DETROIT — The Browns suffered a 34-10 loss to the Lions on Sunday, but that’s just what the scoreboard said.
Here are the real winners and losers from the game:
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Amid all the Browns’ issues, the simplest problem looms largest
Loser: Facing reality
Ever had ribs drowning in barbecue sauce to cover the bland taste? That’s how Cleveland’s Week 3 win over Green Bay felt.
Cleveland’s defense covered up quarterback Joe Flacco’s underwhelming play, and that only lasts for so long until you have to face reality.
Flacco’s performance in the Week 4 loss to Detroit reminded us of the reality that he isn’t best fit to lead this team to wins.
Along with 184 yards on a 47.1% completion rate, Flacco accounted for all of the team’s three turnovers: two first-half interceptions and one fumble.
Half of Detroit’s 34 points came off of these giveaways.
A miscue with Cedric Tillman led to a pass toward no-man’s land, resulting in his first interception.
Early in the second quarter, Flacco had an open Dylan Sampson to his left for a possible swing pass, but was sacked by Aidan Hutchinson for a loss of six yards.
One can become fatigued pointing out the turnover bug that’s led the Browns to leading the NFL in both interceptions and giveaways the last two seasons.
After Sunday’s conclusion, they’re in a four-way tie for first place in that category (eight), six of which are Flacco’s interceptions.
And for those who still miss the franchise’s previous prodigal son, Flacco’s six picks are the most by a Browns quarterback through a season’s opening four games since Baker Mayfield, per ESPN Research.
It’s hard to watch the 40-year-old endure struggles in the orange and brown.
Jobs are on the line, yet Kevin Stefanski elects to continue with Flacco, who hasn’t started a full first half of the season since 2019.
And this is happening during a similar stretch to last season.
The 2024 Browns were 2-7 ahead of their Week 10 bye. At this rate ahead of their Week 9 bye, they might match that win total.
Winner: John Morton
Going into Sunday, Lions offensive coordinator John Morton had a lot of good to say about Cleveland’s defense.
However, 11 words shined among the rest of his quotes.
“I don’t think they’ve seen a run game like ours yet,” Morton said on Thursday.
That was in reference to Detroit’s run game, which entered Sunday fourth in rushing yards (149.0). While Cleveland’s defense’s ranked first in rushing yards allowed (57.3).
Jim Schwartz didn’t play into it, but Myles Garrett added a little something.
“(Morton) hasn’t seen a defensive front like ours,” Garrett said last week. “We have to be the ones to put it into action and so we have to meet and see who’s right.”
In the end, Morton stood corrected.
Detroit’s run game (109 yards) outdid Cleveland’s rushing performance (79 yards).
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs finished with 91 yards on 15 carries (6.1 per carry) and scored Detroit’s first touchdown, while single-handedly outrushing Cleveland’s run game (79 yards).
Cleveland’s run defense is better than that.
But on Sunday, they were bested.
Winner: Denzel Ward’s word
A big highlight from the Week 3 win was Grant Delpit’s pivotal interception.
Denzel Ward was asked about this during the week, stating Delpit cracked the seal for them in terms of takeaways, but how he also wanted to add to that.
“(I’m) hoping that I’m that number two guy to get (an) interception. I got to catch Grant now, so I’m looking forward to it,” Ward said on Thursday.
Ward manifested that Sunday.
Jared Goff’s pass was intended for Jameson Williams, but didn’t have enough air under it.
Ward was in the right place at the right time, and picked it off.
This Browns defense finished 2024 with the fewest interceptions (four), and Ward had two of them.
Through the first four weeks of this season, they’ve already recorded half of last year’s total.
Loser: Browns pass rush
For as good as the Browns defense was through Week 3, they were unable to sack quarterback Jared Goff.
Not even half a sack.
However, they’re not alone.
Both Chicago and Baltimore were unable to sack Goff in Weeks 2-3.
Goff’s been sacked four times this season, all coming in the season opening loss to Green Bay.
His Detroit offensive line, transitioning from the offseason retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow, locked in after Week 1 and kept Goff untouched.
