Browns’ winning streak ends with loss to Joe Burrow, Bengals
CINCINNATI — The Browns couldn’t keep the streaks alive.
They couldn’t extend the modest two-game winning streak they had entering the weekend. They couldn’t bolster the five-game winning streak they had in their series with the Cincinnati Bengals or build on their 4-0 record against quarterback Joe Burrow, either.
Those streaks ended in a 23-10 loss on Sunday, which likely ended any legitimate hopes the Browns had to reach the playoffs. They fell to 5-8 this season while Cincinnati won its fifth in a row to remain tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North at 9-4.
The Browns will host the Ravens at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Browns vs. Bengals replay:Deshaun Watson improves, but Cleveland stumbles as its playoff hopes are dashed
If there was a silver lining on the field for the Browns, it came in Deshaun Watson’s second start of the season. The Browns quarterback settled in as the game went along to complete 26-of-42 passes for 276 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
That was a vast improvement over his Cleveland debut last week in Houston, when he was 12-of-22 for 131 yards with an interception.
Jacoby Brissett makes cameo appearance in ill-timed play call
In Watson’s first possession of his second start, he came out with a nice 18-yard pass to Amari Cooper and a 13-yard strike to David Bell. He later hit David Njoku for a 3-yard reception and kept another read option for 6 yards.
That all led to the Browns facing a fourth-and-1 from the Cincinnati 26-yard line. So what did coach Kevin Stefanski do? He actually called on Jacoby Brissett to come in for Watson.
Only, Stefanski didn’t call a quarterback sneak for Brissett. Instead, he had him throw a corner route to Donovan Peoples-Jones, which sailed too long and gave the Bengals the ball back.
Browns penalties provide pathway to Bengals to break scoreless tie
The Bengals took a 7-0 lead when Burrow threw a 15-yard laser to Ja’Marr Chase with 9:43 remaining in the first half. It closed out a drive, however, which could have ended much earlier if not for a lot of help from the Browns.
There were three huge penalties on the Cleveland defense that allowed Cincinnati to move down the field. The biggest of those came on fourth down from the Bengals 17, when Tony Fields II dropped Cincinnati’s Drue Chrisman for a roughing the punter penalty and a fresh set of downs.
The Browns had two other penalties on back-to-back plays that also had a major impact. Isaiah Thomas was flagged for illegal hands to the face, negating a Jadeveon Clowney sack of Burrow.