Didn’t see that coming

The biggest question on the lips of those who reside in Browns Nation asks whether the 2019 Cleveland Browns, who were absolutely destroyed by the Tennessee Titans Sunday, are the real deal, as we have all been led to believe.

Or are they mere pretenders, looking more like the abjectly poor teams that underperformed for the last two decades in the Seal Brown and Orange?

The hyped-up, brand new media darlings of the National Football League, it would appear, exposed themselves as frauds.

What took place by the lakefront in the 43-13 drubbing (humiliation?) was just another big – really, really big considering the national media attention this game drew – buildup that resulted in one humongous letdown.

There is no excuse for how poorly the Browns played against a Titans team that merely hangs around and waits until the opponent self-destructs. The Browns were more than accommodating and that is exactly what they did in the second half, more specifically in the final 17 minutes of the game after cutting the deficit to 15-13.

Three Baker Mayfield fourth-quarter interceptions, two of which subsequently led to a pair of Delanie Walker touchdowns, and a 75-yard Derrick Henry touchdown run on a misdirection screen pass of all things led to 28 unanswered Tennessee points.

On the first play after Mayfield connected with David Njoku on a three-yard scoring pass, Henry hauled in a pass in the left flat with two offensive linemen as a convoy and raced untouched down the left sideline with half the Cleveland defense still at the line of scrimmage and the other half on the opposite side of the field.

The next two Cleveland possessions produced picks by Kevin Byard and Logan Ryan, both of which led to the Walker scores. Ball game. Malcolm Butler added a pick six two possessions later. Mayfield’s picks never gave the tiring Cleveland defense a chance to recover.

You can be certain coach Freddie Kitchens will never forget his debut as a head coach and should take full credit for how poorly his men played. This nightmare belongs solely to him. The Browns were not nearly ready to play a game of football.

The lack-of-discipline factor was pervasive throughout the game. There is no discipline on this football team. Whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams. None whatsoever. And that falls on the shoulders of the head coach.

The Browns racked up 18 penalties totaling 183 yards (not counting a few others that were declined), gifting the Titans’ offense at one point with five first downs as a result. Ten were committed in the first 30 minutes for 107 yards.

It was just after the Browns committed 13 penalties for 119 yards against Indianapolis in the second exhibition game that Kitchens promised to clean it up. Back to the drawing board.

“That not how we practice,” that’s not how we prepare,” he said after this game. Of course it isn’t. “We’ll get it corrected.” We’ll see.

There were major penalties galore with offensive tackles Greg Robinson (left) and Chris Hubbard (right) the major culprits. Robinson was ejected in the second quarter after kicking Tennessee safety Kenny Vaccaro in the head. He was lucky.

Hubbard, who was abused by linebacker Cameron Wake and others, had to stick around and absorb further embarrassment. Switching to left tackle only meant facing abuse from another angle and different players.

The highly suspect (even when healthy) offensive line, revamped after Robinson’s ejection and an injury to backup Kendall Lamm, gave Mayfield scant protection all afternoon when not caught holding or committing some other infraction by referee Brad Allen’s crew.

Holding the ball too long again was a problem for Mayfield that led to the sacks, a product of either his inability to spot open receivers or receivers failing to come open.

The second-year quarterback was sacked five times, or as many times as he was dropped in the final eight games last season. He was also hit seven other times and hurried on at least half of his 43 dropbacks

His 25-of-38 for 285 yards and a touchdown stats are misleading when you factor in the three picks and five sacks. He was as dangerous as a tabby cat in this one.

Why Mayfield was still at the controls in the final stages of the game was puzzling, if not concerning. No need to expose him to a Tennessee defense that was teeing off on him relentlessly. He’ll be feeling the effects for at least a few days.

That is not the way to treat the face of the franchise. Kitchens, a former quarterback himself, should know better. The game was out of control, a perfect time to give backup Drew Stanton some work. Time to surrender.

The Browns were horrendous on so many different levels. It was a lot more than the safety the Titans racked up in the first half, sacking Mayfield in the end zone. Granted he got no help from the line, but that was a precursor of what was to follow.

Roughing penalties. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Personal foul penalties. Blindside block penalties. Holding penalties. They all added up in a game that probably seemed personally foul to the angry loyalists on hand who expected so much more. Thoughts of same-old Browns had to be coursing through their minds.

Oh, and then there’s that little thing about season openers. You know the one where the Browns are the undisputed NFL kings in losing the opening game. That stat now drops to 1-19-1 in lidlifters since the resurrection in 1999, 0-14-1 since the lone victory in 2004.

There is something anathema to Cleveland actually winning the initial game of the season. It’s a problem that will have to wait at least another year before finding a solution.

Sunday’s performance keeps alive the notion the Browns, who actually made strides last season and finished a respectable (for them) 7-8-1, did nothing to dispel the lingering belief they remain the NFL’s biggest punchline. At least for one more game.

This very confident football team, at least with their words and body language, was humbled in front of the home crowd. It has to hurt. There are still 15 games left on the schedule. This loss, however, puts more pressure on winning the next game.

The Browns have seven days to figure it out. And this time, they will play in front of a national television audience a week from Monday night on the road against the New York Jets.

Until then, many fans rightfully wonder what kind of a team this is. They did not expect the kind of performance they witnessed Sunday.

That performance definitely plants at least a few seeds of doubt and causes some to wonder whether they have been duped into believing this truly is the dawn of a new era in Cleveland Browns football.