Cleveland Browns lose season home opener to the New York Jets after the Jets evaporate a 13-point Browns lead with minutes remaining, upsetting Browns fans

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELAND, Ohio- After beating the Carolina Panthers and lead quarterback Baker Mayfield 26-24 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina last Sunday afternoon to win their first away season opener in 28 years, the Browns lost their season home opener against the New York Jets 31-30 on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

Second string quarterback Jacolby Brissett, who is standing in for suspended first string quarterback DeShaun Watson, and who led the Browns to a win last Sunday against the Panthers, threw an interception in the fourth quarter with seconds on the score clock, and it was all over, a clear upset of the Browns by a team that has lost the last nine games in September over several seasons.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters during a televised press conference after Sunday's loss that the Jets simply played a better game.

"We win as a team, we lose as a team," said Coach Stefanski. "We lost, [and] didn't play a 60 minute game."

The Browns led nearly the entire game, before the Jets managed to erase a 13 point deficit with only two minutes remaining. First, rookie kicker Cage York missed an extra point. Then, Jets quarterback Joe Flacco found wide receiver Corey Davis to complete a 66-yard touchdown. After that, the Browns failed to recover an onside kick, all of it setting the stage  for the Jets to  takeover, which is what they did, including a 15-yard pass from Flacco to wide receiver Garrett Wilson that gave them the lead 31-30 with just seconds left in the game.

Once the Jets took the lead the Browns were unable to recover no doubt, particularly after Brissett made his first real mistake of the season, one that would bring a heartbreaking interception and a 31-30 game loss to a mediocre team that put up just nine points in Week 1 on a 24-9 lost against the Baltimore Ravens. How the Jets could gain 402 yards of offense and score 14 points in the final minutes of Sunday's win against the Browns is puzzling, sport pundits said after Cleveland's disappointing loss.

Browns fans were livid, though Brissett was not solely to blame, they said, adding that the Browns defense, while making some nice plays,  was not up  to par, to say the least.

Brissett, 29, is Black and was traded to the Browns this year from the Miami Dolphins. Absent an unanticipated shakeup or an injury, he is expected to remain as the stand-in quarterback for Watson, whom the Browns secured last year from the Houston Texans and handed a five year contract worth $230 million, though Watson is sidelined and is serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL's sexual misconduct and ethics policies.

The Browns, now 1-1 for the regular season, will play the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night, Sept 22 at 8:18 pm at FirstEnergy Stadium, a competition that is sure to have fans from both teams jumping up and down in their seats.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief (Coleman is a former biology teacher and a seasoned Black journalist, and an investigative, legal, scientific, and political reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio).

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