CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns 2022 season seems on the brink of disaster.
The New England Patriots used a stingy defense and strong play by rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe to beat a slumping Browns squad at FirstEnergy Stadium by the final of 38-15. The Browns have lost three straight games and are now 2-4 on the season.
The Browns in many ways were their own worst enemy, turning the ball over four times to the opportunistic Patriots. The win for Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the 324th of his career, moving him into a tie with Bears legend George Halas on the NFL's all-time list. Northeast Ohio native Don Shula ranks first with 347 coaching victories.
After taking a 10-6 lead into halftime, New England took control of the game in the 3rd quarter on a pair of Bailey Zappe touchdown passes. The 4th round draft pick from Western Kentucky hit fellow rookie Tyquan Thornton on a 2-yard scoring pass to give New England a 17-6 lead. Following a Jalen Mills interception of Brissett, Zappe struck again, this time on a 31-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry.
Zappe completed 24 of 34 passes for 309 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
In the fourth quarter, the Browns were able to finally get into the end zone. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett hit Amari Cooper on a 15-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and 5 to cut the deficit to 24-15. Brissett threw incomplete on a 2-point conversion attempt. On the ensuing kickoff, the Browns appeared to have recovered an onside kick, but a replay review showed that A.J. Green was out of bounds when he touched the football. New England salted away the win with a pair of touchdowns after the review.
The Browns were never able to get their league-leading running game going against New England. Cleveland, which averaged 192 yards on the ground per game coming into Sunday, was held to 70 yards on 18 carries as a team. Nick Chubb ran 12 times for 56 yards.
The first half was largely a defensive struggle. Brissett was intercepted on his first pass attempt of the game, a throw off his back foot that was picked off by New England’s Kyle Dugger. The Patriots were able to drive the ball into the red zone, but watched their drive stall near the goal line and settled for a Nick Folk 19-yard field goal.
Browns All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett passed Clay Matthews to become the franchise's all-time leader in sacks late in the first quarter as he executed a patented strip sack of Zappe. Safety John Johnson III fell on the fumble for Cleveland.
Garrett, the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft now has 63.5 sacks for his career after adding a second sack in the fourth quarter.
The Browns got a pair of Cade York field goals in the first half, while a third scoring opportunity was missed when Brissett was stopped on a 4-and-1 sneak attempt at the New England 18.
Brissett completed 21 of 45 passes for 266 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
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