INGLEWOOD, Calif. — If you end up on the outside looking in, these are the type of games you unfortunately look back on and wonder "What if?" Even if there were more than a few things to like.
For the first time in weeks, the Browns got a spark from their passing game, as veteran Joe Flacco put up a solid effort in his debut with the team. Unfortunately, it was not enough this week, as Cleveland fell to the Los Angeles Rams 36-19.
Flacco finished the afternoon with a pair of touchdowns and 254 passing yards, the second-most by any Browns QB this year. But the 38-year-old also threw a costly fourth-quarter interception, and Cleveland's depleted defense found itself mostly helpless to stymie the LA attack.
It was bad enough that Denzel Ward was inactive again and Myles Garrett was nursing a shoulder injury — those who were 100% looked downright flat and, at times, overwhelmed. The numbers? Try 399 yards allowed, 6.4 yards per play, zero takeaways, zero sacks, and just one tackle for loss. Garrett, who clearly looked limited, was kept off the stat sheet entirely.
Thing is, the game was actually much closer than the final score would indicate, especially when Cleveland opened things up with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Jerome Ford. While Los Angeles would take the lead before the end of the first quarter, the Browns' defense forced a missed field goal and three straight punts before Dustin Hopkins tied it with a 40-yarder late in the first half.
The trouble began just before the break, when a 66-yard Rams drive ended with a Lucas Havrisik field goal to make it 13-10. Cleveland tied things back up out of the break, only for Demarcus Robinson to haul in a 7-yard touchdown to put LA ahead by seven. The Browns answered back with a Flacco TD to Harrison Bryant, but Hopkins' PAT attempt was no good, keeping the score 20-19 midway through the fourth quarter.
After a defensive stop, Flacco made his only real mistake of the game: an underthrown deep ball to Elijah Moore that was intercepted by Rams safety (and former Brown) John Johnson III and taken all the way back inside the Cleveland 25. This time, Jim Schwartz's D wasn't up to the task, as Cooper Kupp hauled in two clutch catches including a scoring grab to make it 27-19.
The Browns would get a chance to tie it up, but went four-and-out after a false start by center Ethan Pocic ruined a potential short-yardage play. Another LA TD and a sack of Flacco in the end zone turned what had been a tight battle into a laugher.
Yardage and points wise, it was the Browns' second-worst defensive showing of the 2023 campaign. Stafford finished with 279 yards and three touchdowns, including a 70-yard strike to Puka Nacua that served as a harbinger of things to come. Nacua had 139 scrimmage yards on just six touches, including that TD.
Though Flacco put forth a good effort, the team's late collapse helped drop his passer rating to a pedestrian 75.4. The running game also managed just 3.8 yards across 23 carries, and overall the team committed seven penalties for 86 yards. In addition, receiver Amari Cooper was knocked out of the game with a concussion.
Now losers of two straight on this west coast trip, the Browns find themselves at 7-5. While that still puts them in the AFC playoff picture, for now, their remaining schedule still includes games against fellow contenders like the Jacksonville Jaguars next week and the Houston Texans on Christmas Eve.
Flacco, who had been elevated from the practice squad this past week, started at QB after rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson was ruled out with a concussion. Following Sunday's game, head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to name a starter for Week 14 against the Jags.