Winless Browns turn it over again
LANDOVER, Md. — His Cleveland Browns already were ahead late in the third quarter yesterday, and closing in on a score to pad that lead, when coach Hue Jackson called for a handoff to fullback Malcolm Johnson, a second-year player who had never run the ball in the NFL. So what happened? Well, these are the Browns, so you probably could guess: Johnson fumbled, the Washington Redskins recovered at their 9, and then drove 91 yards to a go-ahead touchdown.
On Cleveland’s next possession, Duke Johnson fumbled, also in Redskins territory. And while he stood up holding the ball, it was ruled that the Redskins grabbed that one, too.
And, yes, on Cleveland’s next turn with the ball, rookie quarterback Cody Kessler — playing because of injuries to former Redskins QB Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown — underthrew Terrelle Pryor for an interception, which led to another TD for the ’Skins.
Three consecutive secondhalf turnovers helped the Browns do themselves in yet again, losing 31-20 to the Redskins to drop to 0-4 in Jackson’s first season in charge.
“I’m not concerned about what’s going to happen in our locker room,” Jackson said, completely unprompted, after the game.
This was the third straight game Cleveland lost despite leading. In Week 2, the Browns were up 20-2 against the Baltimore Ravens before losing 25-20. In Week 3, the Browns led the Miami Dolphins 13-10, then missed a potential winning fieldgoal attempt at the end of regulation before being defeated 30-24 in overtime.
Yesterday, Cleveland erased an early two-TD deficit to go ahead 20-17 in the third quarter.
“There’s no moral victories anymore when you do it three games in a row,” offensive lineman Joel Bitonio said. “We’ve just got to take the next step as a team and turn one of these into a win.”
Probably won’t get any easier next week: Cleveland hosts the Patriots, who will get quarterback Tom Brady back from his four-game Deflategate suspension.
Against Washington (22), the Browns wasted another strong performance in the running game, with Isaiah Crowell gaining 112 yards on 15 carries, and Duke Johnson adding another 53 yards on nine runs.