CLEVELAND — Boy, what a difference a year makes.
On they day of the final home game last year, there was chanting, there was singing, and there was celebration as the Browns were on the uptick. They were having a good end to the season, a season that would finish at 7-8-1.
That was great, considering the two seasons before produced a combined record of 1-31. Everything looked so bright as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-18.
The Browns were going to be tough this next season, and they were going to be nearly impossible to beat at home.
But on this day, the day of the final home, the Browns were humiliated by the Baltimore Ravens. It all happened so quickly, too.
Leading 6-0 6-0 with less than two minutes to go in the first half, the Browns faced a 3rd-and-1 with Baltimore already out of timeouts. The Browns failed to convert, again on one of those goofy plays: They pitched the ball out wide to Kareem Hunt (who looked as if he was trying to pass it), and he took a big loss.
The Browns punted, and it seemed as though when the ball left the foot of Jamie Gillan, so too did any chance that they were going to win the game.
In a blink (literally), Baltimore took the lead, added to the lead, and then blew the Browns out in the second half and eventually won 31-15. Now with a record of 6-9 and one game to go in Cincinnati next week, the Browns cannot even hit the mark they hit last year of 7-8-1.
Can you imagine that? With everything that showed so much promise coming into this season (OBJ, Olivier Vernon, the progression of young players), it's now an absolute disaster.
How difficult will it be for the Browns to get excited about playing next week in Cincinnati against the 1-14 Bengals? It's going to be a tough, tough thing to turn around and have any kind of excitement, because for a lot of people (fans included), we just want to see this thing come to an end.
A huge disappointment on this Sunday, and really the entire season. One to play, and then it should get interesting. A lot of moves are going to have to be made, and a lot of changes seem to be in the wind.
RECAP: Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews lead Baltimore Ravens past Browns 31-15 to clinch No. 1 seed in AFC
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