Winslow’s fine catch on the last play could’ve been called a force out, but for whatever reason, the officials very, very rarely make that call. Last year against the Jets, the Browns won on just such a critical no-call, as Brodney Pool knocked tight end Chris Baker out of bounds in the end zone to save a 20-13 win.
The Browns really had no business being close enough to take this game down to the last play. They turned the ball over four times and got flagged ten times for all manner of stupidity. The zebras called this one tight across the board, except on the Browns’ last-ditch drive.
Cleveland did benefit from two questionable calls that were reviewed and upheld (Sean Jones’ interception and Braylon Edwards not being ruled down on his scoring catch-roll-and-run), supposedly for lack of indisputable evidence to the contrary.
Derek Anderson was erratic early, and the defense, with its paper-thin defensive line, failed to stop the run or get to the quarterback as the game went on.
The bottom line is the Browns did not play well enough to win on the road against an average team desperately clinging to its last playoff hope.
Not disastrous, but disappointing.
