The Cleveland Browns let an extremely well-played game on defense slip away against the Baltimore Ravens, and while there were plenty of reasons why, a missed call on Cleveland’s final offensive play of the game had a lot to do with it.
The Browns faced a fourth down from the Ravens’ 25-yard line with just over one minute to play and needed a little more than five yards for a reset of downs and a chance to tie the game with a touchdown.
“AWFUL MISSED CALL,” the MLFootball X account captioned video of the play in question. “RAVENS WERE CLEARLY OFFSIDES ON THE BROWNS FINAL PLAY OF THE GAME. Baltimore was offsides and because of that caused a pressure that blew up Cleveland’s fourth down play. Cleveland players and coaching staff were really angry.”
Among those players was offensive guard Wyatt Teller, who was visibly furious on the sideline after the play. Head coach Kevin Stefanski also said after the game that he believed the Ravens were offsides on the play.
“Yeah I thought they did [jump offsides], but they didn’t call it,” he said.
Shedeur Sanders Spoke About Final Drive in First NFL Experience
GettySafety Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens sacks quarterback Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns.
Starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel left the contest at halftime and entered concussion protocol, which paved the way for the first-ever NFL action for fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders finished the day 4-of-16 passing for 42 yards with an interception and a fumble. He spoke with media members about his first experience following the loss.
“It was a rough day overall. The thing that I was excited about is just being able to get out there. It was the first time I got hit since my last game at Colorado, so just having that feeling back, ya know, is good,” Sanders said. “I know I’m made for it. I don’t think there’s a doubt in my mind that [on] that final drive we was gonna go down there and score. Some things happened and we didn’t.”
One of those things was the offsides call that wasn’t. Another was a dropped pass in the end zone by 23-year-old wide receiver Gage Larvadain, which would have put Cleveland in position to tie the game by converting the extra point try, or perhaps win it with a two-point conversion.
Browns Defense Kept Lamar Jackson in Check, but Offense Squandered Halftime Lead
GettyCleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
The offense’s poor play wasted another quality performance by the Browns defense, which held the Ravens to just 23 points on the afternoon.
Cleveland gave Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson fits, holding him to 14-of-25 passing for 193 yards and two interceptions. The Browns also sacked Jackson five times and held him to just 10 yards rushing on four carries.
The Ravens were able to run the football, amassing 184 ground yards and two scores on 30 carries. One of them was a fourth-down play, which tight end Mark Andrews ran in from 35 yards out for the game-deciding touchdown after fielding a direct snap.
Stefanski expressed his disappointment following the loss.
“Those guys were fighting until the end, but we gotta find a way to close that one out,” he said. “It’s disappointing, frustrating.”
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