Horrendous start Browns’ reality check
But signs of life in second half cause for some optimism.
Reality slapped HOUSTON — the Browns in the face Sunday when they fell 29-13 to the Houston Texans and had their playoff hopes buried at NRG Stadium.
Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield needs more experience and better weapons to conquer one of the NFL’s toughest defenses, and interim coach Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens aren’t a magical tandem that will miraculously dissuade the Browns from hiring General Manager John Dorsey’s handpicked candidate as the franchise’s next full-time head coach.
By the way, the Green Bay Packers fired Mike McCarthy on Sunday night after they lost 20-17 to the Arizona Cardinals. Dorsey was involved in the coaching search that resulted in the Packers hiring McCarthy in 2006, and they worked together for seven years. So McCarthy is certainly a name to watch in the Browns’ quest.
Williams and Kitchens strengthened their case with consecutive wins over the Atlanta Falcons (4-8) and Cincinnati Bengals (5-7), but the Browns (4-7-1) came crashing down to Earth against the habanero-hot Texans (9-3). The Browns are 2-2 since Williams and Kitchens were promoted Oct. 29, when coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were fired.
Mayfield had a disappointing outing in his home state, finishing with three interceptions, and the defense found few answers for his counterpart, Deshaun Watson, who went 22-of-31 passing for 224 yards and a touchdown, posted a QB rating of 102.1, rushed seven times for 30 yards (4.3 average) and took four sacks.
It was the first time Mayfield threw three interceptions in a game since Sept. 12, 2013, when he led Texas Tech to a 20-10 win over TCU.
“If I take care of the ball, this game is very close,” said Mayfield, who finished 29-of-43 passing for a Browns rookie single-game record 397 yards and one touchdown with three picks for a rating of 75.4 and took no sacks for the third game in a row.
With the Browns behind 10-0, Mayfield threw an interception on three consecutive possessions in the second quarter as the Texans built a 23-0 halftime lead and cruised to their ninth win in a row.
The Browns got their first defensive stop early in the second quarter, but Mayfield followed it by throwing a picksix on a pass intended for rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway. Linebacker Zach Cunningham returned the interception 38 yards for a touchdown as the Texans went ahead 17-0 with 7:26 left in the first half.
“[Cunningham] made a great play, but we’ve got to have the right depth on our routes,” Mayfield said, “and I’ve got to have the ball out earlier so he doesn’t have a chance to make that play.”
The Texans added field goals of 42 and 48 yards after Mayfield’s next two interceptions.
Cornerback Johnathan Joseph picked off another Mayfield pass intended for Callaway and returned 18 yards to the Texans 49 with 6:37 left in the second quarter. Seven plays later, Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 42-yard kick gave the Texans a 20-0 cushion with 3:19 left in the second quarter.
Mayfield pointed out again he wasn’t the only one at fault.
“We’ve got to be able to attack the ball, [I need to get the] ball out earlier on deep post curl,” Mayfield said. “Got to fight through it and make a play. Yeah, it’s going to be a competitive catch, but we’ve got to be able to do that.”
Safety Andre Hal intercepted Mayfield’s deep pass intended for tight end David Njoku in the back of the end zone with 1:44 left in the second quarter. Ten plays later, Fairbairn’s 48-yard kick extended the Texans’ lead to 23-0 with a second left in the first half.
Mayfield admitted he had been pressing by then.
“It’s just a dumb throw,” Mayfield said. “David should have had the ball there earlier. It was two-man [coverage]. He had to win down the middle, and he did early. Stepped up in the pocket, and that’s where the ball should have gone, but that’s what happens when you force something late.”
Mayfield went 5-of-13 passing for 46 yards with three interceptions for a rating of 9.3 in the first half. But he bounced back in the second half by completing 24-of-30 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown for a rating of 126.5.
“He probably wasn’t feeling too dangerous in the first half, but he was feeling a little more dangerous in the second half,” Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said.
Instead of making adjustments to the offense, the Browns simply started to execute, Mayfield said. He led two scoring drives — rookie running back Nick Chubb rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 9:39 left in the third quarter and wide receiver Rashard Higgins caught a 17-yard TD pass with 2:58 left in the fourth quarter — and two would-be TD passes to Callaway went for naught in the third quarter because of a holding penalty and a fumble.
“He’s resilient. He’s a fighter. He’s a heck of a leader,” left guard Joel Bitonio said of Mayfield. “I know he wants some of those throws back for sure . ... But to come back and produce like that in the second half is pretty impressive stuff.”
Mayfield entered the game on a roll after thriving against some of the worst defenses in the NFL: the Kansas City Chiefs (ranked 30th out of 32 teams entering this weekend with 414.7 yards allowed per game), Atlanta Falcons (28th, 396.7) and Cincinnati Bengals (32nd, 439.6).
The Texans were ranked eighth (333.6), and the next step for Mayfield will be to put a complete game together against a top-10 defense.