CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are 5-3 heading into the bye week.
That's about the only piece of good Browns news I can offer you after Sunday's disappointing 16-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Browns were physically dominated and looked mentally fatigued all Sunday afternoon. It was maddening to watch Las Vegas' offensive line pound through the Browns' front seven on long drive after long drive. Equally as frustrating were the Browns' mistakes that came back to haunt them (think Harrison Bryant's fumble, Jarvis Landry not coming up with a clean touchdown catch, and Ronnie Harrison not holding on to what could have been a pick-six interception).
It's probably a good thing that the bye week is here.
Meanwhile, there was plenty to get into with Jay Crawford this morning on After Further Review.
We certainly got into the reasons for the Browns loss, including an inabililty by the defense to get off the field on third downs and key miscues by the offense that loomed large. But we also got into a couple of other key topics:
- Should the Browns be looking to make any deals as the NFL's trading deadline approaches?
- Injuries continue to plague the team as we wait word on Myles Garrett's MRI.
- The Browns are 5-3 at the halfway mark of the season. Are they still a playoff contender?
- Who are the offensive and defensive first half MVPs for the Browns?
You can read Jay Crawford's thoughts after Sunday's Browns loss here.