Another week, another heartbreaking loss for the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland became the first NFL team to fall to 0-4 this season thanks to a 23-16 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.
Contrary to what their record may suggest, the Browns have been competitive all season, losing four games by a combined 25 points. For those of you that aren't math majors, that's an average loss by 6¼ points.
Cleveland couldn't run the ball against the vaunted Ravens defense, amassing just 43 yards on the ground. Rookie Trent Richardson led the attack with 47 yards and a score on 14 carries. Quarterback Brandon Weeden, another rookie, performed admirably with the offense's success resting on his right arm. Weeden completed 25 of 52 passes for 320 yards and spread the ball around nicely. Greg Little caught four passes for 77 yards and was one of four Browns receivers with at least four catches.
While being competitive is nice, Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature says it's time for the Browns to start winning some of the close ones:
Despite putting up a valiant effort in several of their games this season, especially Thursday night's comeback attempt against the Baltimore Ravens, the Browns can't always be "on the verge of winning" – they need to pull out some of these victories.