After Week 3, the Cleveland Browns are one of the biggest disappointments in the league. There was plenty of hype surrounding the Browns and after a Sunday night loss to the Los Angeles Rams, they sit at 1-2.
The hype was extremely premature and the Browns are showing it. It is still early and they play in a division that is wide open. Moving forward, here are three things that need to happen if the Browns want to turn it around. And no, Freddie Kitchens is not in the top three even though he called a draw play on fourth-and-nine. The honorable mention goes to Kitchens giving up play calling.
3. Football Must Come First
The second the Browns traded for Odell Beckham Jr., people overreacted and started believing in the Browns. In reality, the Beckham trade turned the Browns into a soap opera. Beckham did it to the New York Giants and it did not take long for it to happen in Cleveland.
Throughout training camp, Beckham spoke more about the Giants than he did about his current team. After a 43-13 blowout loss in Week 1, the story around the country was not about the game. It was about Beckham wearing a $350,000 watch on the field. That is not how winning teams operate.
With Beckham on the Browns, they are looking like a circus early on. Football must be the No. 1 priority if a team wants to win and Beckham has not won since he has been in the league.
2. Penalties
Article Continues BelowThis can be described in one word– penalties. The Browns lead the league in penalties with 35. In Week 1, they committed 18 penalties. Sunday night was their lowest output of the season with eight. This is a major problem.
Penalties in Cleveland have been evenly distributed on offense and defense. There is no discipline on either side of the ball right now for the Browns. They have totaled 327 penalty yards in three games. There is no one specifically to blame for this. There is not much else to say on the subject, it is all facts. If the Browns want to be a playoff team, the double-digit penalty games have to come to an end.
1. Baker Mayfield
The offseason hype surrounding the Browns began with Baker Mayfield. He must be better. Through three games, Mayfield has not looked like a franchise player who can win championships.
Mayfield has thrown for 805 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He has completed 56.9% of his passes. The decision making has been poor. There have been countless throws made off his back foot into double or triple coverage.
This is a quarterback league and the one in Cleveland right now needs to improve.