Browns stumble, humbled, but now is time to respond

Here it is in a nutshell for the Browns and their fans:

The Steelers weren’t anywhere near FirstEnergy Stadium on Sept. 7, and yet they couldn’t avoid all those terrible towels — aka 18 pesky penalty flags that cost the team 182 yards, and set them onto another home opener of embarrassments.

But, hey, remember those 1989 Steelers? The Browns laid waste to Pittsburgh in old Three Rivers Stadium, 51-0, in an opener some fans might give their left arm for today. Then the next week that season, Pittsburgh lost to the Bengals, 41-10.

Guess what (and look it up), the Steelers regrouped, salvaged a 9-7 season and still made the playoffs!

So rejoice Browns fans, there’s still hope somewhere. Not today, but perhaps moving forward.

That’s not exactly what Browns fans want to hear today. But there’s no denying the talent on Cleveland’s roster. That’s also why expectations were through the roof for the 2019 season, and the players bought in. Just about everyone bought in.

So heading into the Sept. 8 home opener, nothing could go wrong, right? Not. A. Single. Thing.

Not with Baker Mayfield playing quarterback.

Not with Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry catching balls.

Not with Nick Chubb running the ball.

Not with a defense full of playmakers.

Then it happened, and it was big-time uh oh. The most important group — the players — couldn’t handle the hype. Couldn’t handle the expectations.

It was Titans 43, Browns 13 — and another case of here we go again. This has to be the biggest case of humble pie smack in the face of everyone associated with the Browns. This was different from all the past disappointments since 1999.

So many of those sadsack teams never had a chance. After the shellacking from the Titans, this collection of Browns players deserve all the criticism, but they can learn from it. The next week will be huge for Coach Freddie Kitchens and Co.

Mayfield will continue to sling it all over the field. But he has to be rattled after this experience. It’s human nature. The key is moving on from the worst nightmare of his young career. Mayfield has to show that immediately his next time out. Stay tuned for that.

Of greater concern are the penalties, to which Kitchens said in his postgame news conference, “We lost our discipline. We lost our composure.” Then shortly after those comments, Kitchens proclaimed he and his players will regroup. There’s no need to panic — even if a fan base is frantically doing so today.

“We’re gonna be fine,” he said. “It’s one game.”

It will surely be a 180-degree turn for the Browns this week going from being playoff contenders to now a team on life support. Months of praise, magazine covers and hype raised expectations to ridiculous levels.

The ultimate test is next a “Monday Night Football” matchup against the host Jets. The football world will be watching.

The Browns better be ready.

TIM PHILLIS — THE NEWS-HERALD Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield tries to avoid the Titans’ defense Sept. 8 at FirstEnergy Stadium.