That Browns game was tough to watch. I felt kind of worn out afterwards. They did manage to come close. The defense was steamrolled most of the game. The offense didn’t do well enough to make up for it. Still, a Mahomes injury helped get them going and it ended with only five points difference.
If a no-call late in the second weren’t missed by refs, all else being equal, the Browns would most likely have been ahead. The announcers and analysts all agreed it should’ve been a penalty on the Chief’s and felt that sort of thing should be reviewable. Had it been called, there would’ve been no touchback, no following field goal for the Chiefs, and most likely a following touchdown for the Browns. If everything else then happened as it did, the Browns would’ve then been ahead by 4 at the end. Of course it probably wouldn’t have, and Mahomes might’ve not gotten injured, but the Browns would also likely have more momentum. That play was really deflating.
I feel like almost every Browns game I watch, there’s some stupid rule I see for the first time. Football is the worst of the big sports for having countless rules that don’t make sense from a viewer standpoint, and calls that are capricious and arbitrary and called differently for different teams or at different points in the same or different games. Basketball has a problem with that too, but not nearly as extreme, and the sheer number of possessions in basketball make any bad call much less significant. And basketball seems more willing in recent years to try to “get it right” with overturning calls and reviews, even if they’re still not good at it.
Ultimately, the Browns had a really good season, the best more than 20 years, and show real promise for the future. They should have their injured players back next year, including OBJ, and should be able to make adjustments to get their defense back on track. They’ll also have more experience and confidence.