Kevin Stefanski defends fourth-down decision with Jacoby Brissett

There was a chance for the Browns to grab an early lead during Sunday’s loss in Cincinnati. However, they threw it away, literally, with a fourth-down incompletion into the end zone.

The Browns, with Deshaun Watson making his second start at quarterback, marched to the Bengals 25. There, after Kareem Hunt was dropped for no gain on third-and-1, coach Kevin Stefanski elected to go for it on fourth down.

However, instead of running something with Watson at quarterback, Stefanski sent Jacoby Brissett in for the play. Brissett was successful converting third- or fourth-and-short situations multiple times during his 11 games as the starter, and even for one play in the previous week’s game at Houston.

Brissett, though, didn’t try a quarterback sneak. Instead, he rolled out and tried to throw to the end zone. The pass, intended for Donovan Peoples-Jones, fell harmlessly on the back line of the end zone, well past the receiver.

Stefanski defended the play in the immediate aftermath. On Monday, on a Zoom call with the media, he said Brissett’s threat to sneak was central to the thinking toward making a quarterback change on the play.

“Yeah, I mean that’s the basis of it,” Stefanski said. “There’s things that we can do that he’s been good at in short yardage that we feel like that gives us an advantage. Obviously, frustrated in the result there and always looking at what we can do better, what I can do better, but that is obviously the idea behind it.”