Cleveland Browns draw backbreaking penalties in loss to Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Browns may have been their own worst enemy on Sunday.

That’s not to say the Cincinnati Bengals weren’t the primary reason the Browns returned to Cleveland on the wrong end of a 23-10 loss. However, their own fingerprints were all over the loss thanks to myriad penalties — nine for 98 yards, to be exact — which they drew throughout the game.

“I mean, obviously with the penalties, you don’t even want to give the refs the opportunity to call them,” Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper said. “That’s why we, every day in practice, we practice our fundamentals and things like that so that we can go and we can play clean. Obviously, some calls, all calls are very subjective, but like I said before, you don’t even want to look like you’re holding. For me, you don’t even wanna look like as a receiver that you’re pushing off. You know what I mean? So that’s why you practice. You practice to get good at playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”