CLEVELAND — If the Cleveland Browns are going to make something of this long-awaited season — and that’s still an “if” — then what happened Sunday won’t matter all that much. Sure, the Browns seemed woefully unprepared against a quality Baltimore Ravens team with first place in the division at stake, but it was just one game.
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It was one they never were going to win with overmatched rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson as their starting quarterback.
No one wants to hear excuses, and outside of Deshaun Watson watching from the sideline due to a shoulder injury, there are none for Sunday’s 28-3 debacle. Not having your quarterback is a pretty big item in the excuse warehouse, though, and it became apparent early that the Browns were in over their heads. When it was 14-3 with four-plus minutes left in the first half, the game was obviously over.
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Lamar Jackson accounts for 4 TDs in Baltimore's win at Cleveland
The Ravens were a step ahead. They survived a series of haymakers from the Browns’ defense early, then started landing their own punches. Lamar Jackson is a magician, and he was able to extend plays and find creases in Cleveland’s overaggressive defense. Though the Ravens’ first score was gifted by a Browns turnover, the second came on a 93-yard, muscle-flexing drive. A week earlier, the Browns allowed 94 yards for the entire game.
That @Lj_Era8 to @Mandrews_81 magic!!
Tune in on CBS / @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/v9R4681sYZ
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 1, 2023
Thompson-Robinson threw three interceptions. It easily could have been six. Jackson and the Ravens used misdirection to attack the Browns where previous opposing quarterbacks couldn’t place the ball, and in the scoring zone, they used Mark Andrews to do what he always does. Part of the reality check for what’s still a good Browns defense is that the other guys actually make plays, too — and they make more when shoddy tackling is involved.
For the Browns, it’s just one loss. One giant crap sandwich served to the home crowd, but only one. They’re off next week to heal — Watson most importantly — and then host the San Francisco 49ers. Between then and late November, Cleveland’s schedule is full of teams considerably less intimidating than Baltimore and San Francisco. If the Browns are going to be good enough to keep up with the best and ultimately be different than so many prior versions, they still have 13 games and lots of chances to prove Sunday was an outlier.
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Four games make for at least a mostly fair evaluation point, and the Browns have done some good things. The defense has mostly swarmed. The kicker and punter are playing well. The offense was uneven but occasionally explosive in two games before Watson’s best outing in Week 3. What makes Watson’s absence versus the Ravens even more disappointing is the Browns’ offense not only had a chance to build on the previous week, but it needed to. Not much has come easy or been consistently successful, and finally, it looked like Cleveland had some momentum and some scheme tweaks on which it could build. Watson finally looked like he believed in himself and the operation he’s conducting.
All of that is stuff you knew. Before Sunday, a lot of what you’d seen was encouraging. Now, after the Browns threw it back to 2017 in large part because Watson couldn’t go, we’ve traveled the first four games and arrived back at what generally would have been considered a safe conclusion in January, May or July.
The Browns are going as far as Watson takes them. The defense is nasty but mortal. The overall talent level is good enough for Cleveland to be able to picture itself winning big games and being in the division mix. If it all comes together — and here comes that awkward “if” again — the Browns can see themselves hosting December games that feel over when they go up two scores.
It’s supposed to be different this year, the one for which the Browns have long waited (and committed piles of guaranteed money). For it to be anything but the same old disappointment, excuse-making and inevitable change, it has to be Watson coming back and eventually being the savior the Browns paid him to be. That doesn’t mean Watson hitting every throw or lighting up the scoreboard every week, but especially in the wake of the loss of all-world running back Nick Chubb, the Browns need their quarterback to be healthy, resilient and firing. They can’t be trotting a rookie out there to fail, and they can’t for much longer guess which version of Watson they’re going to get.
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Assuming Watson gets the week off to further heal, we’re 10 or so days from the most important practice sessions the Browns have had in, well, a long time. For Sunday’s mess to be forgotten or truly excused, coach Kevin Stefanski has to be much better as a play caller. Watson has to be available, efficient and in sync with Stefanski and his pass catchers. He needs to keep feeding Amari Cooper while eventually developing more trust in other options. The Browns have to know — from meeting room to huddle to pre-snap communication — where they want to go in certain looks, and how Watson wants to get them there.
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There’s not a lot else to say about the embarrassing loss to the Ravens. Jackson played like an elite, franchise-level quarterback. Andrews played like an elite, worth-every-penny tight end. The Ravens had a bunch of injuries and managed to adjust their thinking and their execution. The Browns simply got steamrolled.
GO UP AND GET IT @Mandrews_81!!!
TUNE IN ON CBS / @ParamountPlus. pic.twitter.com/hXOc4r9a32
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 1, 2023
We heard Stefanski say after the game that Watson was close to playing and that there’s “nothing structural” with the shoulder injury.
“Deshaun did not feel comfortable (enough) to be the player we need him to be,” Stefanski said. “He’s very disappointed. He wanted to go badly, but he just did not feel that he could go.”
We’ll count Sunday as the one pass for Watson — and for Stefanski. The waiting and the want have to turn into results, and the Browns have to see from Watson what they couldn’t stop from the visiting quarterback on Sunday.
(Photo: Ken Blaze / USA Today)
