CLEVELAND: Murphy’s Law is killing the Browns.
Not only did they blow a 20-point lead Sunday en route to a 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the home opener at FirstEnergy Stadium, but their starting quarterback also went home with an injured left shoulder for the second time in as many weeks.
The heartbreaking AFC North defeat will be remembered for wide receiver Terrelle Pryor’s controversial taunting penalty that ruined a late comeback attempt and quarterback Josh McCown’s refusal to submit to injury.
McCown’s nonthrowing arm was hanging at his side as he walked to the X-ray room after the game. He later left the media’s sight in the locker room to either put his T-shirt on or have someone else do it for him. McCown then sidestepped a question about the result of the X-rays.
No one should be surprised if McCown can’t play when the Browns (0-2) visit the Miami Dolphins (0-2) on Sunday. Rookie third-round draft pick Cody Kessler is next in line to start. The Browns would also need to sign a quarterback if McCown were sidelined. Rookie fifth-round selection Kevin Hogan is on the practice squad.
McCown said he planned to face the Dolphins but knew it’d depend on more medical testing. He’ll undergo an MRI on Monday. NFL Network reported the Browns are bracing themselves for bad news.
“My mindset is that everything will be all right, and we will move ahead business as usual,” said McCown, who completed 20-of-33 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and a passer rating of 80.4. “It is just a matter of letting the doctors and trainers do their job, and my expectations are to play some ball.”
McCown started in place of Robert Griffin III, who suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder in a 29-10, season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns are looking at a timetable of eight to 12 weeks for Griffin’s recovery but also know he could very well be out for the rest of the season. He’ll be re-evaluated in a few weeks and may need surgery.
If there’s anyone who would play when it looks as if there’s no hope for him to do so, it’s McCown. His remarkable toughness was evident last season while he pushed through several injuries until a broken collarbone ended his season against the Ravens on Nov. 30. This time, the 14-year NFL veteran suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter, then repeatedly landed on it while absorbing hits. Yet he didn’t miss a snap despite almost being yanked from the game and replaced by Kessler on multiple occasions.
Kessler told McCown he marveled at his ability to endure.
“It kind of just gave me chills,” Kessler said. “I look up to him as a player, and I respect him so much. ... I know he’s tough. I could tell he was in pain. But he kept fighting through it.”
McCown had tears in his eyes when he spoke about staying in the game.
“I have a dad and an older brother who get up and go to work, and sometimes they don’t feel great and they go,” McCown, 37, said. “They go, and they grind. I have two little boys that are playing football now. They get hit and they get banged up, and I am trying to teach them what toughness means.
“For me, it is those things and just knowing the window for me right now and understanding that I don’t want to miss snaps. I don’t want to be out there without my guys. Unless [my arm] is going to fall off, let’s try to make it work and make it go. That is my mentality.”
The entire team had something fall off — its wheels.
With McCown on fire early, the Browns scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and sprinted to a 20-0 lead with 4:34 left in the first quarter. He connected with rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman for touchdowns of 31 and 11 yards.
In between those scores, running back Isaiah Crowell broke loose for the second-longest run in Browns history — an 85-yard touchdown — which was also the longest run ever surrendered by the Ravens.
But the game changed on a dime after Coleman’s second touchdown. McCown headed to the locker room to be evaluated, and Ravens defensive end Lawrence Guy blocked Patrick Murray’s extra-point kick, allowing cornerback Tavon Young to recover the ball and return it 63 yards for a rare defensive two-point conversion.
The Browns still led by 18 points after one quarter. It was their largest lead after the first quarter since Dec. 3, 1961, when they led the Dallas Cowboys 21-0 en route to a 38-17 win. Legendary running back Jim Brown played for the Browns back then, and they immortalized him before Sunday’s game by unveiling a statue outside the stadium.
The modern-day Browns, however, squandered the historic lead by allowing 25 consecutive points. The Ravens (2-0) took their first lead when Justin Tucker made a 49-yard field goal with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter and extended it to 25-20 when he made a 41-yard attempt with 2:53 remaining.
“We started off like a house of fire the first half, and then we weren’t able to maintain it and finish it that way,” coach Hue Jackson said. “That is what happens in the National Football League. You have to keep scoring. We didn’t do that in the second half.”
The Browns were haunted by two crucial penalties in the final quarter.
Coleman was penalized 15 yards for a personal foul while tussling with cornerback Jimmy Smith. Smith lowered a shoulder and hit Coleman. Coleman then swiped at Smith’s helmet with his left hand. Smith countered by hitting Coleman in the helmet with his right hand. A flag was thrown. Two plays later, Murray missed a 52-yard field goal wide right with 13:54 remaining.
Then with McCown orchestrating a drive in crunch time and the Browns facing first-and-10 at the Ravens’ 30, Pryor caught a 20-yard pass in front of safety Lardarius Webb and fell out of bounds to stop the clock with 20 seconds left. When Pryor rose, he flipped the ball, and it brushed the left shoulder pad of Webb. It looked as if Pryor was trying to flip the ball to an official on the sideline when it hit Webb, but the action drew a taunting penalty that negated the play.
Instead of facing first-and-goal at the 10 with 20 seconds left and trailing by five points, the Browns returned to first-and-10 at the 30. On the next play, McCown’s pass intended for Pryor was intercepted by inside linebacker C.J. Mosley at the 1 with 13 seconds left.
McCown called the penalty “very deflating,” and Pryor said “clearly I wasn’t trying to drop [the ball] on nobody.”
“Can’t hang our head in the sand,” Jackson said. “Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.