Browns coach Jackson miffed by calls in OT loss to Raiders
Browns coach Hue Jackson
knew if he complained about Sunday's officiating he could be fined. The NFL is always watching and listening.
He may soon be writing a check to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Still smarting after Cleveland's road losing streak reached 22 consecutive games with an overtime loss at Oakland, Jackson was asked Monday if he was satisfied the officials had correctly spotted the ball in the closing minutes on a critical measurement that was overturned by a replay review.
"There are a lot of things that I am not satisfied about," he said.
Jackson then clicked off a few.
"The kicking of the football down the field right next to the official, the sackfumble on a quarterback
... Do you guys want me to keep going?" he asked reporters. "The spot. It goes on and on and on. We have to do a better job of being in control of it, not the officials being in control of it."
Although Jackson didn't solely lay the 45-42 loss to the Raiders on the refs, there's no denying that some questionable calls that went against the Browns (1-2-1) led to another heartbreaking loss.
The Browns appeared to pick up a game-ending first down — and were poised to win rookie quarterback and former Oklahoma star Baker Mayfield's first start — with 1:38 left in regulation as running back Carlos Hyde gained 2 yards on third-and-2.
But replay official Billy Smith ruled Hyde was short of the marker and overturned the conversion, the Browns were forced to punt and the Raiders wound up tying the score and winning in OT on a 29-yard field goal.
Winston in, Fitzpatrick out as Buccaneers starting QB
The bye week is coming at a good time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who not only are trying to get acclimated to having Jameis Winston back in the lineup, but need to find a way to fix a leaky defense.
Coach Dirk Koetter made it official Monday, confirming Winston will start the team's next game — at Atlanta — on Oct. 14.
The No. 1 overall pick from the 2015 draft missed the first three games of the season while serving a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Ryan Fitzpatrick became the first player in league history to throw for more than 400 yards in three consecutive games while leading the Bucs to a 2-2 start in Winston's absence.
Edelman back from suspension
The New England Patriots got their sparkplug back Monday.
A matter of hours after a 38-7 thrashing of the previously undefeated Miami Dolphins, receiver Julian Edelman returned from his four-game suspension for performance enhancers, reportedly showing up in the locker room for the first time in a month before 7 a.m.
The Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night.
Jaguars planning to play without Fournette
The Jacksonville Jaguars are preparing to play without running back Leonard Fournette again.
Fournette re-injured his right hamstring in a 31-12 victory against the New York Jets on Sunday, and coach Doug Marrone has no timetable for his return.