Kevin Stefanski responds to several special teams errors during Browns meltdown

The Cleveland Browns are 3-8, and their special teams have been a big reason as to why they have struggled all season.

Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone was a vaunted hire two seasons ago when he accepted an associate head coach tag to take Cleveland’s special teams over from Mike Priefer.

Ventrone had previously played for the Browns. His special teams unit looks just as bad as the teams he played on.

After the game, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about so many issues on special teams this late in the season.

“We just need to make sure we keep coaching our guys,” Stefanski said. “We had some young guys make some young mistakes today.”

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Gage Larvadain fumbled two punts in the loss. While it was a windy afternoon inside Huntington Bank Field, Larvadain could have been benched after he luckily recovered his first muffed punt. Unfortunately, his second gaffe came in the second half and set the San Francisco 49ers up with ideal field position for an easy touchdown.

Unfortunately, that’s not where the mistakes started or ended for the Browns on special teams.

The 49ers opened the game with a massive 66-yard punt return that would have gone for a touchdown if it wasn’t for Browns punter Corey Bojorquez catching up with him. That return allowed Christian McCaffrey to score a touchdown, giving San Francisco the first lead of the game.

Malachi Corley made a fatal error, toe-tapping out of bounds on a kickoff in the third quarter.

"I'm responsible for all of it. I'm involved in all of this,” Stefanski said. “We'll get it coached up."

Unfortunately, the sixth-year head coach has been repeating that line far too long. Cleveland has been outmatched offensively and on special teams in nearly every game that they play. With five meaningless regular season games remaining, it’s hard to believe that Stefanski and his staff will get these mistakes coached up. They’ve been happening all year.

Bubba Ventrone, you outdo yourself every week. #DawgPound

"He fumbled the first one and he fell on it, and then they put him out there and he did it again! At that point, I blame the coach."

- @NickPedone12

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— BIGPLAY (@BIGPLAY) November 30, 2025

To Stefanski’s point, Larvadain and Corley are both young players. One is an undrafted rookie and the other is a low-risk flier on a one-year deal. However, the Browns consistently give playing time to players who repeat the same mistakes.

With five regular season games remaining, Cleveland’s offense and special teams will remain under a magnifying glass as the team tries to surpass last season’s win total against the Tennessee Titans in Week 12.