Thomas hurt, Kizer benched in loss
CLEVELAND — DeShone Kizer was benched again and Cody Kessler almost led the Browns to their first victory over the season. Instead, they lost 12-9 to the Titans in overtime Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Tennessee kicker Ryan Succop kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1:55 left in OT to hand the Browns the loss and drop them to 0-7 for the second straight season.
To make matters worse, left tackle Joe Thomas had his ironman streak snapped after suffering a left triceps injury. Thomas left the game with 5:35 left in the third quarter when he went down in obvious pain. The injury appears to be serious, and it snapped his streak at 10,363 consecutive snaps, believed to be the longest in NFL history. The streak ended in his 11th season.
“He’s a huge part of what we do and a huge part of this organization,” coach Hue Jackson said. “We owe him far more than we’ve given him.”
Kizer, returning to action after being benched last week in favor of Kevin Hogan, was yanked again after throwing back-to-back interceptions at the end of the first half and on his opening drive of the third quarter.
Jackson was asked after the game if pulling Kizer was going to hurt the confidence of the rookie quarterback.
“I can’t worry about confidence,” he said. “This is a performancebased business. If you turn the ball over in the NFL, you can’t play. ... We turn the ball over again, this is a close game. We have a chance to win. I owe it to the other guys. My job is to put us and put people out there to give us a chance to win.
“I’m sure it’s disappointing for him. ... Everyone feels like I’m supposed to leave the guy in there if he keeps turning the ball over. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to develop guys, but also want to win games.”
Kessler, who spent the first six games as the inactive third QB, took the Browns to overtime by putting a pair of field goals on the board to tie it 9-9.
Taking over at his 33 with 4:16 left in regulation, Kessler marched the Browns to the Titans 36, but a short third-down pass to Isaiah Crowell was ruled incomplete upon review.
Facing fourth-and-8, rookie kicker Zane Gonzalez nailed a 54-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to tie it.
The Browns went three-and-out on their first possession of overtime, but the defense came up big again, forcing the Titans to punt from their 44. Cornerback Michael Jordan broke up a pass to Eric Decker to kill the drive.
Kessler took over again with 7:30 left in OT, but the Browns went threeand-out again. With Thomas out and Spencer Drango in his spot, the Browns were unable to block the Titans, especially Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Orakpo.
“Having (Thomas) over there changes the game, how you call the game, and they took advantage of that as we went,” Jackson said.
Marcus Mariota took over again and marched the Titans to the 37, where Succop put the game away.
“We had our chances. I’m sure our players will tell you that,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to make plays when they’re there, and we didn’t. That’s going to be who we are until we change it.”
Jackson said he would take time before deciding on the starting quarterback next week against the Vikings in London.