To the Browns’ detriment, it helped keep them on the losing side.
Winner: Winning the 4th-down battle
Sometimes, you got to find the little wins in the haystack.
Stefanski and Dan Campbell are two of the most aggressive coaches when it comes to going for it on fourth down. Cleveland led the NFL in fourth-down conversions in 2024 (24), while Detroit wasn’t far behind and ranked third (22), per StatMuse.
On Sunday, both teams attempted one fourth down and ended with different results.
Cleveland’s fourth-down conversion came during its opening series, and overlapped with being the team’s only touchdown on the day.
They were on the 1-yard line with a fresh set of downs after a defensive penalty on Detroit. Despite this, Detroit’s defense nearly pulled off a goal-line stand, after stopping a Quinshon Judkins’ run and back-to-back Flacco quarterback sneaks.
For Judkins to score on the fourth-and-goal, the Browns utilized Adin Huntington as the fullback, and motioned Harold Fannin Jr. around to block Alex Anzalone.
As for Detroit, which entered Sunday with a league-high seven fourth-down conversions, it didn’t convert its only attempt.
It was the final play of the Lions’ first series of the fourth quarter.
Approaching a fourth-and-2, Goff faked a handoff to Jameson Williams coming off the pre-snap motion, before pitching it to Gibbs who ran right end.
The Browns’ defense did the best they could to get to Gibbs, and kept him to a 1-yard gain and a turnover on downs.
Take that for the data.
Loser: Protection unit
Continuing from the previous section, Detroit didn’t convert their fourth-down attempt and it resulted in a turnover.
Cleveland’s offense didn’t capitalize off the turnover either and was forced to punt after three plays.
Then came Kalif Raymond.
The nine-year veteran stuck a fork in Cleveland in the early part of the fourth quarter.
Corey Bojorquez’s lower-than-usual punt was caught by Raymond near the sideline. He pulled a couple jukes, then ran northwest from his original position to the end zone for the 65-yard score to put the Lions up 27-10.
Not only did Raymond bring Ford Field to its feet, but through a pool of 64,494 fans, he searched his wife, Julia Baker.
“I was out, I was like, ‘Where’s my wife? Where is she?’ But all I see is her,” Raymond said.
Raymond celebrated with his teammates, then went into the stands to give the ball and a kiss to Baker, who’s pregnant with their child.
“We’ve always kind of wanted to have a moment to ourselves and as soon as I was out I was like,” Raymond said. “(Baker’s) got a bun in the oven right now so to see them too, I was in one place at that time. I just texted her like, ‘Hey, all three of us were there for that moment.”
As for Cleveland’s protection unit, it’s not a good look.
It gave up the second-most punt return yards (530) in 2024, and were the only unit in the NFL to allow both a kickoff and return touchdown.
Raymond is a well-known threat to opposing protection units, leading the NFL last year in total punt return yards (413), ranking third in average yards (13.8), and earning one touchdown.
Raymond ran diagonal, but pretty much ran a straight line from where he caught the ball.
Do better.
Loser: Allowing a 2k gamer to dominate
A popular feature in the video game NBA 2K26 allows you to play in the “MyPark” mode online. You get to use players you’ve unlocked and rack up wins in a pick-up game environment.
In the early hours of Sunday, however, a 2k player noticed Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s user online around 4:30 in the morning, and had to capture the moment.
This is six and a half hours before the Lions-Browns 1 p.m. kickoff.
The video went viral and people added commentary to the All-Pro wideout getting caught playing online ahead of the sunrise.
Well, St. Brown must be a vampire.
Because Cleveland allowed him to achieve the best stat line of all receivers on Sunday, catching all seven targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
St. Brown was wide open for his first touchdown thanks to Cleveland’s busted coverage. His speed was displayed during his second touchdown, and despite being inches near him, neither Myles Harden nor Alex Wright could catch him.
St. Brown’s performance put him in a small club with franchise standouts Calvin Johnson and Leonard Thompson, as the only Lions to record five or more touchdown receptions through a season’s first four games.
And after the blowout win?