Jamie Gillan's dropped snap before a punt attempt was one of several mistakes the Browns made in the second half.
Browns implosion at the end underscores the true gap between them and the Chiefs
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
KANSAS CITY, MO
The difference between the Browns and Chiefs was scant on the scoreboard but large in crunch time.
The Browns raced to a 22-10 halftime lead and then crumbled when it mattered most, bowing to the seasoned, two-time defending AFC champions, 33-29, in steamy-hot and jet engine-loud Arrowhead Stadium.
The scoreboard said the Browns closed the gap by one point from their 22-17 loss in the AFC playoffs in January. But the finish was annoyingly similar and the result extended the franchise's winless streak in season openers to 17 years.
Mistakes by the Browns and missed opportunities were as much to blame as another vintage Patrick Mahomes killer throw on a broken play.
From the middle of the third quarter to the end, the Browns:
* Lost the ball on a Nick Chubb fumble, leading to three points.
* Blew coverage on Tyreek Hill while peeking at Mahomes in trouble, resulting in a 75-yard touchdown.
* Gave Mahomes the ball at the Chiefs’ 15-yard line when punter Jamie Gillan dropped a perfect long snap, costing them Travis Kelce’s second touchdown of the game.
* And wrapped up their 17th consecutive winless season opener with a Baker Mayfield interception that he intended to throw “three rows up.”
All of which eradicated a tremendous display of offensive play-calling and play-making that had 72,973 mostly red-clad Chiefs fans blush with envy, if that’s possible considering their own juggernaut.
“Really disappointing,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. “We didn’t play our best when it mattered, didn’t coach our best when it mattered. Now we have to turn around and play the 1-0 Houston Texans at our place. ... You’ve got to flush this one very quickly.
“Anytime you go on the road, against a team like this team, you have to play clean football. We have to have zero giveaways and take the ball away on defense, and we just didn’t do that today.”
Stefanski put on a clinic in the first half, rolling up 318 offensive yards and three long touchdown drives consisting of both patience and aggressiveness, including four fourth-down conversions and a 2-point conversion.
Ultimately, Chubb had two touchdowns on the ground, Kareem Hunt had one and Jarvis Landry added one on a jet sweep run on fourth down.
All for naught because of late mistakes.
“Critical moments,” Mayfield said. “You have to execute in those critical moments. Nothing else matters before those moments. It comes down to those three or four plays.”
Mayfield (21 of 28, 321 yards) was outplaying his college rival for most of the game. But he had two possessions after Mahomes put the Chiefs ahead for the first time on the short Kelce touchdown with 7:04 to play.
The first possession ended in a punt after Mayfield underthrew rookie Anthony Schwartz. Schwartz didn’t come back for the ball and safety Juan Thornhill was able to get a hand on the ball. “Bad ball,” Mayfield said. “I put it in position of a contested catch instead of being an easy one.”
Schwartz had a bigger role in the game than expected after Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to action was derailed when coaches and medics didn’t like what they saw in warm-ups. Stefanski said after the game that he expected Beckham to be ready for Game 2 against Houston.
Schwartz’s world-class speed was exploited by Stefanski for 69 yards on three receptions and 17 on a reverse run.
Mayfield’s last possession ended in an interception by cornerback Mike Hughes when Mayfield’s intended throwaway was affected by safety (Dirty) Dan Sorensen’s grab of Mayfield’s feet on a blitz. It was first down at the Browns’ 48 with 1:09 to play.
“That ball was supposed to be three rows up [in the stands],” Mayfield said.
Mahomes’ superiority in the clutch is what sets him apart, of course. He wound up with typical numbers for him – 27 of 36 passing for 337 yards, plus a touchdown run of 5 yards.
His three touchdown throws – two to Kelce and the long one to Hill – all came after falling behind by 12 in the first half. His back-breaking throw across his body to Hill while scrambling to his right caught safety John Johnson losing containment – the very mistake Johnson warned against during the week.
“It was a busted play I didn’t finish on,” Johnson said. “I was trying to read his eyes and soon as I looked back the ball was behind me. I said you can’t let anybody get behind you. Soomebody got behind me. He scrambled and made a great play. Giving up plays like that gets you beat.”
Defensive end Myles Garrett, whose lone sack set up the Browns’ final offensive possession, said, “I won’t take away from the greatness of those two players, but … he was under duress, he threw it up, it wasn’t a good ball. Those guys make plays like that. We have to be more aware. If we bat that down, it might be a different game. Those two are known for doing things like that.”
Like in the playoff loss in January, the Browns had no answer for Hill (11 receptions for 197 yards and one TD) or Kelce (six catches for 76 yards and two TD).
Coordinator Joe Woods’ new-look speedy defense ultimately surrendered 397 yards (to the Browns’ 457) and was beat on nine-of-13 third down plays.
The Browns lost safety Ronnie Harrison with 4:59 to play in the first quarter when he retaliated and shoved Chiefs assistant coach Greg Lewis on the Kansas City sideline and was ejected. Rookie starters Greg Newsome and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were largely ineffectual in the game.
Landry said, “It’s tough, right? But at the same time we constantly are reminded this is a team game in all phases. We have to play together, good complementary football and if you don’t do that and there’s still time on the clock, it’s a chance you’ll get beat. Unfortunately, we’ve been on the wrong side of that.
“We had a chance. We had the opportunity to go down and win the game, regardless of what happened before that. It doesn’t sit well. It was our game the first half and we let off the gas. We didn’t execute. Down the stretch they were more composed and the more capable team.
“Obviously it hurts. It sucks. It sucks to lose. But we owe it to each other to step into the building on Monday, off on Tuesday, and Wednesday get back to work and put this behind us. Nobody’s frustrated.”
But their fans.
