Browns Bytes - Falcons Week 4 Recap
The Cleveland Browns lost to the Atlanta Falcons in disappointing fashion and this time the blame falls on the offense. Going one of three on possessions inside the five yard line gets you beat. Bri and I recap the game, discuss the decision to go for it on 4th-and-3, Jacoby Brissett's play, the defense and the notion that Kevin Stefanski's seat is getting warmer.
Bri and I are both in favor of being aggressive when it comes to fourth down. The offense has been rolling the past two weeks and went down the field in four plays. The Browns were expecting the Falcons to score a bunch of points which is part of the reason they went for it. They failed.
Players love the aggression and the NFL is a league that favors offenses more and more, so getting 7's on the scoreboard is critical. I can appreciate the argument that you want to get points on the board first and it's easy to look at the final score and point at the field goal as the difference.
Brissett did not play well and the mistakes he made that hurt the most were on plays like screens that were open. One on 2nd-and-11 from the 11-yard line and one on the final drive in the game. Both were intended for Kareem Hunt and one was incomplete and the other was a penalty for illegal man down field because Brissett pulled the ball down.
The defense sans Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Taven Bryan surrendered 23 points, seven of which resulted from a David Njoku fumble. They yielded 333 total yards, didn't give up a point in the second or third quarter, forced an interception in plus territory and forced three punts.
The way they got crushed in the running game late is frustrating, but it wasn't a scheme issue. The Falcons ran over 8-man boxes, which enabled them to get a large amount of their yardage and generate 13 points. No one needs to be happy about that, but the defense did enough to win.
We get into a discussion regarding Stefanski and his alleged job security. The Browns are 2-2 in a season where their major acquisition, Deshaun Watson, is suspended for 11 games and there is talk about firing him?
