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Browns left to ponder 'missed opportunity' with NFL playoff run ending early | Takeaways
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- Browns left to ponder 'missed opportunity' with NFL playoff run ending early | Takeaways
HOUSTON — Amari Cooper 's been around the block. The Browns wide receiver wasn't making his playoff debut on Saturday night in the AFC wild card game at the Houston Texans .
Nor was the 45-14 Browns loss the first time Cooper had experienced the feeling of disappointment in losing before his team was expected to lose. So, the nine-year pro was the perfect one to succinctly sum up the feelings of Saturday night's loss.
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"We lost in the playoffs, first round," Cooper said. "It's never a good feeling, never want your season to end on a loss. Obviously every team that makes the playoffs feels like they're going to go to the Super Bowl and win it. Unfortunately we weren't able to accomplish that."
The question that lingers, though, is whether or not the Browns allowed opportunity to slip away. Opportunity doesn't knock every day — or every season, in the case of football teams.
Opportunities like the one the Browns, who went 11-6 in the regular season, potentially had this postseason are even more rare for this specific franchise. Saturday's loss was just the fourth playoff game it had played since re-emerging as an expansion franchise in 1999, and the third one it had lost.
Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku leaves the field after their loss against the Houston Texans in an NFL wild-card playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Houston.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
"This one, we got beat, we got outcoached, we were undermanned and outgunned," defensive end Myles Garrett said. "And at this point, if you look at it from the outside, you're like, 'Well, they just got beat.' But you look at it from the inside, being on the field, and you know that the game wasn't that far. It wasn't that far away from us.
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Losing, though, didn't seem like it was in the destiny of this Browns team, at least in the first round. They were the team with the playoff-tested quarterback, not the Texans; they were the one with a No. 1-ranked defense, not Houston.
Instead, the rookie quarterback for the Texans, C.J. Stroud , lit up that top-ranked defense for 274 yards, three touchdowns and a 157.2 passer rating. Meanwhile, the Browns' 16-year veteran and former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, quarterback Joe Flacco , was intercepted twice — both returned for touchdowns — and sacked four times.
"I mean, we'll have more opportunities," cornerback Greg Newsome II , "but this particular season was a missed opportunity. We felt like we had the guys — I still feel like we have the guys in the room to get it done — but we fell short."
So a team that had overcome nine season-ending injuries to starters and finished with 13 players on injured reserve couldn't extend the magic for one more week. It couldn't ride the wave into the divisional round for the second time in four years.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper leaves the field after a loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday in Houston.
It couldn't find a way to maximize a window of opportunity that existed with this specific group of players.
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"It was a good season," running back Kareem Hunt said. "It was a lot of people doubting us. We had a lot of injuries and fought through a lot. We overcame a lot, and we just didn't go out there and play our best ball today. I know we're a better team than that and I guess we'll be getting ready for next year or whatever."
The biggest problem for the Browns is trying to maintain what was built this season. It was the perfect blend in the locker room that helped to create an atmosphere where the buy-in was as high as it was for a team that suffered as many injuries as it did over the year.
The Browns were nowhere close to the same team in Houston on Saturday as they were when training camp began last July at The Greenbriar in West Virginia. When they open up camp again this summer, potentially back at The Greenbriar, it's not going to be the same.
So what was the lesson of this season? Was this season a missed opportunity or not?
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"At the end of the day, if we're being honest, no team is the same," Cooper said. "So I don't really know how to answer that question."
That's because there is no one answer. The answer will be whatever it is in the individual's own perspective.
Browns free agents this offseason include Za'Darius Smith, Kareem Hunt, Anthony Walker Jr.
The Browns are scheduled to go through exit meetings Sunday. They'll then clean out their lockers and head off to parts across the country.
Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt is tackled by the Houston Texans on Saturday in Houston.
Some of them, maybe even many of them, won't be back in Berea when the offseason program starts up in April. According to Spotrac , the Browns have 23 free agents this offseason.
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Here's a list of those free agents, in alphabetical order:
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Matthew Adams , linebacker
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Corey Bojorquez , punter
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Harrison Bryant , tight end
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Geron Christian , offensive tackle
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Michael Dunn, offensive lineman
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Jordan Elliott , defensive tackle
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Joe Flacco, quarterback
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Mike Ford Jr., cornerback
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Marquise Goodwin , receiver
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Jakeem Grant , receiver/return man (injured reserve)
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Kahlef Hailassie , cornerback (restricted free agent)
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Duron Harmon , safety
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Nick Harris , offensive lineman
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Shelby Harris , defensive tackle
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Kareem Hunt, running back
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Maurice Hurst II, defensive tackle
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Jordan Kunaszyk , linebacker
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Rodney McLeod , safety
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Jacob Phillips , linebacker (injured reserve)
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James Proche II, receiver/return man
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Za'Darius Smith, defensive end
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Sione Takitaki , linebacker
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Anthony Walker Jr., linebacker
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns left to ponder 'missed opportunity' with early playoff exit
