MIAMI — The Browns just played their first game of complementary football on Halloween night against the Bengals and won when it mattered most. Then, they had a week off. When they came back, that momentum was lost as they fell to the Dolphins, 39-17.
Playing in the uncomfortable South Florida heat, the Browns went cold after the opening drive. It was a promising start that began with a 48-yard kick return from rookie running back Jerome Ford, who made his return from injured reserve Sunday, followed by a perfectly scripted offensive drive that led to an early touchdown and saw quarterback Jacoby Brissett shine in the air with a connection to Donovan Peoples-Jones.
After that, things took a turn. The Browns defense, which struggled through much of the first half of the season, seemed to flip a switch their last two games, playing lights out under the bright lights in their matchup with the Bengals. The momentum failed to carryover through the bye, however.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods noted that Dolphins receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were clear threats with Tua Tagovailoa under center, but did make sure to note that the run game was something they'd need to focus on just as heavily.
"I think everybody knows or looks at Miami and thinks about the receivers," Woods said earlier in the week. "They do have the ability to have home runs when they hand the ball off so you just can’t go in and just focus on stopping the pass game. You have to be sound in the run game, as well.”
But unfortunately, actions speak louder than words and the actions of the Browns on Sunday were quite the opposite of being sound in the run game. The defense was gashed by the Dolphins on the ground all day, giving up 195 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to a team that hasn't run the ball much all year.
The defensive tackles once again drew eyes as an area of weakness for the Browns and the linebacking corps struggled as well, save for moments from Sione Takitaki. Issues with tackling reared up again Sunday—a fundamental Woods seemed to have sorted out within his defense and wanted to emphasize again.
“You have to tackle well against these guys. As I mentioned earlier, they have multiple guys whether it is the receivers, backs or tight ends they get the ball to them and they can make guys miss and turn it into a big gain. I think we have improved over the last couple of weeks tackling, but that is going to be very critical to us having success,” Woods said.
While the secondary did a commendable job in coverage in parts of the game, the tackling near the line of scrimmage was non-existent at times. The Browns pass rush, which is the strength of the defensive line, failed to make much of an impact on Tagovailoa, who had clean pockets and little pressure throughout the game. The Browns didn't sack the Dolphins passer once.
On the other side of the ball, the Browns offensive line was just as problematic, allowing Brissett to be sacked three times and failing to open gaps for the run game. Nick Chubb, who is rarely contained, rushed for just 63 yards and a touchdown. Kareem Hunt had just nine yards on six carries.
Right guard Wyatt Teller, who returned from a calf strain sustained in Week 6, wasn't able to make it for long, leaving the field in the first half and remaining on the sidelines for the remainder of the game. Hjalte Froholdt took over in his place, but overall production on the line was just not there.
Still, it was really the defense that truly needed to have a solid follow up performance and they could not deliver. Brissett and his receivers were owed that after producing well over the expectations that were placed on them by many to start the season, they simply were not awarded that from the defense in Miami.
Sunday's game was one that could have been a true building block for a successful run in the second half of their season. The team has talked about wanting to be in a good position for when quarterback Deshaun Watson returns from his suspension, and wanting to shape into the team they've believed they can be.
But instead of taking the momentum from their Bengals win through the bye, they dropped the ball. The excitement of winning that game was deserved in the moment, because it broke a four-game losing streak. But it didn't define the rest of their season—it just saved it.
Sunday, in a brutal loss in Miami to secure a 3-6 record, the safety of the season was thrown away—and with the schedule ahead of them—perhaps lost entirely.
"We have to win the next two games. First we have to win the Bills and then we'll get on to the next one, but if we're looking to the future we'll have to win both of them," said defensive end Myles Garrett.
Camryn Justice is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
