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Turnovers doom Cleveland Browns in loss to Patriots as losing streak reaches three games
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- Turnovers doom Cleveland Browns in loss to Patriots as losing streak reaches three games
CLEVELAND — A different year. The same result.
Yet again, the Browns played the New England Patriots, just as they did last year. Just as they did last year, they put forth arguably the worst all-around performance of the season.
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A year ago, it was a 38-point loss in Foxborough, Massachusetts. This time, it was a 38-15 loss to New England in Cleveland that extended the Browns' losing streak to three.
It was a day on which the Browns offense was sporadic at best. The defense, while it managed to not let the Patriots run all over it like the previous two opponents — the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers — did, reverted to its old ways of letting receivers run wide open and missing badly on tackle attempts.
All of that, by the way, was done while playing against rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe, who was making his second career start. It turned into Zappe's first career 300-yard passing day.
Now, the Browns will take a 2-4 record into back-to-back AFC North games. That starts next Sunday at Baltimore, before they play host to Cincinnati on Oct. 31, their last game before the bye week.
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Interception sets tone for Jacoby Brissett 's uneven game
Jacoby Brissett didn't wait until the final three minutes of the game to throw an interception against his former team. It took just two throws for him to do so.
Brissett was intercepted by Kyle Dugger at the New England 36 as the Browns quarterback was trying to find tight end Pharoah Brown on a flag route. It was his fourth pick of the season, but the first he's thrown outside of the final three minutes of the game.
It was the precursor to a first half that was incredibly uneven for Brissett, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 91 yards in the opening 30 minutes.
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There wasn't much that improved in the second half. Brissett added a second interception with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter, a dagger that allowed the Patriots to open up a 24-6 lead.
Brissett also lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter that set up the final Patriots score.
Brissett did throw a 15-yard touchdown to Amari Cooper in the fourth quarter to pull the Browns within 24-15. He finished 21-of-45 passing for 266 yards.
New England Patriots own third down, until they don't, on first drive
The Browns defense did a good job of bowing up on first and second downs after the Patriots got the ball on the pick. The problem was third down, which is when New England was able move the ball.
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The Patriots converted a third-and-7 from their own 39 with a 17-yard pass to Kendrick Bourne . A third-and-9 from the Browns 43 resulted in a 29-yard completion to Devante Parker, and Greg Newsome II was flagged for pass interference in the end zone to help New England convert a third-and-7 from the Cleveland 11.
However, that third-down magic ran out for the Patriots when tight end Hunter Henry had a 2-yard touchdown catch negated when he stepped out of bounds then came back in for an illegal touching penalty. They had to settle for a 19-yard Nick Folk field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Bailey Zappe doesn't play like a rookie for New England Patriots
There were questions about who the starter would be at quarterback for the Patriots. Would Mac Jones be healthy enough to start after missing the last two games with an ankle injury, or would Zappe get his second start?
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The official decision wasn't made until 11:30 a.m. Sunday, when it was announced Jones would be inactive and Zappe would start. Zappe then went out and once again didn't play like a guy in his first season in the NFL.
Zappe completed 24 of 34 passes for 309 yards with two touchdowns. He spread it around to seven different receivers, including five with at least four receptions.
Browns kicker Cade York erases some bad memories
The last time Cade York kicked in the stadium, he had his first two-miss day against the Chargers. That included what could've been a game-winning 54-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the game.
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York was able to begin the process of erasing those bad memories on the Browns' second possession when he tied the score 3-3 with a 39-yard field goal at the east (Dawg Pound) end of the stadium.
The chance to kick at the same goal posts that were York's nemesis a week ago came in the second quarter. This time, he connected on a 48-yarder to the west end to pull the Browns within 10-6 with 26 seconds remaining in the half.
York added a 51-yard field goal to the west end of the stadium early in the fourth quarter to make it 24-9 Patriots.
Myles Garrett finally gets his 'record setter'
Myles Garrett came into the game a half-sack behind Clay Matthews for the "official" team sack record. It's a spot he had been in since after the Jets loss.
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Garrett broke the record with 47 seconds left in the first quarter when he came in and knocked the ball free from Zappe's hand as he tried to pass. The ball squirted six yards forward, where Garrett's teammate, John Johnson III , recovered.
The play was initial reviewed, but stood.
The play gave Garrett 62.5 sacks for his career. Matthews' official record was 62, but that only takes into account the ones he recorded starting in 1982, the year the sack was first kept as an official stat by the NFL.
The unofficial sack leader is Bill Glass with 77.5 from 1962-68. Matthews' unofficial total rises to 75 if his first four seasons from 1978-81 are included.
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Rhamondre Stevenson bottled up, until he wasn't
A year ago, Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots' beatdown of the Browns. And Sunday he was coming in to face a Cleveland run defense that had been gashed the previous two weeks by Atlanta and the Chargers after he had gone for a career-high 161 yards last week against Detroit.
The first eight times Stevenson ran the ball, the Browns did a good job of containing him. He had just 16 net yards on those eight carries.
The ninth time Stevenson carried the ball was much different. He took a handoff, bounced it outside to the left and ran essentially untouched 31 yards for a Patriots touchdown and a 10-3 lead.
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Second-half meltdown for Browns results in blowout
The Patriots actually had four possessions in the second half that didn't produce points. The problem is they had four that did, which is why they were able to turn a 10-6 halftime lead into a three-score win.
They used a combined missed tackle by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Grant Delpit to help spring Jonnu Smith for a 53-yard gain to set up a touchdown open the third quarter. They turned a Brissett interception into a Hunter Henry touchdown catch.
The final nails in the coffin were a muffed punt and a Brissett fumble that set up scores that allowed the Patriots to turn a 24-15 lead into a 38-15 advantage. And that's not to mention the botched onside kick recovery attempt on which A.J. Green touched the ball while out of bounds, which the replay review caught to give the ball back to New England after the Browns had gotten within nine with just over six minutes remaining.
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Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns lose to Patriots following multiple Jacoby Brissett turnovers
