Browns running back Kareem Hunt has been snapped up by the New York Jets. (Syndicate: Akron Beacon Journal)
The Browns’ stunning loss to the Jets felt incredibly unlikely, but it was actually history repeating itself in the worst possible way for Cleveland.
The Cleveland Browns led the New York Jets by 13 points with 1:23 left in the game.
They lost by one.
This is fair. This is not a typo or a dream. That’s what actually happened. The Browns blew a 13-point lead in less than 90 seconds. On planes.
It was incredible, but also, surprisingly, completely fitting for a Browns franchise that has literally been there before.
The last time a team lost a game despite trailing by 13 in the final two minutes? Cleveland Browns.
The Browns’ collapse against the Jets was the worst since Cleveland’s recent collapse
That collapse was in 2001 against the Bears. Different head coach. Different quarterback. Different list from top to bottom. Same old Browns.
Let’s put this collapse in an even more painful context. Cleveland had a 99.9 percent chance to win that game after Nick Chubb scored to put his team up 30-17.
How exactly did this happen? The Jets got the ball after Chubb’s punt and took virtually no time to score on a 66-yard pass from Joe Flacco to Corey Davis.
All Cleveland had to do was recover the onside kick… They didn’t. New York delivered a perfect inside kick and recovered to breathe new life into itself.
All Cleveland had to do was stop Flacco and company from finding the end zone with 1:18 left in the game. They couldn’t even do that. Flacco drove a nine-game, 53-yard drive to take the lead on a 15-yard pass to Garrett Wilson.
Jacoby Brissett had 22 seconds to answer, but he threw an interception and the game ended in pure and utter misery for Cleveland.
Cleveland dropped to 1-1 while the Jets improved to 1-1.
