Week 14 was supposed to be an easy win for the Browns, however that was not the case. The Browns offense had an okay performance, but their dominant defense was nowhere to be found. Long runs, missed tackles, and tons of penalties took over this game, as the Browns lost to the Bengals 42-21.
The only great highlight for the Browns was a blocked extra point attempt on the Bengals first touchdown drive. The block was the Browns first block of the year, and most likely the only one they will ever get this season.
Both offenses had pretty solid games as they exchanged points drive after drive. The real issue of this game was the inconsistency of the referees. You could clearly see this on the first drive of the game as the Bengals only totaled 13 yards of offense after picking off Baker Mayfield. The Bengals gained 30 total yards off of two separate facemask penalty calls. If you play Madden 20, you know this is common and you just learn to deal with it. However, when the computer does the same type of tackle and does not receive a penalty it is very frustrating. In addition to the inconsistency of penalty calling, the referees blew two other other calls. Not one, but TWO calls going against the Browns.
Another example was when Bengals running back, Joe Mixon received a short pass from quarterback Joe Burrow and fumbled the football before heading out of bounds. You might think, “what’s wrong with this play?”, well even though the announcers said, “fumble recovered by the Browns!!”, the refs just acted like the ball rolled out of bounds and gave possession back to the Bengals… WHAT!? The Browns challenged the call, but of course the call on the field was upheld.
Another blown call is one that is always up for debate. It involves forward possession and the goal line. Apparently the Bengals receiver crossed the goal line with the ball even though he was stopped before reaching over it, and brought down 2 or 3 yards in front of the goal line of the end zone. I would insert a clip, but I’m pretty sure the game destroyed any video evidence since they knew they were wrong. This is the second time the Browns have been screwed over by a call like this, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
Overall Week 14 was a headache waiting to happen. The Browns stormed off the field frustrated, and myself General Manger couldn’t even watch the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. “The frustration was real, and I just had enough.” The Browns hope to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals (and the refs) in Week 15.
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