Hard to swallow

Take a bow, Kevin Stefanski. You turned what was beginning to look an awful lot like a chance for a third straight comeback victory -- and fourth in a row overall -- Sunday in Denver into a crushing loss with an absurdist ending that made the 29-12 final look a lot worse than it actually was.

Stefanski's fascination with gadget plays, paired with his improbably bad timing to dial them up, struck again at the most inopportune time to make a large segment of Browns Nation scratch their collective heads in wonderment as the head coach keeps diving off the deep end.

The Browns, as they had done with come-from-behind victories over Baltimore and Pittsburgh the last two weeks, were well on their way again when their boss tried to get cute. Cute does not work in the National Football League.

The Browns had the football -- and momentum -- at the wrong end of a 17-12 score late in the third quarter when Denver linebacker Baron Browning was flagged for roughing Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson on a third-down incompletion. The rookie staggered off and was replaced by P. J. Walker, the owner of two improbable victories this season.

Football on the Cleveland 41, first play of the fourth quarter. Mind you this is a third-string quarterback in a situation where precision is required, especially with ball security. So what does Stefanski yank from the playbook? I don't know what the playcall nomenclature was. It should be what the hell is going on here and why is this happening?

Walker, again this is his second play since replacing DTR, lines up in shotgun with wide receiver Elijah Moore to his immediate right. Moore takes the handoff and heads to his left as if to execute a jet sweep. But no, here comes running back Pierre Strong Jr., who had lined up slot left and had not touched the football all day, back across the formation.

As they crossed, Moore pitched the ball to Strong with his left hand, but the running back bobbled the ball. Broncos nose tackle D. J. Jones, in attempting to cover the ball, did so at the Cleveland 20 after accidentally kicking it toward the Cleveland goal.

Four plays later, it was 24-12 when tight end Adam Trautman cradled an eight-yard pass from Russell Wilson with his tush planted inches inside the end zone sideline. Ball game even though 13 minutes and 24 seconds remained in regulation.

A game that was so ripe to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat one more time was all but gone. Making matters worse was Walker remaining in the game. Thompson-Robinson was not coming back. Stefanski was stuck with the career backup.

No need to go into exact detail about Walker's final four possessions, they were that embarrassing. They included a strip sack -- he was sacked four times on 20 snaps -- and a safety that pushed the score to 29-12. It was the first 29-12 final score in the history of the NFL. There ya go. A trivia question.

And to think it quite possibly could have been avoided with some clear-thinking playcalling from the man who stubbornly refuses to cede the duties to the real offensive coordinator on this club. 

Yes, it's only one loss. And yes, the Browns are still 7-4 and in good shape with regard to the postseason. But whenever games like this are lost, it stings just a little more because 8-3 looks a whole lot better than 7-4. 

The Browns had battled from behind throughout the game, overcoming lethargy on both sides of the football at the outset. The Broncos took advantage, blowing out to a 14-0  lead early in the second quarter on touchdown runs by running back Samaje Perine and Wilson.

Nothing was clicking on offense. For some reason, Stefanski chose to throw the football against a Denver defense that ranked 31st in the NFL against the run. The Broncos' ground game, meanwhile, chewed up a Cleveland run defense that ranked sixth for well over 100 yards by the end of the first half.

Looked like one of those games where nothing goes right no matter what you try. Thompson-Robinson struggled at first. Yards were hard to come by. And then just like that, everything changed. 

Stefanski finally decided to mix it up with a ground game and the offense produced two clock-eating, chains-moving possessions of 13 plays and six plays and crept to within 14-6 at the half when Dustin Hopkins nailed field goals of 36 and 24 yards after both drives stalled in the red zone.

By then, the defense that had been the hallmark of the 7-3 start this season showed up and began making plays, most notably by linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah,  a whirling dervish who made big play after big play to stunt the Denver offense. He wound up with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and the lone sack of the day against an offensive line that had given up 32 in the first 10 games of the season.

Slowly but surely, the momentum began to clearly swing toward the Browns. The Broncos seemed to be playing on their heels. A quick three-and-out by Denver to begin the second half picked up the Cleveland offense even more.

Thirteen plays that covered 79 yards, took 6:42 off the clock and featured completions of 11 yards (Amari Cooper), 16 yards (David Njoku), 17 yards (Njoku again) and 13 yards (Jerome Ford) got the ball to the Denver 11.

An unnecessary roughness penalty on Broncos safety P. J. Locke, who drilled Njoku in the back after in an incompletion on third down was the gift that kept on giving when DTR found tight end Harrison Bryant, who had lined up in a full backfield and sneaked into the end zone for a little toss from two yards.

The Broncos got lucky when the normally sure-handed Cooper dropped the two-point try on a pass that was a little behind him but catchable. It was a two-point game at 14-12 with the Browns definitely in charge. It became 17-12 on a second Will Lutz field goal.

And then Stefanski struck.

As for the call that turned the game around, don't blame Strong or Moore. Blame only the playcaller for dialing it up. Why not call on something like a dive play or trap play or even an RPO run from your quarterback? Play to their strengths. Not cute enough.

The odds of successful pulling off plays like that plunge dramatically when more than two players are called on to handle the football. Stefanski has yanked such plays from the playbook way too many times this season. Unfortunately he will do it again before the season is over. And get the same results.