Hue Jackson’s vow to dive into Browns’ offense smells like panic
—Hue Jackson sounds like TAMPA a coach who’s feeling immense pressure to win now or watch his time with the Browns expire sooner than later.
He survived a dreadful record of 1-31 the past two seasons and received a mulligan from ownership, but everyone knows the dynamic has changed with General Manager John Dorsey aboard and able to make recommendations to Dee and Jimmy Haslam as he sees fit.
After Chandler Catanzaro’s 59-yard field goal with 1:50 left in overtime gave the Browns a heartbreaking 26-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jackson’s vow to dive into the offense because of his disappointment with the way it’s operating under coordinator and play-caller Todd Haley reeked of panic.
“He’s the play caller,” Jackson said of Haley. “Trust me when I say I’m not trying to create any issue here. But I think if the offense is not playing well, and we haven’t over a period of time, being a head coach and an offensive guy who’s done this, I think I have every right as a head coach to jump in and see if I can help and
assist and get this thing to where I think it needs to be because we need to be better on offense. And if that’s my specialty, then I need to be involved more, and I will be.”
Jackson ineffectively juggled the roles of head coach and play caller the past two seasons. That’s why he hired Haley in January after the Pittsburgh Steelers declined to renew his contract.
The offense has struggled mightily the past three games, so Jackson has a valid point. At the same time, he’s entering delicate territory with the strong-willed Haley, and the last thing the Browns need right now is a blowup between the two.
“It’s not going to be about butting heads,” Jackson said. “I’m the head coach of the football team. I will do what I feel I need to do to get this team where it needs to be.”
Jackson might not hold that “HC” title for long. Losses at Pittsburgh and at home against the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons would give the Browns (2-4-1) a five-game losing streak entering their Week 11 bye, a prime time for changes.
The furnace under Jackson’s seat appears to be ramping up to full blast, if it’s not already there. The Browns still haven’t won an away game since he was hired in 2016, dropping their 24th consecutive on the road. The Detroit Lions hold the record for the longest road drought at 26 games from 2007-10.
The Browns also fell to 1-2-1 in overtime games this year. Their four OT appearances this season ties a franchise record set in 1989. The NFL record for OT appearances by one team in a season is five, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
Under Jackson, the Browns are now 2-10-1 in games decided by three points or fewer.
The end of the first half against the Bucs (3-3) is an example of Jackson feeling the heat — and not just temperatures in the low 80s at Raymond James Stadium.
Trailing 16-2, the Browns faced fourth-and-2 at the Bucs 11 with 26 seconds left in the second quarter, not long after nickel cornerback TJ Carrie forced a fumble and linebacker Christian Kirksey recovered the ball at the Bucs 17. Instead of settling for a 29-yard field goal and a 16-5 halftime deficit, Jackson decided to go for it.
“I needed to jumpstart our offense,” Jackson said. “Could’ve kicked a field goal, no question, but I thought our offense needed something to feel good about in the first half.”
What the Browns really needed was points.
Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield wound up scrambling for what would have been a first down until linebacker Lavonte David forced a fumble that went out of bounds behind the first-down marker with 18 seconds left in the second quarter. Instead of chipping away at the Bucs’ lead, the Browns were in a 14-point hole at halftime.
“Those points matter down there, and in the first half, you’ve got to take the easy way out,” said Mayfield, adding David wouldn’t have been able to knock the ball out if he had carried the ball with his opposite arm. “Any points are good points at that point in the game. I’ve got to take care of the ball.”
Mayfield went 23-of-34 passing for 215 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for a rating of 104.4. His touchdown passes of 15 yards to tight end David Njoku with 13:01 left in the third quarter and 16 yards to wide receiver Jarvis Landry with 2:28 left in the fourth quarter sandwiched rookie running back Nick Chubb’s 1-yard rushing touchdown with 12:17 left in regulation and helped force overtime.
But missed opportunities and miscues, including 14 penalties for 114 yards, haunted the Browns and left Jackson lamenting the offense’s performance against what had been the 31st-ranked defense in the NFL. A safety accounted for the only first-quarter scoring by the Browns, who have produced just eight points in the opening quarter through seven games.
The Browns scored off just one of the defense’s four takeaways. They went three-and-out during both of their possessions in OT, even after linebacker Jamie Collins intercepted a pass from quarterback Jameis Winston to give them the ball at the Bucs 45 with 6:15 left.
The Bucs then went threeand-out, too, but recovered a fumble by Jabrill Peppers, the Browns’ lone turnover, on a punt return at the Browns 48 and set up Catanzaro’s 59-yard field goal. He had missed a 40-yard try with no time left in regulation.
“I said, ‘There’s no way he’ll make that,’ ” Jackson admitted. “And he did, so they won.”
‘I’m the head coach of the football team. I will do what I feel I need to do to get this team where it needs to be.’
Hue Jackson Browns head coach