomes while he stepped up in the pocket? Seemed like almost every play.
I noticed Garrett and Clowney consistently running by Mahomes as he stepped up in the pocket and allowing him to complete passes with ease or run for a bunch of yards.

We better correct that or else Lamar is going to run all over us once again. The Raiders collapsed the pocket from the interior and edges pretty well on Lamar.

Maybe they should run to where he isn't in hopes he will move up to where they are instead.

I Think you were watching the Steelers/Bills game, certainly not Browns/Chefs.

That is the definition of Separation.

So you have nothing to say about which adjustments you're talking about? Hmmmm.....

Take it for what it's worth (talking about my knowledge of playing Dline, which is nil), but I feel like Garrett and Clowney could stand to play with a little more discipline against QBs that are a threat to break the pocket and make plays when the ends over-pursue.

I also have a feeling that that pressure% stat is heavily biased to the first half. It looked to me like our interior Dline ran out of gas at some point in the 3rd.

One thing that confounded me was repeatedly seeing one of our slow LBs failing miserably trying to cover Kelce 1-1. Our D isn't a finished product and I didn't expect perfection, but I would think that that is something you maybe see once and say "let's not try that again".

I'm betting that the weather/temps were a HUGE factor in that.

For Garrett & Clowney, I almost feel like they need a 5th guy coming off the line to get in the gap created when they go too deep.... but, I'm betting they were going deep expecting him to be taking the deeper drops, but he just didn't do it. It would have been good to have one push to one depth and the other go deeper and both try to adjust as they go. They're big enough and powerful enough to plant a foot and push inward on that OT and use the OT to fill that gap... of course, ya gotta do that without letting Mahomes get outside ...it's all a tall order.

j/c...

BEREA — Running back Nick Chubb was hurting Sunday after the 33-29 loss to the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. His third-quarter fumble was part of a disastrous second half that saw the Browns blow a 22-10 halftime lead.

“I was thinking like the season was over again because that’s how it ended last year,” Chubb said Wednesday, referring to the 22-17 playoff loss in Kansas City in January. “I had to take a second, step back and realize we have 16 more to go. So it’s not the end of the world.

“We did lose, but we can correct some things. Me personally, I can correct a lot of things and we can go from there.”

Quarterback Baker Mayfield supplied the message Chubb needed to hear. Mayfield listened to the discussion in the locker room in the minutes after the game and decided to address the team because so much energy had been poured into the opening rematch.

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“Definitely all the time you put in the offseason, the extra week of preparation against that Week 1 opponent,” he said. “Both messages were kind of going around the locker room of, guys had their heads down, you want to tell them to pick their heads up, but then also some guys are saying we’ve got 16 more, we’ve got 16 more. That’s why I said, it’s a fine line of walking. Be critical of yourself, absolutely should be, and I’ll be damned if we’re not because we expect to go in there and win. But there’s also more opportunities, so you have to roll with the punches, face adversity, how do you handle it.

“This one should sting and you need to learn from it because we had that game and we gotta close it out.”

Analysis: Perfect wasn’t required to beat Chiefs, and that’s a big step even in loss

Receiver Jarvis Landry made a point in his postgame interview to mention the importance of Mayfield’s speech.

“He’s a great leader,” Chubb said. “Him and Jarvis both said something after the game. Just kind of dwell on it for a little while. Let it soak in again and after that we’ve got to move on and keep moving forward.

“It’s a long season. The first game, it’s behind us. We’ve got to put it behind us. Now we’ve just got to look forward to the Texans this week.”

The sting was sharper because of the way the Browns lost. They played a near-perfect first half on offense, scoring touchdowns on their first three drives. But they made too many mistakes as the Chiefs took the lead, then the offense didn’t score on its last three drives, including a Mayfield interception with 1:09 left from the Cleveland 48-yard line.

Safety Daniel Sorensen grabbed his feet as he tried to throw the ball away, causing it to hang up for cornerback Mike Hughes.

“Yeah, I definitely wasn’t trying to throw it straight to 21, that’s for damn sure,” Mayfield said. “I was trying to throw it out of bounds, Sorensen just got enough of me to keep it inbounds.

“I want to throw it out of bounds. You can say throw it away earlier, but then the coaching points of me trying to use my legs and scramble out and take advantage of some of the yards, there’s going to be criticism either way regardless. Just try and find a way to not have a negative play.”

Mayfield has thrown an NFL-high 16 interceptions in 47 games since 2018. Philip Rivers, who retired after last season, has 15 and Jameis Winston 14.

There are plenty of mitigating factors, including he was a rookie in 2018 and has dealt with three coaching changes, but Mayfield said he’s harder on himself when a mistake happens in the fourth quarter.

“Yeah, it’s critical situations,” he said. “You know, those are the moments where you look back and everybody’s going to remember that last play and that can be the difference.

“No matter what has happened previously, you can throw all of that out the window as long as you have a chance. And whoever has the ball last, if you can make a play, those are the ones that matter.”

Despite the ending, he left Kansas City with a sense of optimism.

“We started fast, that was a big emphasis for us,” he said. “Now we just need to obviously finish. But it comes down to us doing our job. All the little things matter. Like the illegal shift penalties, staying ahead of the chains, all those little things matter, especially when you’re on the road against a great team like Kansas City.

