Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions final score: Mistakes on offense, special teams rear their ugly head again

The Browns’ got everyone’s hopes up with an opening drive touchdown against the Lions. After that, they basically reverted back to all the woes from the Ravens game: dropped passes, stumbling receivers, questionable decisions by Flacco, and then the cherry on top: another touchdown allowed by special teams. It all muddled what was another decent defensive performance by Cleveland, and yet, you look up at the scoreboard, and it’s a 34-10 victory for the Lions. Let’s get to the full game recap:

1st Quarter – Browns vs. Lions

The Lions received the opening kickoff, and QB Jared Goff began the game with a first-down throw to WR Jameson Williams for a gain of 13 yards. A few plays later, facing 3rd-and-7, Goff just had to check it down to RB Jahmyr Gibbs for a short gain, leading to a punt that WR DeAndre Carter fair caught at the 12 yard line.

The Browns began their drive with a few positives: a 10-yard completion from QB Joe Flacco to WR Jerry Jeudy, and then a 10-yard run by RB Quinshon Judkins. After that, a couple of short runs by Judkins set up a 3rd-and-5 situation. Flacco had time and found WR Isaiah Bond on a diving grab past midfield for a first down. After that, a playaction fake set up a 33-yard pass to Jeudy toward the left sideline, down to the 12 yard line.

A few plays later, Flacco faced a 3rd-and-5 at the 7 yard line, and he found WR Cedric Tillman underneath for a 6 yard gain. On 1st-and-goal from the 1 yard line, Judkins was stopped for no gain. Two quarterback sneaks by Flacco were also denied, setting up 4th-and-goal. Cleveland stayed big and gave it to Judkins, who got in along the left side this time for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead! That finished off a 13-play, 88-yard drive that took up 7:10 of clock.

The Browns nearly forced a three-and-out, but DE Myles Garrett just missed getting to Goff, who then had time and found an open WR Amon-Ra St. Brown got a 25-yard gain down the right sideline. That was followed by a 9-yard gain by Gibbs, and then S Grant Delpit was flagged 15 yards for tripping. A sack by DE Isaiah McGuire was then negated by a holding penalty on CB Denzel Ward, giving the Lions a 1st-and-goal at the 8 yard line. The next play was a handoff to Gibbs, who stretched it along the right edge and got in for the touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:20 to go in the opening quarter.

Cleveland started their next drive at the 23 yard line. They quickly faced a 3rd-and-8 situation, and Flacco had a bizarre play where he just lofted the ball high in the air to the left side where there weren’t any receivers, and only a Lions defender camped underneath it for one of the easiest interceptions you’ll ever see.

That gave the Lions the ball in Cleveland territory. After a few plays, a false start to end the quarter made it a 3rd-and-14 at the 37 yard line.

2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Lions

On 3rd-and-14, Goff faced a blitz and got off a short completion to set up a 48-yard field goal to give the Lions their first lead of the day at 10-7. Cleveland began their next drive at the 35 yard line after a touchback. This time, the drive started positively with a playaction fake that led to a screen pass to Judkins, who picked up 16 yards. Flacco set up to pass on the next play too, but DL Aidan Hutchinson got him for a sack and a loss of 6 yards.

Compounding matters, a delay of game penalty then ensued, making it 2nd-and-21. Back-to-back incompletions led to a punt, and the Lions beginning their next drive at the 15 yard line. Gibbs got the handoff right up the middle and sprung free for 24 yards. Two straight false starts made it a 1st-and-20 situation for the Lions. The defense was able to hold them to no further damage, setting up a punt that was fair caught back at the 8 yard line.

After a run by RB Dylan Sampson went for a loss of 2 yards, and an incompletion second down, TE Harold Fannin nearly broke tackles for a first down, but was just a yard shy. That led to another quick punt, down to the Lions’ 39 yard line. Back-to-back running plays for the Lions began the drive for a loss of 2 yards and no gain. Goff unleashed a bomb on third down for Williams. He had him, but it was also a difficult adjustment for the receiver, so he could not hang on.

Carter muffed the ensuing punt when a teammate was in the vicinity, but Cleveland fell on top of it, starting at the 19 yard line. The drive started good with two runs by Judkins, the second of which led to a first down. On the next play, though, Jeudy fell on the comeback route on the outside, and with the ball on the way, CB D.J. Reid intercepted it and returned it 34 yards to the Browns’ 5 yard line.

After two run plays, a short pass play to St. Brown got the 2 yards needed for a touchdown, making it a 17-7 game with 3:00 to go in the first half.

