Browns kicker Cade York working through recent issues

BEREA — Cade York’s most recent miss was among the worst kicks of his still-young career.

The 39-yard field goal York missed during last Sunday’s overtime win over Tampa Bay went badly left. Why that happened is something Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer has been trying to get to the bottom of since it occurred.

“Anytime you hit a ball like that, you are constantly adjusting,” Priefer said Thursday. “It may not be the plant foot. It may be his follow through or what we call his chin discipline and make sure that his eyes stay down. There are a number of factors that could come into that. He just did not hit the ball well on that one.”

That is in contrast to the kick York made earlier in the game. Kicking in the opposite direction, toward the west end zone, he nailed a 51-yard field goal to provide the Browns with a 10-7 lead.

Even after the missed field goal, York had one more huge kick to make. After David Njoku’s one-handed touchdown catch with 32 seconds remaining in regulation, the rookie needed to hit the point-after try in order to send the game into overtime.

York was able to do so, extending his streak of made PATs to 18 in a row. However, his field goal percentage sits at 73.9% after his sixth miss in 23 tries this season.

“I was extremely proud of the way he reacted,” Priefer said. “That is hard for a young kicker. It is hard for any kicker, especially a young kicker, after missing a field goal he knows he should have made. We went into overtime because of that kick, and ended up winning the game. He kicked off well. He hit three kicks well. He has to obviously eliminate those mistakes going forward, especially a 39-yarder, but he knows that and he is continually working on that.”