On October 6th ,2024, at 1 pm eastern time, the Cleveland Browns traveled to Landover Maryland to play the Washington Commanders. The Browns were 1-3 and the Commanders were 3-1 and a 3.5-point favorite. The Browns were trying to get a win to hopefully turnaround their season, while the Commanders were beaming with confidence with the dynamic play of their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. The question going into this game for Daniels was how would he handle the Cleveland Browns defense? It turns out that he handled it just fine.

The ongoing story for the Cleveland Browns in 2024 is the lack of complimentary football. The defense started the game well. They got a three and out in Washington’s first offensive possession. And they created a turnover in the red zone in the 1st quarter. As the game progressed, the problem for the Browns was the lack of offensive production. The Cleveland Browns offense was 1-13 on third downs in this game. In fairness they averaged 3rd down and almost 8 yards to go on those plays. The lack of production on 1st and 2nd down was the downfall of the offense. Costly penalties and negative plays plagued the Browns offense too. Watson was pressured 19 times and sacked 7 times. And don’t forget the 9 penalties for 52 yards. Deshaun Watson showed his frustration in the 3rd quarter when a communication issue caused a delay of game penalty and the Browns opted to kick the field goal. The Browns lost 34-13. The game was an abysmal failure for the Cleveland Browns as a team and as an organization. But where do they go from here?

Next week they travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, it doesn’t get any easier for the struggling Browns. After that game they begin divisional play at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game, “You can’t beat anybody until you stop beating yourself”. It sounds like good advice, let’s hope the Cleveland Browns take it. For the sake of their fans and their 2024 season.