MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Browns had hoped to come out of the bye week looking like a contender.
Instead, they looked flat and uninspired.
Even just nine games in, Cleveland's playoff hopes may have come crashing down Sunday with a loss to the Miami Dolphins. At 3-6, they now sit 2 1/2 games back in the AFC North, with little hope in sight.
Things looked promising early when Jacoby Brissett led another solid opening drive to put the Browns up 7-0. However, the Dolphins' high-powered offense took over from there, gashing Cleveland's still-underachieving defense for 491 yards (including 7.3 yards per play).
Miami (7-3) never punted once, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was near-perfect in completing 25-of-32 passes for 285 yards and 3 TDs with a 135.0 passer rating. He also wasn't sacked once, while running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. combined for 184 yards and a pair of scores on the ground.
Offensively, Brissett did his job, throwing for 212 yards and a touchdown. Surprisingly, it was the Browns' running game that had issues, combining for only 30 yards in the first half with Nick Chubb committing a costly fumble. Chubb would go on to tally 63 yards, but only carried the ball 11 times, and 33 of those yards came on a TD run.
Cleveland now has two more tough games against the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before Deshaun Watson is scheduled to come back against the Houston Texans. At this rate, it doesn't look like he'll be able to help that much.
At the end of the first half from Hard Rock Stadium, the Browns trail the Miami Dolphins by a score of 10-7.
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