A holding penalty on the Browns made it a 2nd-and-18 at their own 25 yard line heading into the two-minute warning. Two shorter passes to Njoku got some yards back, but still led to a punt. The Lions took over with 55 seconds to go and one timeout. WR Sam LaPorta caught a pass up the seam for 27 yards, and then St. Brown got out of bounds on the next play after gaining six yards. That led to K Jake Bates coming on for a 58-yard field goal, and he nailed it to give Detroit a 20-7 lead at the half.

3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Lions

The Browns got the ball to begin the third quarter, and a nice playaction pass to Fannin got the ball to near midfield. Flacco then tried to take downfield shots to Jeudy and TE Blake Whiteheart on two straight plays, but they were tightly contested and incomplete, eventually leading to a punt.

Then, it was Detroit’s turn for their first mistake. After a hold backed them up to the 10 yard line, Goff heaved one deep, and CB Denzel Ward camped under it for the interception, returning it to the 42 yard line.

Judkins then got a carry for 10 yards and a first down to the 32 yard line. Bond then caught a quick wide receiver pass for 8 yards. A few plays later, Judkins moved the chains with an inside handoff to the Lions’ 18 yard line. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-7, the Lions brought the pressure and forced an incomplete pass. K Andre Szmyt came on for a 33-yard field go cut the Lions’ lead to 20-10 with 6:44 to go in the third quarter.

Cleveland’s defense did a nice job on defense again, including CB Myles Harden defending Williams on a third down fade right up the left side. Carter fair caught the punt at the 16 yard line. Cleveland started the drive again with some tough runs by Judkins to move the chains. That was followed up by a 35-yard streak down the right sideline by Bond, who kept his focus and came down with the ball.

A false start, incomplete pass, and then a handoff to RB Jerome Ford for a loss of a yard set Cleveland back to a 3rd-and-16. A short completion to Bond set up Szmyt for a 56-yard attempt to cut it to a one-score game, but he just barely missed it wide to the left.

That gave the Lions the ball back with 1:25 left in the third quarter and great field position at their own 46 yard line. Gibbs sprinted to the outside for a 26 yard gain, getting them into field goal range already.

4th Quarter – Browns vs. Lions

The Lions faced a 3rd-and-2 at the Browns’ 24 yard line to begin the fourth quarter. After an incomplete pass on third down, Detroit went for it on fourth down. The pitch out to Gibbs only gained a yard, leading to a turnover on downs and giving the Browns a fighting chance still.

After a short pass, on second down, Flacco laid one out perfectly on a deep ball for Fannin, but it went right through his arms for an incomplete pass. On 3rd-and-7, Flacco avoided a defender and then laid it out for Jeudy on the other end, and he dropped the ball too. The back-to-back drops on Flacco’s best throws of the day led to a punt. And the momentum was officially squandered when P Corey Bojorquez only got off a 39 yard punt, and the the Lions returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to take a 27-10 lead.

Cleveland had a quick three-and-out, with another dropped pass and people just not on the same page again. The Lions fair caught the punt at the 17 yard line with 12:48 remaining. After gaining one first down, the defense forced a punt they rolled back to the 5 yard line. Cleveland took their time gaining a few first downs, but then RT Cornelius Lucas was immediately beat by Hutchinson, leading to a strip sack that was recovered at the 20 yard line.

After picking up a first down, the Lions finished the drive with a touchdown on the quick pass to St. Brown again from 8 yards out, to give the Lions a 34-10 lead with 4:04 to go.

QB Dillon Gabriel then came in for mop up duty. He only got one look, on a third down pass, and it was incomplete, leading to a punt.

Quick Hitters

• QB Joe Flacco: 16-of-34 for 184 yards, 2 INT, 1 lost fumble.
• RB Quinshon Judkins: 21 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD
• A key I listed this week was to get WR Jerry Jeudy involved early. On the first drive, which was a touchdown, he had 3 catches for 48 yards. The rest of the game? No catches on six targets. One of those targets, he fell along the sideline, which basically led to a pick six. Another one was a dropped pass on third down that, if he had caught it, he probably could’ve kept running for either a touchdown, or keep the Browns in the game. It is insane how in every game so far this year, throwing to Jeudy has been a big liability that leads to between 7 to 14 point swings.
• The Browns logged zero sacks.
• This really was a carbon copy of that Ravens game, in terms of letting it get away. Detroit did a solid job executing, but at the end of the day, it was Cleveland’s offensive and special teams miscues that led the score to be the way it was. Last week, the Browns’ offense just did nothing (but no mistakes), which was boring and not acceptable. But it ironically kept them in the game. When they try just a little bit, they make mistake after mistake, and it spirals to short fields and easier touchdowns.

Next up, the Browns travel to London to take on the Vikings.