Kevin Stefanski Can’t Afford To Be Cute
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
You could hire Hollywood’s best writers and they couldn’t possibly imagine a quarterback script like the one that has played out during Kevin Stefanski’s tenure. After winning coach of the year and leading the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs in his first season with Baker Mayfield, you would have been laughed out of the room if you would’ve predicted what the next couple years would look like in Cleveland at the NFL’s most valuable position.
For this reason, Stefanski deserves a fair amount of respect. He has managed to put together meaningful and competitive football, despite a carousel of backups and an immensely underperforming, overpaid superstar. Part of this is likely due to his excellence in run game coordinating. Outside of Kyle Shanahan, no one in the league schemes the run as much or as well as Stefanski. For years now, when the Browns have played downhill, they have been very good at it.
All of this makes Sunday’s most crucial moment all the more confusing and frustrating. Trailing 17-12, despite being thoroughly outplayed, it still felt like Cleveland had a chance. This was another one of those ugly, low scoring defensive football games that the Browns had a chance to steal.
And then it happened.
With DTR sidelined and PJ Walker on the field, Stefanski called a double reverse from his own 41. The second exchange was horrifically botched, D.J. Jones scooped the ball up for the Broncos at the Cleveland 20, and the game, for all intensive purposes, felt like it was over.
Oh boy… The Browns tried a reverse, and the ball came free and the Broncos jump on it!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/jCknt3rGFk
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 26, 2023
Perhaps Stefanski felt like he could catch the Broncos off guard with a replacement quarterback in and everybody expecting simple offense? Maybe he thought the play could be the spark the team needed? It could be that he simply didn’t trust Walker to move the team traditionally, given what he’d seen all day. Whatever the reason, it was the latest example of being cute when a moment didn’t require it.
Stefanski is not alone in these types of blunders. Ever since Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan’s ascension and the leagues shift to offensive gurus as head coaches the NFL has been littered with these moments. Young coaches, known for their schemes, out thinking themselves in moments when simplicity would do the trick.
Two weeks ago against these same Broncos, we watched as Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell, on third and one against a bad run defense, motioned his tight end under center and then had that tight end pitch it back to his quarterback on an option. Josh Dobbs got thoroughly blown up and fumbled the ball.
A handoff to… Josh Dobbs? And he got absolutely lit up and fumbled…https://t.co/rdRMsvIaud
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) November 20, 2023
Seemingly weekly, despite the dominant nature of the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan will get cute in the midst of his team physically destroying another team. It rarely turns out.
Kyle Shanahan's penchant for getting cute in critical situations is unrivaled
— His Imperial Majesty (@Treg2Cole) January 23, 2022
But where as O’Connell, Shanahan, and the McVay’s teams of the past, have at times been able to overcome a coach out thinking himself, this current Browns squad is not built that way.
No matter how high your hopes were for the Deshaun Watson, the reality is that this team was still a run to survive team. And that was before all the injuries. Now it’s even more imperative. A mistake like the double reverse on Sunday completely changes the complexity of a game. Denvers corresponding touchdown shifted the approach for both teams on both sides of the ball. It took away any path to Cleveland turning it into the sort of contest that would allow them to sneak away with a win.
All the more frustrating was Jerome Ford’s nearly 7 yard per carry clip and Stefanski calling the trick play while not loading more touches on to what had the potential to succeed against a suspect run defense.
There are a lot of ways you can pull this loss of. Many of them will distract from the bad call. For the second week in a row, the Browns had a horrific case of the drops and the injury bug is getting ridiculous. But although some might look at these as a way to separate blame from the bad decision, you could also use these as evidence as to why it was so poorly thought out.
Despite the odd journey and frustrating moments thus far, the 2023 Browns have a path to the playoffs. That path, if the Browns are able to go down it, will not be paved with convincing wins and awesome performances. It will be littered with grind it out, physical, simple football. Kevin Stefanski simply can’t afford to get cute in crucial moments along the way.
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