The Cleveland Browns are coming off yet another ugly loss, as they fell to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 20-13 on Sunday night, dropping them to 1-2 on the season.
It's not that the Browns lost to the Rams, who are the defending NFC champions; it's how they lost.
For the third straight week, Cleveland's offense struggled to get off the ground, a major red flag for a team that was expected by most to have a very explosive offense going into 2019.
With a tough road matchup with the Baltimore Ravens looming, here are three burning questions for the Browns heading into Week 4.
3. What Has Happened to the Offensive Line?
A year ago, the Browns had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. As a matter of fact, Pro Football Focus had Cleveland's offensive line unit ranked second in the league last season.
But through three games in 2019, the Browns' offensive line has been a massive disappointment.
Baker Mayfield has already been sacked 11 times (he was sacked just 25 times all of 2018), and Nick Chubb is averaging just four yards per carry, well below the 5.2 yards per attempt he averaged last year.
This is a problem that Cleveland did not anticipate, and it's one that is probably going to be very difficult to repair.
2. Has Baker Mayfield Regressed?
Mayfield took the NFL world by storm last season, setting a rookie record with 27 touchdown passes, and in just 14 games and 13 starts, no less.
But this year? Mayfield has barely even resembled the fiery first-year quarterback we saw in 2018, as he has thrown three touchdowns and five interceptions over the first three weeks while completing just 56.9 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 70.3.
And this is with an improved receiving corps that now includes Odell Beckham Jr.
I will say that people placed unfair expectations on Mayfield coming into 2019. It's only his second year in the league, and quarterbacks rarely take big steps in Year 2.
But I'm not sure anyone expected him to play this poorly.
There seems to be a disconnect between Mayfield and the rest of the offense. Fortunately, it's only Week 4, but at the same time, the NFL season is only 16 games long.
1. Is Freddie Kitchens In Over His Head?
Freddie Kitchens had very limited experience coming into this year.
He had only been an offensive coordinator for half of a season, and he had never been a head coach, which made the Browns' decision to promote him to the role of head coach all the more peculiar.
Now, it's looking like that was a lapse in judgment.
Kitchens has looked out of his element over the first few weeks, as his play-calling has been utterly disastrous at times (calling a draw on fourth-and-9?).
Cleveland made him head coach because of his relationship with Mayfield, but I'm not sure letting your 24-year-old quarterback determine who you hire is a smart move. Mayfield shouldn't have that type of clout yet.
I don't want to say Kitchens has no clue what he's doing, but it does seem like he has been overwhelmed thus far.
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