'We've just got to finish': Browns offense needs to carry opening-drive success forward

The way Sunday's game at Baltimore started for the Browns offense was about as good as possible.

They took the opening kickoff and marched down the field in 11 plays. Most importantly, the drive culminated in seven points, as Nick Chubb capped the 75-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

That was the good. The bad, and at times ugly, happened after that scripted opening drive.

The next nine possessions resulted in 13 total points for the Browns. That's why they left Baltimore with a 23-20 loss and a four-game losing streak.

"It just comes down to the practice during the week," right tackle Jack Conklin said in the visitor's locker room at M&T Bank Stadium. "Locking in on that stuff, we just got to keep that momentum going. Not sure if we're taking teams off guard and we just got to keep that going and keep fighting. We are proud of how we're starting games, we've just got to finish."

The drive against the Ravens was the third time in seven games the Browns have taken their opening possession and turned it into a touchdown. They also did so in Week 2 against the New York Jets and in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Two other times, that opening script has at least moved the Browns into opposing territory. They took the first possession of the season at Carolina and went 29 yards in eight plays, ultimately giving the ball up on downs at the Panthers 36.

The most notable of those drives came in Week 4 in Atlanta, when the Browns drove to the Falcons 3. After a third-down loss of a yard, they threw an incomplete pass on fourth down to come away with no points.

That's five times in seven games in which the Browns have at least given themselves a legitimate chance at points on their first possession. Clearly the opening script drawn up by coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt works.

"We definitely got off to a fast start," quarterback Jacoby Brissett said following the Ravens game. "That was one of our goals. Coming into this game they had never trailed in the first three quarters. The plan was to get out, start out fast and let them play from behind. And I feel like we did a good job of coming out starting fast."

The Browns scored on their first two possessions against the Ravens. Cade York's 41-yard field goal gave them a 10-3 lead in the first quarter.

It's similar to how things went against both the Jets and Chargers, both games in which they scored on their first two possessions. What's also similar about all three of those games is that they all ended up being losses for the Browns.

What separates the Ravens loss from those two is the way the Browns' offense went into a lull in the middle portion of the game. After taking that 10-3 lead with 18 seconds left in the first quarter, they didn't score again until York's 37-yard field goal with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter capped their seventh possession and cut the Ravens' lead to 20-13.

So, what happened in those four possessions between York field goals? Basically everything that could go wrong, be it self-inflicted or Ravens-inflicted, happened.

“We had the one drive where we were backed up, and [Ravens linebacker] Patrick Queen ran through a couple of times and made some plays," left guard Joel Bitonio said. "I think that really threw us off. I think we had three or four punts in that little stretch there. It just wasn’t our game.

"When you get behind the sticks for us, it is really tough to be able to run the ball and be able to keep going on those things. … The second half, we got back into it on a couple of those drives and we were feeling a lot better about ourselves. We kind of picked that up a little bit better.”

Three of those four possessions between the second and third quarters netted minus yardage for the Browns. The four drives as a whole netted 22 yards on a total of 13 plays.

There were two three-and-outs, both of which ended further back than where the possession began. There was also a three-play disaster on the Browns' opening drive of the third quarter that resulted in two Ravens sacks − the second of which ended in a lost Brissett fumble − sandwiched around a 2-yard screen pass to Chubb.

Those were two of four sacks the Ravens had between the third and sixth Browns possessions. The Ravens finished with five sacks, the other coming right before York's 41-yard field goal.

"Seemed like they started heating us up more than what we had in protection," Conklin said of the Ravens' sacks in the middle two quarters. "Not sure if it was games or what, but we just got to do a better job of holding up and switching our protections as a line."

Those sacks led to questions about the lack of a running game in those possessions. Between Chubb's 2-yard run to open the third possession with 10:05 remaining in the second quarter and his 5-yard run to start the seventh possession with 7:39 remaining in the third, the Browns called nothing but pass plays.

In the 36 total plays on the Browns' four scoring drives against the Ravens, they ran the ball 18 times, including a designed Brissett sneak and a scramble. Chubb had 14 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown on those four drives, and Kareem Hunt added two carries for eight net yards and a touchdown.

In the other six non-scoring possessions, covering 26 plays, they ran it a combined six times, including one Brissett scramble that set up what ended up being a blocked 60-yard field goal try with just over two minutes remaining. Those six rushes netted 10 yards, seven of which came on Brissett's scramble.

"It is not what we are trying to do obviously," Stefanski said Monday of the offensive lull. "Trying to just be efficient in the run and the pass game, trying to avoid third down as best we can and come away with points when we have opportunities to do it.

"When it is not good enough, that is on me and us to get it fixed. There were just too many moments there where the offense hit a lull, and versus a good team, you have to make the most of your opportunities. I don’t feel like we did that, and that falls squarely on me.”

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

Bengals at Browns

Time: 8:15 p.m. Monday

TV: ESPN

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns offense needs to carry opening-drive success forward