CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns suffered a 23-20 loss to the Bills on Sunday, but that’s just what the scoreboard said.
Here are the real winners and losers from the game:
Winner: Soul searching
Last week, the Browns didn’t show up or look like they wanted to be on the field.
It was embarrassing.
This week, the Browns did some soul searching, and their play led some to believe they should’ve beaten a playoff-caliber Buffalo squad.
It came down to the little things, but the effort was there.
“Love how the team fights, which I’m not surprised. That’s who those guys are,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
Loser: Simplicity
The Bills made it seem simple in terms of limiting Myles Garrett to half a sack and keeping him from impacting the game.
One thing they did was send the ball to the opposite side of where Garrett lined up.
He plays right defensive end. Sure, you may see him switch sides or move inside, but you’ll usually find him on the right side of the defensive line.
Buffalo understood this and stayed away from the left side of the field.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett tries to get around Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins in the first half. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and left guard David Edwards did the dirty work in keeping Garrett contained.
Quarterback Josh Allen operated going right whether in play action or scrambling, while running back James Cook did the same on his carries.
Only five of Allen’s 19 pass attempts went to the left side of the field, per Next Gen Stats.
Winner: Carson Schwesinger
The rookie continues to build his case for why he should win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Schwesinger had a game-high 13 tackles, one tackle for loss and one of Cleveland’s two sacks.
What are we waiting for? Give the No. 33 pick his deserved accolade.
Loser: Overthinking
From their own 44-yard line, the Browns went for it on fourth-and-2 during their second-to-last series of the game.
No problem.
Kevin Stefanski even spoke after the game about fourth-down aggressiveness being a requirement to beat a team as good as Buffalo.
“In these games against really good football teams, you’re going to have to go make plays in those moments,” Stefanski said.
The problem is the call.
With 2 yards needed, Shedeur Sanders was in the shotgun before being sacked by Greg Rousseau for a loss of 13 yards.
Sanders should’ve gotten rid of the ball quicker. It’s something we touched on earlier and it still stands.
However, this isn’t a case of the old man yelling at the clouds. This is about overthinking the game.
Cleveland Browns running back Raheim Sanders dives for extra yardage against the Buffalo Bills in the second half. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Obviously, the Browns weren’t the same after losing Quinshon Judkins to injury.
But backup running back Raheim Sanders gained a first down four times in short-yardage situations on Sunday. Defensive lineman Adin Huntington even returned from injury Sunday and was the nucleus of these short-yardage successes. Zak Zinter also helped in the area of blocking.
Was a run not there in plain sight?
“We didn’t execute or it wasn’t a good play call. We didn’t make a play in that moment,” Stefanski said.
Loser: Relying on the reliable
Did you really think we’d get through a Winners and Losers without pointing out another blunder from the special teams?
The final play of the first half was supposed to be a 48-yard field goal for Andre Szmyt.
Everyone lined up set for the kick, and the snap was made.
However, the kick never happened.
Punter Corey Bojorquez received the snap and was supposed to hold for Szmyt’s kick. Instead, he bobbled the ball and Szmyt couldn’t kick it. Bojorquez had to pick the ball up and throw it away to try to stop the clock, but time ran out.
A botched field goal attempt by Cleveland Browns place kicker Andre Szmyt as holder Corey Bojorquez cannot get the football in position for the kick in the first half. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
This blunder of a play came back to bite Cleveland in the end.
That was a clear-cut opportunity to close in on Buffalo’s 20-10 lead going into the half.
In the end, the Browns lost by three points.
Szmyt entered Sunday having made three of his four field goal attempts that ranged 40-49 yards. On Sunday, he made both of his attempts within that range, including a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter.
But the bigger problem is the kick never even happened.
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