Browns lose their 13th and improve their draft order

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst of the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Instant takeaways from Browns 20-3 loss to Miami Dolphins …

1. Only one to go: The Browns closed out their home season with a convincing argument that Dorian Thompson-Robinson is not a viable option at quarterback next season. DTR’s second start was worse than his first. Despite commitments to run the ball and throw it to Jerry Jeudy (18 times!), DTR suffered a miserable day in a desultory, 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He was booed frequently while pitching the ball 47 times, completing 24 for 170 yards. DTR was intercepted once, lost a fumble on a sack, and was flagged not once, not twice, but three times for intentional grounding. Nevertheless, the Browns accomplished the unspoken goal of moving up in the draft order. Their fifth loss in a row dropped them to 3-13 (2-6 at home) but inched them up one spot to third among the worst teams of the season. With a game to go in Baltimore, the Browns trail New England and Tennessee. Each has a 3-13 record, but the Browns lose on the strength-of-schedule tie-breaker. The Dolphins (8-8) kept alive their slim playoff hopes with the win out of ex-Browns camp arm Tyler Huntley playing for injured starter Tua Tagovailoa. Huntley didn’t commit a turnover and was 22 of 26 passing for 225 yards. He threw for a touchdown and scored one on a 13-yard run. The only drama was provided by Myles Garrett, who notched his second sack in the fourth quarter, giving him 14 on the season, tied with Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson for the league lead. It also made Garrett the only player since the statistic became official in 1982 to record four consecutive seasons of 14 or more sacks.

2. What the …?: The Browns’ best scoring chance of the second half came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They had second-and-goal at the Dolphins’ 4. DTR rolled left and threw the ball away. On third down, a simple handoff to D’Onta Foreman gained a yard. With The Dolphins ahead, 13-3, the Browns needed two scores to tie it. You kick the gimme field goal there, right? Nope. They kept the offense on the field. DTR aimed for Jerry Jeudy on a quick slant and cornerback Jalen Ramsey broke it up in the end zone. That was the Browns’ second turnover on downs after failing on a fourth-down play. (There would be a third and fourth.) After the defense held on three plays, DTR took over at the Miami 45-yard line. That possession ended in his second intentional grounding call.

3. Yikes: When the Browns went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half (pass deflected at the line, completion to Jerry Jeudy for four yards, and a Jeudy drop) and Tyler Huntley moved the Dolphins 72 yards in six plays – and scored the TD on a 13-yard keeper run – the 13-3 Miami lead felt insurmountable. DTR responded with another three-and-out, including an intentional grounding throwaway on third down, the boo birds circled the field.

4. Double yikes: On their next series, the Browns put the cuffs on DTR and tried cave man football. They run four straight times for two first downs. Then DTR dropped back for his first pass of the possession and was strip-sacked by former Brown Emmanuel Ogbah. Miami’s Da’Shawn Hand recovered the ball at the Browns’ 45. More boos.

5. Target city: The Browns’ game plan obviously was to run the ball with Jerome Ford and D’Onta Foreman and throw the ball to Jerry Jeudy. After receiving only three targets the whole game in Cincinnati last week, Jeudy was targeted seven times in the first half, including DTR’s first pass of the game. The results were not what the Browns desired. Jeudy caught three of the seven targets for 36 yards. He caught a fourth, but didn’t get both feet in bounds. On another, Jeudy dropped the ball on what was first called a backward lateral and fumble, but it was quickly overturned. On the seventh, DTR had Jeudy open in the middle of the field but he didn’t put enough air under the ball and it was intercepted by linebacker Tyrel Dodson. Jeudy finished with 12 catches on 18 targets for 94 yards.

6. Offensive show: Miami forged ahead, 6-3, on Jason Sanders’ 39-yard field goal as the first half expired. Sanders also connected from 54 yards to extend his streak to 25 makes in a row. The long one hit the crossbar in the Dawg Pound end zone and bounded through the posts. Fighting a season-long slump, Dustin Hopkins kicked a 25-yard field goal, eliciting some Bronx cheers from the fans. For the half, DTR was 7 of 15 for 58 yards, one INT and a rating of 29.3.

7. Turn of events: So much happened in the last 45 seconds of the half. First, D’Onta Foreman was stuffed for no gain on a fourth-and-1 deep handoff from the Dolphins’ 38. On Miami’s next play, Martin Emerson intercepted Huntley’s pass for Johnnu Smith. Only problem was Emerson had his left arm draped around Smith’s neck. The pass interference penalty negated Emerson’s first INT of the year. Huntley then went in for the field goal with three straight completions followed by a spike to stop the clock at :01.

8. Ward out: Cornerback Denzel Ward suffered a shoulder injury late in the first half and did not return. Linebacker Jordan Hicks also suffered a concussion on the last defensive series of the first half.

9. Home cookin’: Usually it’s been the other way around, but this time the Dolphins were the ones shooting themselves in the foot. They committed seven penalties in the first half. Another was declined by the Browns.

10. Pre-game notes: As expected, the Browns kept quarterback Jameis Winston under wraps and made him inactive. Winston has a shoulder injury, per the club. Even though the Dolphins’ playoff hopes were mathematically alive at kickoff, they made quarterback Tua Tagovailoa inactive with a hip injury. Also inactive for the Dolphins was receiver Jaylen Waddle. Other inactives for the Browns: receiver Cedric Tillman, tight end David Njoku, defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo and cornerback Chigozie Anusiem.