Browns-Ravens Final Score: Cleveland plays poorly as expected in 28-7 prime time loss

The Cleveland Browns began the game as you would expect an 0-9 team to highlight themselves in prime time:

• Before the Ravens’ first offensive play, Cleveland had to call a timeout because they had 12 men on the field.
• After forcing a punt, RB Duke Johnson and CB Joe Haden both tried to field the punt at the same time. Cringeworthy.

All things considered, things got better in the first half. CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun intercepted the first scoring threat by the Ravens. After a Baltimore field goal made it 3-0, QB Cody Kessler led a scoring drive, finishing with a 25-yard touchdown pass to TE Seth DeValve to give them a 7-3 lead.

The Ravens added a field goal, making it 7-6 at the half. Cleveland went three-and-out to begin the third quarter, and then Baltimore drove down the field for their first touchdown drive of the game. It ended with a 4-yard pass from QB Joe Flacco to TE Darren Weller to give them a 13-7 lead.

Cleveland then made a coaches decision to bench Kessler, presumably for a lack of aggressiveness, and inserted veteran QB Josh McCown into the game. He was picked on third down after OLB Terrell Suggs hit his arm from behind. With a short field, Flacco was then picked in the end zone by CB Joe Haden.

McCown’s next drive was another three-and-out...and then Baltimore responded with another relatively easy touchdown scoring drive, this time with Flacco hitting WR Steve Smith from 11 yards out. The two-point conversion pass to FB Kyle Juszczyk was good, giving them a 21-7 lead.

McCown was picked again as he just chucked one up in the end zone. Then, the Ravens bled a lot of clock -- nearly half the fourth quarter — and capped the drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass from QB Joe Flacco to WR Breshad Perriman to make it a 28-7 game.

I’d like to apologize to the rest of the fans in the NFL for having to be subjected to the same football Cleveland fans have had to watch all season.

This was a typical Browns game this season, with the extra caveat that I feel head coach Hue Jackson made an awful decision to pull Kessler for McCown. It might not have changed the outcome of the game, but Kessler wasn’t playing that bad to warrant being pulled.

Quick Hitters

• QB Cody Kessler: 11-of-18 for 91 yards, 1 TD.
• QB Josh McCown: 6-of-13 for 59 yards, 2 INTs, 1 fumble.
• WR Terrelle Pryor: 5 catches, 48 yards.
• WR Corey Coleman: 3 catches, 17 yards. He had the first two catches of the game, then was largely ignored the rest of the way.
• OLB Jamie Collins: 9 tackles, 1 sack.
• The Browns were out-gained 396 yards to 144 yards.
• Cleveland was just 2-of-10 on third down.