CINCINNATI: Browns coach Hue Jackson was so angry and disgusted that he took his headset off late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Browns had lost another quarterback to injury when rookie Cody Kessler suffered a concussion in the second quarter.
Their defense had missed tackles and botched assignments, allowing the Bengals to rack up a staggering 559 yards, their most since Oct. 7, 1990. The Browns have given up more yards just three times in team history.
And now the Browns are 0-7 for the first time since they began the 1999 season with the same record. They were an expansion team then and finished the season 2-14, the worst record in franchise history.
“I don’t like losing,” Jackson said. “I can get disappointed and upset just like anybody else. Because I took [the headset] off, I knew exactly everything that was going on. I can hear. It wasn’t like I wasn’t involved in the game, but I did [take it off]. I can get disappointed. I don’t like where we are as a football team, and this is my responsibility.”
Rookie Kevin Hogan filled in at quarterback for the Browns after Kessler suffered a concussion with 7:27 left in the second quarter. He said associate head coach-offense Pep Hamilton communicated with him through their headsets in the second half instead of Jackson.
Jackson called timeout with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter after Bengals running back Giovani Bernard rushed for 17 yards. He then reprimanded the defense, which surrendered 271 yards on 30 carries (9.0 average), the Bengals’ most rushing yards since Dec. 3, 2000.
“I called the team out,” Jackson said. “I was disappointed because I don’t want anybody running the ball like that on us. We’ve got to get some things squared away, but I take responsibility for it all. It’s not our players. We’ve got to fix some things and keep working on some things and we will.”
Nose tackle Danny Shelton said Jackson told the defense to “keep on fighting. We’re better than the way we played today. I stand behind him on that. We definitely didn’t play our hardest today, or the way the Browns should play.”
The Browns have lost their past 10 games and 17 of the last 18 dating back to the 2015 season. They haven’t won since Dec. 13.
It’s wearing on Jackson in his first season with the organization.
“I think he’s definitely frustrated,” left tackle Joe Thomas said. “I don’t think he expected to be 0-7.”
Jackson expressed more dissatisfaction than he had after the previous six losses. Perhaps this one stung a bit more because it was his return to Cincinnati, where he spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator alongside coach Marvin Lewis, one of his best friends.
“We were going out trying to win this game that much more for him because of his history here,” offensive lineman John Greco said. “... You don’t see guys tanking and throwing it in and shutting it down. Everyone’s fighting every play and I appreciate that I, and I know he does, too. But there comes a point where we’ve got to start making more plays.”
Jackson didn’t take any solace in Bengals players and coaches being complimentary in their discussions with him after the game.
“That doesn’t do anything for me,” Jackson said. “I’m just being very honest. I’m not used to this. I don’t like losing, but until we get it right, it’s going to feel like this. But we’re going to keep battling, I know that.
“I’m not discouraged. I’m disappointed in losing. I’ve never lost like this. But I’m going to find a way [to win]. I promise you that. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I’m going to find a way, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Kessler suffered a concussion when he collided with defensive tackle Domata Peko as defensive end Carlos Dunlap tackled him. He completed a shovel pass to tight end Gary Barnidge for an 11-yard gain on the second-and-13 play from the Bengals’ 16-yard line.
Kessler has started the past five games and performed well. He went 9-of-11 passing for 82 yards with a rating of 97.7 before he exited the game. Two plays after he was hurt, the Browns seized a 10-7 lead when running back Isaiah Crowell rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 6:20 left in the second quarter.
But they went downhill in a hurry.
They fell behind 14-10 when quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver Brandon LaFell connected for a 44-yard touchdown with 4:09 left in the second quarter. LaFell beat cornerback Jamar Taylor and was wide open when he made the catch.
Then the Bengals secured a 21-10 halftime lead when five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green tipped a Hail Mary pass from Dalton twice and grabbed it in a crowd for a 48-yard touchdown with time expired in the second quarter.
Jackson said Green’s touchdown was “very” deflating.
“That shouldn’t happen,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. We’ve got to do a better job.”
In his regular-season NFL debut, Hogan completed 12-of-24 passes for 100 yards with two interceptions and a rating of 26.4. On the bright side, he showed he can be an effective runner at the highest level, rushing seven times for 104 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown that trimmed the Browns’ deficit to 21-17 with 10:43 left in the third quarter.
But Hogan’s touchdown run, the longest by a Browns quarterback in team history, proved to be a tease. Two plays later, safety Ibraheim Campbell missed a tackle, running back Jeremy Hill broke loose for a 74-yard touchdown run and the Bengals went ahead 28-17 with 9:47 left in the third quarter. They never lost control the rest of the way.
Jackson didn’t take it well.
“We’re an 0-7 football team, so him and everyone else is completely justified in their anger,” Campbell said. “And we’ve just got to figure out a way to get a win.”
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.