Browns failed Dorian Thompson-Robinson, not the other way around
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The Browns took a calculated risk when they gave away Josh Dobbs on August 24 and crowned untested training camp sensation Dorian Thompson-Robinson the top backup to quarterback Deshaun Watson.
It blew up in their faces on Sunday.
Watson was a late scratch two hours before kickoff after a brief workout on the field to test his sore right shoulder. It thrust Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round draft pick from UCLA, into his first NFL start against a resilient Baltimore Ravens team determined to keep command of the AFC North race despite myriad injuries of their own.
The result was an atrocious, all-too-familiar loss to the Ravens, 28-3, validating linebacker Roquan Smith’s promise to “beat their tails in front of their wife and kids.” Smith backed it up, too, leading a defensive assault on DTR that resulted in four sacks, four other quarterback hits, and three interceptions.
It was no contest from the moment Lamar Jackson sauntered into the end zone untouched for the first of his four touchdowns – two on the ground and two on passes to Browns-killer tight end Mark Andrews.
Missing six starters on this day and several other key contributors, Baltimore took command of the AFC North by moving to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in division games. Every other team in the division was trounced on Sunday and have injured starting quarterbacks. The Browns are 2-2, but fell to 1-2 in the AFC North.
There’s no telling if the Browns would have won with Dobbs at quarterback, of course. But there is no debating whatsoever that they would have been more competitive with him at quarterback. Dobbs has kept the Arizona Cardinals competitive through four games as their temporary starter, and their roster might be the worst in the NFL.
The Ravens treated Dorian Thompson-Robinson rudely in his first NFL start after Deshaun Watson was a late scratch. (Baltimore Ravens.com)
DTR was overmatched and over-zealous. He forced balls into windows that weren’t open, scrambled into sacks, and took a physical beating. He was 19 of 36 for 121 yards. His third interception in the end zone on the last play of the game sank his passer rating to 25.3. Don’t blame him. The Browns ran the ball 25 times for a 93 yards – another sub-par average of 3.7.
“He faced a great defense for his first start,” said Jackson, who ran his career record against the Browns to 7-1 in games he has started and not left for injury. “He’s a pretty good quarterback. It was his first game, first NFL game besides preseason, so it’s different. The atmosphere is very different.”
This was an organizational loss in the truest sense. Everyone around DTR failed him – coaches, offensive linemen, receivers, defense and special teams.
“You want to make it as easy as you can for the quarterback who’s stepping in when the starter’s down,” said receiver Amari Cooper. “I think as a whole, myself included, we didn’t do a great job of that. He did everything he could. He was scratching and clawing. We didn’t do as much as we could for the young guy. We gotta be better.”
Cooper was whistled for holding on the Browns’ first offensive play – a 26-yard run by Jerome Ford. Two plays later, Elijah Moore was penalized for an illegal shift. Another time, Moore lost 20 yards with a handoff. Left tackle Jedrick Wills had a false start and a holding penalty. Right guard Wyatt Teller had a holding call. There was another illegal shift declined.
“Operationally, that’s part of our job – to be clean in what we do. Whether Deshaun’s in there or Dorian’s in there, we have to be clean,” said coach Kevin Stefanski.
It looked like the Browns were never prepared for the possibility Watson wouldn’t play. And yet, Thompson-Robinson practiced all week with the No. 1 offense as Watson spent his practices taking “mental reps.”
Did Stefanski come to Cleveland Browns Stadium thinking Watson would play?
“I think, like we told you all week, it was going to be a day-to-day decision,” he said. “I came to the stadium today knowing he was going to work out and see how he felt, watch him throw, see how he looked. That’s really where it was.”
About 2 ½ hours before kickoff, Watson limbered up on the field and threw some light tosses under the auspices of trainer Joe Sheehan, Stefanski, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, and GM Andrew Berry. Watson did more talking than throwing.
“Obviously, he did not feel comfortable to be the player we need him to be,” Stefanski said. “He’s very disappointed. He wanted to go badly, but he just not feel that he could go.”
DTR conceded the speed of the game was higher than he experienced in preseason. He likened his first NFL start to his first start as a true freshman at UCLA. He took the loss hard.
“This organization, this team, everybody from the draft process on up has put their faith in me, especially being the No. 2,” he said. “And today was not it. Today is not what the picture of a No. 2 quarterback should look like.”
By the same token, Jim Schwartz’s defense didn’t look like the No. 1 defense in the NFL. Far from it.
Jackson wore it down in the second quarter when he performed surgery on touchdown drives of 93 and 74 yards. At halftime, the Browns had surrendered 249 yards total offense – just six yards less than their season game-high of 255 to Pittsburgh.
“Missed too many tackles and were out of our run gaps,” said safety Grant Delpit.
Jackson completed 15 of 19 passes for 186 yards and TD passes of 7 and 18 yards to Andrews. Jackson also ran for two scores – both times untouched by a defender – marking the first time in his illustrious career he multiple running and passing touchdowns in the same game.
Myles Garrett, who wore a boot in the locker room after getting his left foot rolled on, had one sack, two other hits on Jackson and was whistled twice for lining up offsides.
“Not like they were running anything we hadn’t seen,” he said. “We were out of sorts. It was just a matter of being where we needed to be, making our fits, making hits. There was a lot of missed tackles on the field.”
So now the Browns and everyone else have to chew on a blowout loss to the Ravens during the team’s early bye week before hosting the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
“It sucks,” said linebacker Anthony Walker. “Coming off a loss like this, you have that bad taste in your mouth. I think it will be a wake-up call for our team. Sucks we have to wait so long to go out there and respond, but this team is mentally tough. We are going to be ready to go. This is a long season. We aren’t flinching at all. They beat our butts today, but it’s a long season.”
The Browns have now beat Joe Burrow on one leg and Ryan Tannehill, and lost to Kenny Picket and Jackson. Next up is Brock Purdy. Stefanski said he expects Watson to play against the 49ers.
