Kevin Stefanski Under Fire: Browns Loss to Vikings Highlights Key Issues

I have been a long-time Kevin Stefanski believer, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to defend some of the decisions he’s made this year.

With a chance to win on the road in London, Stefanski completely mismanaged the clock. They had a chance to burn all of the Vikings' timeouts or get the clock under three minutes, but Stefanski decided to pass on a third-and-long, stopping the clock and giving Minnesota way too much time.

Then, Carson Wentz was never really pressured on a game-winning drive where he picked apart Cleveland’s defense. And to top it off, Stefanski used all of the Browns' timeouts on that drive, trying to keep time on the clock if (when) the Vikings scored.

That decision was mind-numbing. You have your elite defense. If you hold them to a field goal, you’ll have a chance to set up a game-winning drive where you only need to get three instead of into the endzone. And when the opponent has Justin Jefferson, you can’t keep giving them free timeouts to scheme up ways to get him open.

Speaking of Jefferson, having a player like that is precisely what this Browns offense is missing. Of course, there’s nobody in the league like Jefferson, but the Browns don’t even have a solid number two receiver on this team right now.

Dillon Gabriel played about as well as he could have given the difficult circumstances he’s inheriting. Like I just said, he has no receivers on the outside to throw to. Even if he did have someone to throw to, would he even have enough time to actually throw the ball downfield?

I doubt it.

This Browns offensive line is maybe the most pathetic I’ve ever had the displeasure to watch. Every time this offense made any sort of momentum play, it was immediately called back with a holding or an illegal formation. It’s impossible for a rookie quarterback to get into any momentum when every other drive the offense is starting on a first-and-20.

The defense for Cleveland was solid once again, but the last drive really soured me on their overall performance today. The only guy I’m genuinely pleased with today is Quinshon Judkins.

He’s the only piece on the offense that I can guarantee to be on the team next year. I’m not even sure what I’m most impressed by with Judkins. He has elite vision, an incredible jump after his first cut, and his ability to absorb contact is one of the best in football. The Browns absolutely nailed this pick. Now they’ve got to start building around him.

It's a good thing the schedule opens up next week with a game in Pittsburgh following a long flight home from London. It might be a really long season of Cleveland Browns football.