CLEVELAND: After honoring their 1986 AFC Central Championship team with a special halftime ceremony, the Browns unintentionally paid tribute to 1975.
They stumbled to 0-8 for the first time in 41 years after blowing a 13-point halftime lead and falling 31-28 to the New York Jets on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Coach Hue Jackson and quarterback Josh McCown took blame for the collapse.
“Had our chances, did not finish it and that has kind of been the story of our season,” said Jackson, whose team has squandered four second-half leads this year. “I take responsibility for that.
“Somehow, someway, we have to find a way in the second half to finish games, and we have the opportunity. It is disappointing to have the ’86 team here, who did a lot of great things here, and see those guys and not have them be able to walk away from here with a win.”
The Browns flirted with salvaging their second-half meltdown when McCown threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andrew Hawkins with 12 seconds left, then completed a pass to wide receiver Terrelle Pryor for a successful two-point conversion to cut the Jets’ lead to three points.
However, Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall recovered the ensuing onside kick to ensure the Browns would suffer their eighth consecutive loss in a single season for the first time since 2004. They haven’t won since Dec. 13.
They’ve also dropped their past 11 games and 18 of the last 19 dating back to the 2015 season. They’ve lost 11 in a row twice before (1974-75 and 2011-12), but 18 defeats in 19 games is unprecedented. Since their five-game losing streak to end 2014, they’re 3-26.
“Any leader can only lead effectively, but we all know the battle decides all,” Jackson said. “At some point in time, you have to win battles. We have to do that.
“The second half, I have not solved that. That is a problem. I have to get it solved. ... We have to finish it. We have to get this monkey off our back.”
After missing the previous five games with the fractured left collarbone he suffered Sept. 18 in a 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, McCown caught fire early against the Jets (3-5). He completed 16-of-27 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown with a rating of 99 through two quarters, leading the Browns to a 20-7 halftime advantage.
But McCown cooled off in the second half, completing just 9-of-22 passes for 113 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions that came on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter. His rating after halftime was 34.8.
“I take this one squarely on me,” said McCown, who finished 25-of-49 passing for 341 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and a rating of 70.2. “I don’t feel like I played to the level that I’m capable of playing at and that I played to in the first half. I feel like it cost us the ballgame.
“It is 0-8. You know? It stinks. Then to know that you have a hand in not being able to get some of those wins, it crushes you.”
Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas heard about McCown taking responsibility for the defeat and said, “Never is a loss on one guy.”
It’s true because the defense struggled just as much as McCown in the final two quarters, allowing 287 of the Jets’ 393 yards and 24 consecutive points. Cornerbacks were burned in coverage, and several defenders missed tackles.
It was also suggested the defensive coaching staff lost its chess match.
“They made halftime adjustments,” cornerback Joe Haden said. “They were running different plays than when they were running in the first half. We’ve got to do the same. We’ve got to adjust just the same way they adjusted.”
The Jets started the second half with the ball and generated a 12-play, 78-yard scoring drive. On second-and-9, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Quincy Enunwa connected for a 24-yard touchdown, trimming the Browns’ advantage to 20-14 with 8:15 left in the third quarter. Four Browns defenders — safeties Ibraheim Campbell and Derrick Kindred, Haden and inside linebacker Chris Kirksey — missed tackles as Enunwa approached the end zone.
“We got the ball thrown over our head a couple of times, we missed a couple tackles,” Kirksey said. “That’s really what it boiled down to — making those plays, those crucial plays, at crucial moments, and we didn’t do it.”
The Browns lost their lead with 2:11 left in the third quarter. The Jets went for it on fourth-and-1 at the 4, and the gamble paid off with running back Matt Forte rushing for a 4-yard touchdown, allowing the Jets to seize a 21-20 edge. The Jets went ahead 28-20 when Forte rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 9:38 left in the fourth quarter.
Then McCown’s interceptions spoiled any chance the Browns had of rallying before it was essentially too late.
On second-and-5 from Cleveland’s 30, McCown threw a deep pass into double coverage intended for Pryor, who slowed down after stutter stepping on his route. Jets free safety Marcus Gilchrist intercepted the pass at New York’s 24 with 8:55 left.
The Jets didn’t turn the first interception into points, but they punted to the Browns’ 1. On third-and-5 from Cleveland’s 6, McCown threw to running back Duke Johnson on a slant route. Strong safety Calvin Pryor hit Johnson as he tried to make the catch, the ball deflected and outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin intercepted it at the Browns’ 8 with 5:13 left.
“It was critical because it was backed up and the time of the game,” McCown said. “Obviously, it ended up leading to the three points that won them the game.”
Four plays after McCown’s second interception, the Jets went ahead 31-20 when Nick Folk made a 24-yard field goal with 4:04 remaining.
There were other missed opportunities, too.
Cornerback Jamar Taylor nearly intercepted a pass from Fitzpatrick on the second play of the third quarter, but Enunwa ripped the ball away from the defender.
“He just pulled it out of my hands,” Taylor said. “[No.] 81 is real strong. I’ve got to do a better job of plucking the ball out of the air.”
Then with 1:12 left in the third quarter, McCown overthrew Pryor by a bit on a deep pass. Pryor had his man beat and almost certainly would have scored had he caught it in stride.
“It was clearly on me. I missed it,” McCown said. “There was still a lot of ballgame left, but you get a touchdown there, you steal some momentum, you answer their score, and you feel better about where we are going.”
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.