Another week, another winnable game that slips away.
The Browns entered their game against the New Orleans Saints as a one-point road favorite, but left the Superdome with a 35-14 loss. Cleveland is now 2-8 on the season, a shocking fall from grace for a team that had been one of the NFL's feel-good stories only a year ago.
The Browns were plagued by many of the same problems that have cursed them all season long. Specifically, the defense suffered a number of lapses, and the special teams left multiple points on the board while giving up a pair of big returns, one of which led to a New Orleans touchdown.
Jim Schwartz's defense allowed a season-high 473 yards, and had no answer for the Swiss Army Knife that is Taysom Hill. The Saints' all-everything weapon finished the afternoon with 230 all-purpose yards and three rushing TDs, including a 33-yarder that put the Saints ahead early in the fourth quarter and a 75-yarder to put the game out of reach.
Quarterback Derek Carr also threw for 248 yards and two TDs, including a 71-yard catch-and-run by Marquez Valdes-Scantling. That play following another miscommunication in the secondary, where Cleveland left MVS open in the flat before he found a seem and broke for the end zone, putting the Saints up 14-6 in the second quarter.
The 473 yards were the most allowed by the Browns in two years. One of the lone bright sports on defense was cornerback Denzel Ward, who forced two turnovers and deflected two passes. His second-quarter interception of Hill was the first pick by a member of the Cleveland secondary this year.
On special teams, kicker Dustin Hopkins had one of the worst games of his career, as his struggles continued fresh off signing a contract extension just before training camp. After hooking a 51-yard field goal wide left early in the second quarter, he missed another from 32 yards out late in the half, but was bailed out by a Saints holding penalty.
With a chance at redemption, Hopkins responded by hooking yet another kick from 27 yards out as time expired before intermission. The 34-year-old has now missed six field goals this season after failing on only three attempts last year, and is just 4 of 8 from 50 yards or longer.
Cleveland also allowed a 42-yard kickoff return by Hill and a 53-yard punt return by Dante Pettis, the latter of which helped set up a touchdown pass from Carr to Foster Moreau that made it 28-14 with six minutes left. The Browns garnered just 37 return yards on two attempts from Jerome Ford.
Despite scoring only 14 points, things were a tad better on offense. In his first game back at the Superdome after four years as the Saints' backup, Jameis Winston threw for 395 yards (the most by a Browns QB in six years) and two TDs. The first came on a remarkable 89-yard connection to Jerry Jeudy, while the second to Elijah Moore tied the game at 14 early in the second half. Unfortunately, Cleveland mustered only 92 more yards from that point forward and did not take another snap in the red zone.
Jeudy caught six passes for 142 yards, and Moore had six for 66. David Njoku added nine receptions for 81 yards.
Piling on to the misery, left tackle Dawand Jones had to be carted off the field after suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter. Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed after the game that Jones will miss the remainder of the season.
Now with two more losses than they had all of last year, the Browns now face the grueling process of essentially playing out the string over the final seven games. The long slog continues just four days from now on "Thursday Night Football," when the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers come to Huntington Bank Field.