‘It is just about our execution’: Brissett explains red-zone failures
BEREA — If last year’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers is an indicator, the Browns will need every point they can get Sunday to win and not fall behind their rivals in the AFC North.
Last season’s game against the Chargers at Sofi Stadium turned into a 47-42 shootout the Browns lost. The teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense to go with those 89 points. The Chargers took advantage of their red zone chances, going 4-of-4, while the Browns were 3-of-6.
The game will come down to which team takes better advantage of those opportunities.
The Browns are coming off a game against the Atlanta Falcons in which, with the exception of the opening drive, they settled for field goals inside the 20 as opposed to touchdowns.
That opening drive, which ended with the Browns turn- ing it over on downs on a failed fourth-and-goal play from the Falcons 4, ulti- mately played a significant role in Atlanta’s 23-20 win because coach Kevin Stefanski elected to take a gamble and went bust.
Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett quickly took responsibility for the play’s failure when asked about it Wednesday.
“I just think that is what it was. It was just a bad job by myself,” he said. “Like I said earlier, just honing in on the details, kind of made a bad decision from the start of the play that caused that, so just be better.”
The Browns finished 1-of-3 against Atlanta in the red zone, which also included a drive at the end of the first half when they had a first-and-goal at the Falcons’ 1-yard line. The result: incomplete pass, holding penalty, incomplete pass and yet another incomplete pass. They settled for 29-yard field goal by Cade York and a 10-10 halftime tie.
The Browns’ only redzone touchdown came on a 4-yard scramble by Bris- sett, with the other TD a 28-yard rush around the left side of the Browns offensive line by Nick Chubb.
“It is just frustrating. You just want to score touchdowns,” Brissett said of not being able to score on the ground. “We always say we don’t care who scores for us. We just want to put the ball in the end zone. We just have to be better in those situations.”
Brissett said he has no preference as to how it’s done.
“We could play that game all day of which one is better,” he said. “I thought we had good plays down there.
It is just about our execution and focusing in on the details.”
Chubb agreed.
“I think once we get down there, our mindset has to change,” he said. “We have to get the ball in the end zone. We have to find a way. We didn’t execute very well, as we have been this season. Something we worked on in offseason, but last Sunday we weren’t able to quite get it together. Just going forward, we have to be better down there.”
Chubb resisted calling for him and Kareem Hunt to get the ball more in red-zone situations.
“Like I said, it iswhat it is. Coach (Stefanski) is going to make the best calls for us as he feels during that time,” he said. “No matter whose number is called, we have to get the ball in. I think we all feel like we can always get the ball in. Anybody can, so it is not just the running backs. I feel like anybody we can get the ball to in that situation [can score].”
Brissett said there is a simple solution to the problem.
“Score touchdowns,” Brissett said.
“When we went back and looked, our attention to detail and focus in the red zone, that was very uncharacteristic of us,” he said. “Just honing back in and focusing on our details with each play, and we will get the results that we want.”