'Guys who are passionate for winning': Browns downplay emotional locker room after loss
BALTIMORE — The story coming out of the Browns locker room after their home loss a week ago against the New England Patriots was of one voice. That voice was of quarterback Jacoby Brissett standing up and addressing the team privately.
The story coming out of the Browns locker room immediately after Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was of multiple voices. It's wasn't a specific player standing up and talking to his teammates as much as several letting loose the emotions of a four-game losing streak.
Myles Garrett may or may not have been among those voices that echoed outside the closed locker room doors. He wouldn't confirm that it was him or that it wasn't him, nor did he seem too concerned that it had occurred in the first place.
Browns fall to Ravens:Cleveland's losing streak reaches four with 23-20 loss to Baltimore
"You've never been in a football locker room?" Garrett said when asked about the yelling.
"I think it’s just a lot of guys who are passionate about winning, passionate about the game, and they're going to voice their opinions," Garrett continued. "Sometimes it spills out where people from the outside can hear. But nobody is no worse for the wear. I think everybody is just very intent on winning and fixing what we have going wrong."
Browns sinking behind rival Ravens, Bengals in AFC North standings
There's a lot going wrong right now for the Browns. The loss was not just their fourth in a row, but it sent them to 2-5 for the season and pushed them two full games behind both the Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North standings.
The Browns have an extra day before they play again on "Monday Night Football" against the Bengals on Oct. 31. The challenge, though, is just as tough for the Bengals, who have won two in a row and four of their past five.
"I think the emotions of a football game is probably on us right now," Brissett said. "But I think the guys in that room understand that, hey, we’re allowed that until the end of the flight and then we get back in and we got to go back to work because we do have a big game coming up. And I think that’s what this team is, they understand that. Guys came out and showed that there’s still fight in this team, and I don’t think that goes anywhere.”
The Browns are on a different trajectory than the Bengals. They've now lost five of their past six, and are watching a season spiraling toward nowhere fast.
That kind of view can stir up the emotions. Those emotions can come up when the doors are closed off to the public.
"Guys just passionate, passionate about winning," rookie defensive end Isaiah Thomas said. "Guys come from colleges where at times you lose one or two games a year. In this instance, we've lost four straight. Guys just want to hone in on this isn't good enough. Guys aren't used to this and we don't want this to be the issue for the rest of the season.
"We have a lot of time left and still have a game on 'Monday Night Football' against the Bengals, a quality opponent, so we can't let this linger. Learn from it and apply that passion that we were showing onto the field."
Penalties continue to stymie Browns in loss to Ravens
The Browns need more than passion to get themselves out of the tailspin they've been in the past month. They're going to need to play smart, fundamental football as well.
There were six flags thrown on the Browns on Sunday. It wasn't the number as much as the timing, with an offensive pass interference flag on Amari Cooper negating a go-ahead touchdown with 2:18 remaining and a false start flag on Michael Dunn pushing a potential game-tying field goal try back to 60 yards, and it ended up being blocked.
Those moments negated a day when the Browns defense only allowed Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to truly hurt it a couple of times, and tight end Mark Andrews not at all. Jackson was limited to just 9-of-16 passing for 120 yards and just 59 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Meanwhile, Brissett was, for the most part, close to what he was when he was playing his best this season. Brissett was completed 22 of 27 passes for 258 yards, plus another 18 yards on three rushes, although he did lose a fumble on a sack to set up a Ravens touchdown.
“Yeah, it shows you the margin of error in this league is very slim," Brissett said. "You can go out there and play pretty well and sometimes you still don't get the results that you want. But that can't change the way we come to work. That can't change the standard that we set for ourselves, just because the results aren't there.
"I think when we go watch the film, you'll see a lot of guys that made plays that we needed them to make, answered the call and in a lot of ways, and we just got to find ways to make more and come out with a win.”
Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns downplay emotional locker room after loss to Baltimore Ravens
