Bills meet with underwhelming Browns

CLEVELAND (AP) >> Freddie Kitchens sold cars in Alabama before he got into coaching. He may soon have to rely on those sales skills to make a case for keeping his job.

The Browns’ first-year coach, whose selection was met with some skepticism because of his lack of experience, could be down to his final games if Cleveland doesn’t turn around a season that has derailed after beginning with sky-high optimism.

Handed a talented team, Kitchens hasn’t been able to mold the Browns (2-6) into anything close to resembling a playoff contender. He’s got time, but it could be running short and a win over the Buffalo Bills (6-2) on Sunday would go a long way to helping him cool the hot seat he’s currently occupying.

The Browns have lost four straight games and are winless at home. But more troubling for their fans, general manager John Dorsey and owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, who green

a team that has played with little discipline or cohesion since Week 1 and quarterback Baker Mayfield seems to be regressing.

One week, it’s too many turnovers. The next, dumb penalties or questionable play-calling. Last week in Denver, it was a lack of execution in the red zone along with silly and scary distractions.

Fair or not, Kitchens is taking the heat for all of the Browns’ many imperfections.

While there are problems, left guard Joel Bitonio doesn’t think Kitchens should be blamed for everything. After all, he wasn’t the one touting the Browns as a Super Bowl contender.

“It’s a tough spot,” said Bitonio, one of the team’s captains. “You come into a team that has high expectations. You have a second-year quarterback. You have some new players who have big personalities, but in controlling that I think he’s done a good job. Our locker room, we’ve had good morale. It’s not like we’re in a bad space. We feel good about it, now we just got to do the job on the field.”

The Browns are having issues. The Bills are having fun.

They’ve been one of the league’s biggest surprises, off to their best eight-game start since 1993. Secondyear quarterback Josh Allen is developing as hoped and the Bills are doing just enough to win.

But despite their success in the season’s first half, the Bills aren’t being viewed as legitimate mostly because of their schedule. Buffalo’s six wins have come against opponents with a combined 9-44 record.