CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns know they cannot afford another performance like what they put on the field in a 31-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Monday Night Football earlier this week.
Not if they want to win the AFC North Division, break the NFL’s longest active postseason drought, which currently stands at 16 years, and contend for a championship.
“We want to win every game,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said. “We want to go out, perform our best and not let the score dictate how we are preparing and how we are playing. Everything remains constant, continue to strive and get better, make advancements in different areas each week and go from there.”
Against the 49ers, the Browns never got on track offensively and struggled to get drive-ending stops on defense, and that combined to add up to the 28-point loss on Monday Night Football, which was the team’s second four-score loss in the first five weeks of the season.
The Browns (2-3) surrendered 275 rushing yards to the 49ers (4-0) and managed 180 yards of total offense on the way to their third loss of the 2019 regular season.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield completed only eight of his 22 attempts for 100 yards with two interceptions, the second of which came at the goal line on a deflected pass that hit wide receiver Antonio Callaway both in the hands and chest.
“We understand what presented the problems, but this is a new set of problems this week,” Kitchens said. “We are worried about this week. We realize the mistakes, we get better from those and we move forward. I have total confidence. I do not have any doubt that we will get better from it.”
Defensively, the Browns had no answer for the 49ers’ offense.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed 20 of his 29 attempts for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while running backs Matt Breida (114 yards, one touchdown) and Tevin Coleman (97 yards, one score) combined for 211 yards on 27 rushing attempts.
“Very embarrassing the way the defense performed,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “I take full blame and responsibility for that. It is definitely not indicative of who we are.
“What you saw Monday night, you saw a defense that was thinking too much. They could not get aligned. They played slow. When you see that as a unit, that is on me. We are going to get back to doing what we do -- fundamentals and technique — the identity of what we established from Day 1. We are going to get this thing turned around.”
Despite the issues against the 49ers, in a week-to-week league, the Browns have a chance to change the narrative in a positive way when they take on the Seattle Seahawks at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland Sunday.
“We try to put our best foot forward every week and always try to remain constant on how we approach the day,” Kitchens said. “The score does not dictate on how I play. I just try to play the best I can on each and every play, and that is the way I try to coach.”
Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer added, “It still takes time to build that culture the way Freddie has envisioned it. Our staff has bought. Our team has bought in. We are going in the right direction. Although the record does not show it quite yet, I do feel good about where we are and I can see it change.”