“We played a good game against a great team on the road. We have to play a great game against a great team on the road. It’s a good lesson for us as long as we learn from it. So as long as we handle it, it will be a blessing in disguise that it happened in Week 1 rather than later on down the road.”

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NEWSMyles Garrett feels like himself in opener after difficult finish to last seasonby Scott PetrakSeptember 14, 2021

Myles Garrett exploded off the ball. He flew around the edge. He made life difficult for new Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown.

Garrett looked like Garrett on Sunday during the 33-29 loss at Arrowhead Stadium. That wasn’t the case for the final seven games of last season, when he struggled to recover after missing two games with COVID-19.

“I felt good,” the All-Pro defensive end said after the game. “First game, going to be a little bit tired, it’s a different pace than obviously what you’re going to get in practice. For most of the game I was feeling good, feeling like myself, feel I could get off the ball, doing things that I’ve been showing that I can do. For the most part, I feel like I put on a good showing.”

Garrett saved his best play for last, sacking Patrick Mahomes on third down to force a punt in the final three minutes. Garrett gave the offense a chance to pull out a win, but Baker Mayfield was intercepted.

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After 2nd straight loss to Chiefs, focus is on finishing, playing “clean football” for 60 minutes

Garrett was credited with another quarterback hit and had several other pressures of Mahomes, but the Chiefs quarterback is so slippery and aware he’s infuriating for pass rushers.

New Browns end Takkarist McKinley had him in his sights for a loss in the red zone in the second quarter, only to see Mahomes make a move, get past him and score on a 5-yard run, turning a field goal into a touchdown. Second-year tackle Jordan Elliott closed in on Mahomes toward the Browns sideline in the fourth quarter, but Mahomes threw deep across his body into the center of the field — a no-no for mere mortals — and receiver Tyreek Hill turned it into a 75-yard touchdown when safety John Johnson III lost sight of him.

“I don’t want to take away from the greatness of those two players, but he was under duress, he threw it up, it wasn’t a good ball,” Garrett said. “I mean, those guys make plays like that. We have to be a little bit more aware and bat that down and it might be a different game.

“We’ve just got to make those plays when they’re up in the air like that, it’s a 50-50 ball, we’ve got to take it the next time.”

Garrett joined coach Kevin Stefanski and Mayfield in lamenting the mistakes that turned a 29-20 fourth-quarter lead into a loss.

“They started to come on, we had too many MEs (mental errors) and missed assignments on our part,” Garrett said. “They took advantage of stuff like that, they’ve shown that, we just have to be better.”

Garrett wasn’t including a pair of offsides calls against him in the first half. One was declined, and the accepted one didn’t impact the game. He flinched on Mahomes’ cadence both times.

“I don’t feel like I jumped off those two, but the refs are kinda really keyed in on that right there,” he said. “But finally had it timed since about halftime, third quarter, jumped off the ball.”

He believes an occasional penalty is the cost of having a great get-off. And he won’t let the officials slow him down.

“Hell, no. Just like my boy Bake’s a gunslinger, I’m going to keep on firing, as well,” Garrett said. “I’m going to try to minimize ’em, but I’m going to take my shot when I get it. If I feel like I’m keyed in, I’m going to do it.

“If he changes the snap count and I get one, two, I’m going to keep on firing because that’s my job. I can’t slow down because that’s what they want out of me. If I start slowing down, that gives them an advantage. If I start slowing down, that enables the chips to start getting a little bit more of a hit on me and I’m not able to get into my rush. I’ve got to keep on doing what I do best and that’s getting off the ball and making plays.”

Stefanski wants Garrett to find the perfect balance.

“We have a mindset as a defensive line that we want to get off the ball,” the coach said Monday. “Teams are going to constantly use a snap count, particularly when they are at home. They will always use the snap count against our front, Myles in particular, because they are going to use it as a weapon against him.

“He has to be disciplined in his approach while obviously still maintaining that ability to get off on the snap

I'm going to be the turd-in-the-punch-bowl here...but

The press blows too much smoke up MG's butt...MG talks too damn much about effective play and making mistakes for a guy who regularly runs right by the play or jumps offside - not just in the opener either.

In that very interview he's so focused on himself and how he "looked"...he even poo-poo'd his penchant for jumping offsides and declared HE doesn't care about being hit with the penalty/penalties...cuz he's got to EAT (paraphrasing).

Comparing his MISTAKES with a gunslinging Mayfield is crap. Akin to Baker saying "Yeah man...I tossed a big INT to end the game for us, but that's who I am and I'm gonna keep doing that same thing." People's heads would explode.

For those who think I'm nuts for being all po'd about not playing the D starters in preseason...I give you MG's own quote:

“First game, going to be a little bit tired, it’s a different pace than obviously what you’re going to get in practice..."

And again I'll say...NO...I don't want to trade him. I just want him to actually BE somewhere near the player that his accolades place him...even his own accolades of himself.

I will say that he did a relly good job playing them run against KC. Really better than I have witnessed in the past ..

I actually don't disagree with you that MG gets a little too much love (people have him supplanting Aaron Donald as best defender), or that he talks himself up a little too much. IMO, he didn't get to 'eat' as much as many would've thought with who they lined up against.

But I also don't think anything of his comments have ever jumped to the top of the 'things players shouldn't have said' list.

I just get frustrated with his offsides lol … 1-2 times per game it seems