CLEVELAND — Well, do you laugh or cry on a day like this?
I mean, I really don't want to cry, but I'm having a realization that this Browns football team may not be what we were hoping for here in 2024.
You know, the team that was the feel-good story last season, going on a run and making the NFL playoffs? Maybe this is why there wasn't much national hype surrounding the Browns leading up to this season.
Meanwhile, it feels like night and day from a season ago. The Browns fall to the winless, hapless New York Giants 21-15 here in Cleveland, a Giants team some national folks were saying may as well start tanking for draft picks.
Rather than roll over, instead, Daniel Jones and a bunch of guys you've probably never heard of come into Cleveland and bounce the Browns as a touchdown underdog.
The Browns' offensive line is a mess. It's banged up, injured, and continually getting blown off the football with the guys that are suiting up.
The quarterback play still isn't good. Deshaun Watson? He's not reading defenses, he's holding onto the football way too long, and he simply doesn't look that sharp.
And you know me — I like Kevin Stefanski, I've sung the head coach's praises, but it wasn't his best day either. Certain play calls, decisions to go for it, I felt, left a lot to be desired.
This was supposed to be the "winnable" stretch of games for the Browns — a three-game stretch of winnable opportunities, right? The Giants, followed by the Raiders in Vegas, and then the Commanders.
Well, the Browns are 0-1 to start that stretch, and 1-2 on the young season.
Today was a reality check that you can't just show up on Sunday and expect to win. Or, perhaps, it was a smack in the face that maybe — just maybe — this team isn't all that good.