CLEVELAND, Ohio – At least it was close.
I’m down to that when writing about the Browns.
It could have been …
Browns fans know the feeling.
It could have been a tie game, if only the Browns hadn’t messed up a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half.
One of the Browns’ most reliable players this season is kicker Andre Szmyt. I have a lot of confidence in the rookie from Syracuse, who survived a rocky opening day to put together a solid season.
If only Szmyt had at least had a chance to kick the ball.
Instead, the snap was low and the kick never happened. At the time, the Browns were down 20-10.
There seemed little reason to think the Browns would turn this into a game in the second half.
But they did.
If only the Browns could have stopped the run … but they didn’t.
If only the Browns offense could have found a way to make a clutch play in the fourth quarter … but they didn’t.
If only …
Shedeur Sanders had an up-and-down rookie day.John Kuntz, cleveland.comDecember football
Time for yet another “if only” …
If only the Browns were having just a so-so season.
Heading into Sunday, the Steelers are in first place in the AFC-North with an 8-6 record. Baltimore was in second place at 7-7.
Then there’s the Browns … the now 3-12 Browns.
Two games left. If the Browns lose them both, they will finish 3-14 – just like last year.
Sigh.
I keep thinking about how Browns fans love this team. I keep thinking about how the Browns have given them so little to love.
I keep thinking …
That could be my problem.
I keep thinking the Browns could at least win this game and reward their fans. For the record, it appeared half the folks in the stands were wearing Buffalo blue.
That said, anyone showing up on these chilly December Sundays to cheer for the Browns deserves something besides watching a different way to lose a game.
Another tough day for Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.comThe eternal QB search
The storyline of any Browns game this season …
Or last season …
Or nearly any season since the team returned in 1999 … is the eternal search for the quarterback.
It’s now Shedeur Sanders’ turn, and he had some nice moments. That was especially true on the first drive when the Browns drove 69 yards in 14 plays. Sanders delivered a superb on-time pass to fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr. for a 14-yard TD.
That was one of the most efficient drives of the season for the Browns,
Sanders completed his first eight passes of the game. His ninth was a throw slightly behind rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. The ball bounced off the hands of Judkins into the air and was intercepted by former Brown Jordan Poyer.
Sanders finished the day 20 for 29 passing for 157 yards. He had another interception, this one on a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage.
Sanders ran the ball four times for 49 yards – something he hasn’t done in his previous five starts.
But he also took a couple of awful sacks in key parts of the game.
For Sanders it was … a rookie quarterback playing for a bad team against a strong opponent. The longer the game lasted, the harder it was for him.
Some fans want Sanders to be “The Guy.” They want immediate opinions … Shedeur Sanders, thumbs up, thumbs down.
The answer on Sanders … the rational answer … is we don’t know.
He is a very interesting fifth-round prospect who is tough-minded with above-average arm strength. There is something there, something at least to watch in this rather discouraging season.