The Cleveland Browns absorbed another big blow to their playoff hopes as they lost to the Buffalo Bills, 31-23, on the road in Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season. Now at 3-7, the Browns remain in third place in the AFC North and are in danger of missing the postseason. Here are the four Browns most to blame for their Week 11 loss vs. the Bills.

For the second week in a row, Cleveland was dominated on the road by a playoff-contending AFC East rival. And once again, the Browns just did not look good at all out there. If you expected them to learn from their mistakes against the Miami Dolphins a week ago, well, you probably got very disappointed.

The thing is that Cleveland has a deep roster. However, it's evident that the just Browns aren't good enough to compete with the AFC's best teams. This loss to the Bills just proved that in a very tangible way.

Let us look at the four Browns most to blame for their Week 11 loss vs. the Bills.

4. QB Jacoby Brissett

For so many moments this season, the Browns just seemed like their own worst enemy. They failed to overcome many self-inflicted errors early in the game.

Keep in mind that they had a botched kick and fumble that led to a Bills field goal. They also had missed passes in the red zone, and we're going to talk about those special teams mistakes later on, too. It was extremely disappointing since the Bills actually started slowly here. They gave Cleveland a chance to establish a huge lead early, but of course, the Browns shot themselves in the foot.

As for QB Jacoby Brissett, yes he did some things right, but one crucial blunder of the day was his fumble. This happened during the first half when the Bills' offense was struggling and the Browns even led the game 10-3.

Brissett's fumble served as a turning point in the match. It led to a score for Buffalo, and after that, their offense just looked very energized. Cleveland could not recover from that anymore.

3. RB Nick Chubb

The Browns' star RB Nick Chubb carried 14 times for only 19 yards and caught all three receptions for 48 yards. By far, it was his worst rushing performance of the season.

Take note that Chubb actually got off to a promising start with a 17-yard reception on the first play of the game. However, the rest of his day on the ground was in shambles. Buffalo just had the answer every time he got the ball in the backfield and try to bullrush his way through. Additionally, his record of three consecutive games with at least one touchdown was also broken. Looking ahead, he will now face a tough Buccaneers defense in a Week 12 home game.

2. Ground Defense

Cleveland's entire ground defense was terrible. It's as simple as that. They just had another week of allowing a ton of running yards. Take note that Buffalo's two running backs each gained over 85 yards, and if the Bills had run more, they could have gained padded that a lot more.

Sure, the defensive line appeared to be getting penetration in some moments. However, they couldn't finish the plays. They just moved up the field, creating larger gaps by removing themselves from the game. This forced the secondary to step up and make a few solid tackles. Apart from that, though, the defense's efforts to stop Buffalo's run game were all for naught.

It's no wonder the Browns are among the five worst teams in terms of yards per carry allowed. That's one weakness future opponents are surely going to exploit.

1. Special Teams

Rookie kicker Cade York once again fell short of expectations. That's in part due to the special teams' inability to protect him, though. York had one of his field goal attempts blocked in this game. This was the third such time it has happened this season, and it happened at a time when the Browns were desperate for points.

The bitter truth is that week in and week out, Browns special teams units have just underperformed under coordinator Mike Priefer. The same problems, especially about kicking protection and punt return defense, just keep popping out. Right now, there really seems to be a definite need for more dramatic measures.

With Priefer in charge, the Browns' special teams have just struggled in recent years. Mistakes on special teams were costly many times in this matchup against the Bills. In particular, they had missed tackles on some returns, giving Buffalo solid field positioning. Someone just needs to be held accountable, and the painful reality is that we might not expect Priefer to return next season.

As for York, well, he was surely expected to produce better results as a fourth-rounder. This blocked field goal did not help his or the Browns' cause, that's for sure. Take note that he is 16-of-21 on field goal conversions this season.

The one special teams positive was Jerome Ford's continued demonstration that he may be the Browns' best kick returner.