Cleveland Browns: Red zone is where team's hopes go to die

The Cleveland Browns performance in the red zone has been a source of horrors often restricted to movies with the safety of knowing they aren’t real. Fans of the Browns aren’t so lucky.

If there were one statistic to effectively explain why the Cleveland Browns find themselves 0-11, it would be their red zone efficiency. Whether it’s an opportunity to score points or the Browns have their backs up against the wall, they just don’t do enough when it comes to making those plays that decide who will win the game.

In their second matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns offense had four red zone opportunities to score touchdowns and could only finish one of them. Meanwhile, the Bengals had five opportunities and came away with touchdowns on three of them. The Browns lost the game by two touchdowns.

Entering this week, the Browns have managed to score touchdowns on just 46.15 percent of their red zone trips, which ties them for 27th in the league. More frustrating is the fact the Browns were actually better in this area last year, scoring on 54.55 percent of their opportunities, good enough to have them 15th in the league.

Certainly, rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer’s struggles in the red zone have been hugely problematic. Entering the game today, Kizer completed just seven of his 22 passes for 42 yards and four touchdowns while throwing five interceptions. He ran for his fifth rushing touchdown against the Bengals, but those passing statistics are the stuff of nightmares.

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Adding to the problem has been head coach Hue Jackson, who has butchered the clock on any number of opportunities at the end of halves. They’ve come away without scoring points or were forced to settle for field goals because of his mishandling of his timeouts and various games.

Defensively, the story is no better for the Browns. It’s a unit with a ton of youth and inexperience that flashes brilliance from time to time. But when it comes to keeping opponents out of the red zone, they entered this week giving up touchdowns on an outrageous 76.2 percent of opportunities. It should come as no surprise this is dead last in the league.

What might be a slight surprise is the fact the Browns were better at this last year under Ray Horton and with far less talent. In 2016, the Browns ranked 29th in the NFL allowing touchdowns on two of every three opportunities. That’s a major reason the Browns finished 1-15 in 2016 and seemingly why Ray Horton was replaced as defensive coordinator.

The Miami Dolphins are also allowing touchdowns on 70.37 percent of their red zone opportunities. In the past decade, only two other teams have allowed touchdowns over 70 percent of the time in the red zone; the 2010 Philadelphia Eagles allowed touchdowns 78.26 percent of the time and the 2012 San Diego Chargers gave up touchdowns 70 percent of the time.

There’s much that can be blamed on how the young the team is but the Browns are the worst team in the NFL when it comes to the red zone. And certainly there are countless examples where players aren’t executing a given assignment. At some point though, the question has to be asked why, in year two, the Browns are getting worse in this critical area of the game and how it gets remedied.

The players certainly warrant their share of the blame, but there are too many examples where it seems like calls from the sidelines are causing the issues. It’s not difficult to figure out where the point differentials are being created in these games and in the games that have been close, these opportunities as well as turnovers account for the losing.

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Basically, if the Browns are going to win, they are going to have to win the battle of the red zone. The Browns have had opportunities to win games here or there, but the overall trend of the season shows why it shouldn’t be surprising why the Browns are 0-11.

The fact the Cleveland Browns are actually getting worse in each of these categories in year two is a major concern and one that warrants questions, specifically to the coaching staff. There is more talent on each side of the ball, but the results in this key area of the field are headed in the wrong direction. Not only are the Browns in genuine danger of going 0-16 but if the only way the Browns are going to improve in these areas is talent, one cannot help but wonder what difference this coaching staff makes.

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Cleveland Browns: Red zone is where team’s hopes go to die

By Peter Smith | Nov 27, 2017

The Cleveland Browns performance in the red zone has been a source of horrors often restricted to movies with the safety of knowing they aren’t real. Fans of the Browns aren’t so lucky.