Browns’ mind-boggling decisions at end of first half against Baltimore epitomize Freddie Kitchens’ downfall as coach

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Of all the things Freddie Kitchens has struggled with in his first year as Browns head coach, game management ranks at the top. And second place is not even close.

Wearing that “Pittsburgh Started It” T-shirt in public prior to the second Steelers game was ill-advised. Botching the end of the first half against Baltimore on Sunday was unconscionable.

A head coach has so many tasks.

He formulates the game plan. He prepares his team during the practice week. He inspires. He teaches. He establishes the team culture. He puts out brushfires behind the scenes. He mediates disputes in the locker room. He represents the organization almost every day in front of the quote-hungry media.

But the most important task is putting his team in position to win on game day.

And on that count, Kitchens has fallen woefully short.

As an offensive coordinator in his eight-game trial last year, Kitchens was innovative and creative but not consistently reckless. And the reason for that was that he had to answer to the head coach at the time, which was Gregg Williams.

I don’t know how many times it happened, but if Kitchens wanted to call something – shall we say too daring, or even dumb – Williams had the option to say, “That ain’t happening.”

But now, Kitchens is the play-caller and head coach, too. There is no filter. There is nobody to keep Kitchens from going off the deep end. There is nobody to save him – and the team – from himself.

Insanity: Kitchens’ offensive calls at the end of the first half against Baltimore were not egregious. They were insane.

To recap, the Browns were ahead, 6-0, and were containing MVP-to-be Lamar Jackson and the No. 1-scoring offense in the NFL. The Browns had the ball at their 24-yard line as the game clock ticked under 3 minutes.

The Ravens had no timeouts.

“Your first job is to make sure you have the ball through halftime,” pointed out CBS analyst Tony Romo.

In other words, eat clock, don’t make a mistake, and skip to the locker room with a 6-0 halftime lead. Extending the lead to 9-0 or 13-0 would be tremendous. But preserving a 6-0 lead would be mighty fine and should have been Kitchens’ main objective.

But … no.

The Browns had third-and-1 at their 28. Kitchens called a convoluted trick play – a lateral to Kareem Hunt, who was supposed to throw to tight end Demetrius Harris.

The play fooled everybody in FirstEnergy Stadium except the Ravens. They had three defenders on Hunt – who had never attempted a pass in his NFL career – and two defenders on Harris. Hunt did a great job not to lose the ball and was tackled for an eight-yard loss.

“That is a shot you either look like an expert or you look like a goat, and I looked like a goat,” Kitchens said Monday. “We took a shot. I wanted to remain aggressive during the whole game, and that is one of those things that did not work.”

(We won’t even debate the fact Kitchens said he would have gone for it on fourth-and-1 from the Browns’ 28 if Hunt had been fortunate enough to toss an incomplete pass. This is insane!)

So the Browns punted and Baltimore took over with 1:50 left.

Jackson needed only two plays to score a touchdown and give Baltimore a 7-6 lead.

Kitchens should have said, “OK, fine. A 7-6 game isn’t all that bad. Let’s get to the locker room and plan for a slugfest in the second half.”

But … no.

After a touchback on the Baltimore kickoff, Kitchens incredibly -- no, insanely – felt the Browns’ 22nd-ranked scoring offense could respond with a late score.

There was 1:18 left with the Browns at the 25. The Ravens had no timeouts. All Kitchens had to do was hand off the ball to Nick Chubb, the NFL's leading rusher. Instead, Kitchens had Baker Mayfield pass, pass, pass.

Here’s what happened: Almost interception. Deflected incompletion. Rejection at the line of scrimmage. The Browns ate up exactly 16 seconds of game clock.

After a punt, Jackson took the Ravens to another touchdown in seven plays.

Without the benefit of a Browns turnover or a timeout, the Ravens turned a 6-0 deficit into a 14-6 lead in the span of 79 seconds.

“A backbreaking final two minutes of the half for the Browns,” said CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz.

Kitchens was disconsolate on Monday.

“Me personally, I wish that I could have back right before the half,” he said. “I think that put us behind the eight-ball a little bit, and we were not able to recover.”

You think?

Sunday matters: Kitchens has had numerous examples of mishandling critical moments of games. Many of them have occurred at the ends of the first half, which affects the final outcomes of games more than you think.

Against the 49ers, a Baker Mayfield interception at the goal line with 4:58 to go – caused by Antonio Callaway’s inability to catch the ball – resulted in a San Francisco touchdown and 21-3 49ers lead. The 49ers rolled, 31-3.

Against the Seahawks, the Browns recklessly threw into the end zone rather than sit on the ball and kick a field goal. A Baker Mayfield interception led to an 88-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes. Given life, the Seahawks won, 32-28.

Against the Steelers, the Browns blew a 10-0 lead with two Pittsburgh scores in the final three minutes for a 10-10 tie at halftime. The Steelers won, 20-13.

Against the Cardinals, the Browns allowed an Arizona touchdown in final five minutes of the first half to fall behind, 21-10. They Cardinals won, 38-24.

All of these season-long maladies reared their ugly head in the Baltimore game, where the Ravens’ double-score at the end of the first half demoralized everyone.

“Our goal on offense is to score points,” Mayfield said on Sunday.

That sounds good. But a good offense knows when to score points and when to just possess the ball to offset deficiencies on defense or keep a potent opposing offense off the field.

The No. 1 task of the head coach on game day is to manage the game.

Kitchens has failed at that part of his job more than any other.