Browns show heart in defeat to Dolphins

The Browns showed on Sept. 25 they’re not tanking, Jeff Schudel writes. After trailing in the second half, they rallied and put themselves in position to win the game.

The Browns’ 3024 overtime loss to the Dolphins on Sept. 25 goes deeper than this, but I am amazed how few good kickers there are in a country of 319 million people.

Cody Parkey, signed on Sept. 24 because Patrick Murray suffered a knee injury the day before, missed from 41 yards wide left, hit the left upright from 42 yards and then missed a chance to win the game from 46 yards on the final play of regulation.

Anyone old enough to remember the replacement players from the 1987 strike knows how awful those kickers and punters were for the three weeks they had to play.

Beyond that, the Browns grew while falling to 0-3 on the season. Anyone who still believes the Browns are tanking the season so they can get the first draft pick doesn’t know what makes Coach Hue Jackson and his players tick.

The Browns fell behind by 11 points, 24-13, in the third quarter and fought back to force overtime. That alone was a sign of growth.

The Browns folded in the opener after Cameron Erving snapped the ball over Robert Griffin III’s head, and they folded against Baltimore on Sept. 18 when the Ravens blocked a PAT attempt and turned it into two points to cut into a 20-0 Browns’ lead. They did not fold when faced with similar adversity in Miami.

A 13-10 halftime lead turned into a 24-13 deficit because the Browns couldn’t get close to Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Instead of wilting in the Miami heat, the Browns fought back.

Jackson said he would not put the whole game on rookie quarterback Cody Kessler, and he was true to his word. Jackson mixed in Terrelle Pryor at quarterback to keep the Dolphins off balance, and it worked.

Jackson handled Kessler well, but he made some questionable decisions.

Knowing Parkey was having a bad day, Jackson with 20 seconds left in regulation and the score 24-24 chose to have Kessler fall on the ball on first-and-10 on the Miami 27 and call the Browns’ final timeout with four seconds to play.

Jackson should have called a running play to maybe get Parkey five yards closer. A pass would have risked Kessler being sacked and backed up out of field-goal range, but the Browns would have had plenty of time to call a timeout after a running play.

I also disagreed with the decision to kick after winning the overtime coin toss.

With the ball now starting at the 25 after a touchback, the Dolphins needed only one first down to pin the Browns inside their 10, which is exactly what happened. The Dolphins punted to the Browns’ 9, and the Browns moved to their 27.

The Dolphins, predictably, turned up the heat on Kessler and right tackle Austin Pasztor, predictably, was flagged for holding. It was his third holding penalty of the day and followed a Miami sack. He could not block Cameron Wake and Kessler took the brunt of it.

The Browns had to punt. Jarvis Landry returned the ball 13 yards to the Browns’ 44. With the field tilted in Miami’s favor, the Dolphins won the game three plays later.

Still, the Browns have something to build on. Kessler showed poise after being nervous early. The Browns rushed for 169 yards on 32 carries — a 5.3 average — and they picked off two passes by Ryan Tannehill.

Most of all, they showed heart when that was lacking in the first two games.

“There are no feel-good stories — ‘Aw, you guys fought a good fight,’” Jackson told reporters in Miami. “I’m not into that. I’m into winning and losing and right now, we’re losing.

“We have to coach harder and we have to play harder and play better. That was our message to our team. There are no moral victories in pro football.”

Jackson has the right attitude and he is the right coach to lead this team.

Jeff Schudel