4:06 p.m.-Baker Mayfield: Cleveland Browns 'very close' to fixing issues costing team wins
BEREA, Ohio -- From penalties to turnovers and missed assignments, the Cleveland Browns have been plagued with self-inflicted mistakes that have cost them dearly over the first four games of the 2018 regular season.
However, after losing last Sunday to the Oakland Raiders, 45-42, in overtime by surrendering a 14-point lead during the second half, quarterback Baker Mayfield is confident the team is almost there as it pertains to fixing the mistakes ahead of this week’s AFC North Division game against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“We are very close,” Mayfield said. “It just so happens that some of those little errors cost us the ball on my part. We are very close on it. That is the positive outlook on it. Obviously, disappointing to lose when we can fix a couple of things and come out with a win. It did not turn out that way, so we have to get it fixed.”
Mayfield lost a pair of fumbles and threw two interceptions in his first NFL start.
Mayfield’s first three turnovers, the fumbles and one interception, resulted in touchdowns for the Raiders, while the fourth one brought to an end the fourth quarter and forced overtime, where Oakland kicker Matt connected on a 29-yard field goal with 1:46 to play in the extra session to seal the victory.
“Obviously, the most important thing is taking care of the ball,” Mayfield said. “No matter if it is communication or decision-making, the most important thing is the football and making sure that we give our team the most opportunities to win, chances to score and put ourselves into a good position.”
On the second drive of the game, the Browns faced a second-and-eight from their own 25-yard line, Mayfield fired a short throw to the left side of the field for rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway, but the first-year pass catcher slipped while coming out of his break and the Raiders corralled the turnover.
After catching the deflection off of Callaway’s hands, Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley, a native of Massillon, Ohio, and one-time Ohio State Buckeyes standout, raced down the sideline and leapt his way across the goal line for a touchdown.
Then, late in the game, Mayfield and the Browns faced a first-and-10 from Oakland’s 49-yard line and decided to take a chance deep down the field. However, Mayfield and Callaway were unable to connect on the pass, and Raiders defensive back Reggie Nelson corralled the interception.
“I think that communication is very important with that and just the little details,” Mayfield said. “I keep harping on that, but that is the most important thing. We have to be fundamentally sound because we have all of the talent. We just have to do our job.”
Mayfield’s confidence in the Browns’ ability to overcome their mistakes comes from what he has seen in meetings and on the practice field.
“When you fine tune the details, everybody realizes what we are trying to accomplish, where the ball needs to go,” Mayfield said.
“A receiver, even if he might not be getting the ball, might run his route in a way to get somebody open. It is stuff like that we are trying to get accomplished, and I think we are heading in the right direction.”
3:15 p.m.-Joe Schobert: Cleveland Browns could be 4-0, must clean up mistakes in all three phases to win games
BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns have been in every one of their first four games of the 2018 regular season, but only once have they been on the winning side of the scoreboard.
From penalties and missed kicks on special teams to the failure to pick up late-game first downs or the defense not coming up with a critical stop, the Browns have been plagued by mistakes, and because of that, players insist there is no finger-pointing within the locker room.
“Yeah, you can say that at the end of the game, they had their big punt return that got them in scoring position, but then again, at the end of the game, you could say, ‘If the offense just got one clear first down, the game’s over. If the defense stops the touchdown from happening in two minutes, the game’s over. If the defense stops the two-point conversion from being scored, the game’s over,’” linebacker Joe Schobert said.
“Obviously, we need to be better in all aspects and areas we’re weak at, or areas we’ve been weak at, we need to improve and fix immediately, but it’s not just special teams. It’s the whole team effort and attitude, and there’s been mistakes all over the field that just keep us barely from winning, that we need to just clean up. We could be 4-0 right now, but because of certain things here and there, we’re not, and it’s a whole team game.”
Early in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s 45-42 loss to the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, the Browns’ offense went three-and-out and punted from the Cleveland 25-yard line. Britton Colquitt’s 53-yard punt was returned 49 yards by wide receiver Dwayne Harris, which helped set up a 44-yard field goal from rookie kicker Matt McCrane.
McCrane’s field goal gave the Raiders a 34-28 lead at the time, and the Browns’ final two punts of the game were returned for gains of 12 and 14 yards respectively.
“When you only have one play to make a chance or make an opportunity, it’s definitely magnified,” Schobert said.
“I think, just like every unit on the field, there’s mistakes that are being made, offense, defense, special teams. Special teams, unfortunately, is a one-play thing, so when you do make a mistake, you don’t get a second chance to come back and play it over again.
“You’ve got to just live with it, and that’s why it’s hard. You play in an open field, open space, so when somebody does make a mistake, it can be more glaring than on offense and defense.”
Despite giving up the 49-yard punt return in the loss to the Raiders, Schobert believes the Browns have shown the type of resiliency required to bounce back and pour everything into preparing for Sunday’s AFC North Division game against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“If you let them stack up on you and start going downhill, that’s when it starts going wrong,” Schobert said. “I definitely think this team is starting to turn the corner in that aspect a little bit. Obviously, this last week, we didn’t do that in the fourth quarter and overtime, we kinda let it stack up -- the injuries, the calls, the missed opportunities, all that stuff, so we just gotta keep taking lessons and improving on that, but I definitely feel we’re taking steps in that direction.”
11:25 a.m.-BROWNS GET WORK WEEK UNDERWAY IN BEREA
The Cleveland Browns began their work for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens at team headquarters Wednesday.
After a tough overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum last Sunday, the Browns returned to Cleveland, broke down film of the setback and began their game-planning for the Ravens. Now, they have begun the on-field portion of their preparations to take on quarterback Joe Flacco and the AFC North Division-leading Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium this week.
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