LONDON -- The Cleveland Browns led at halftime Sunday, but almost predictably, things fell apart as the game wore on.
When it was over and the Browns were boarding the plane to return home, a miserable first half of the season had come to an ugly end.
The 33-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Twickenham Stadium means the Browns have started 0-8 for the second year in a row. They are the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to begin consecutive seasons 0-8, according to ESPN Stats & Information, joining the 1976-77 Buccaneers, 1983-84 Oilers and 1993-94 Bengals.
This is hardly the stuff teams want to be remembered for.
The Browns fell apart in the second half, imploding under an onslaught of defensive penalties. Cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun was flagged for interference in the end zone to set up a Vikings go-ahead touchdown.
On Minnesota’s next possession, Cleveland linebacker Jamie Collins (for roughing the passer), cornerback Jamar Taylor (for interference) and Boddy-Calhoun (for holding) were penalized to help set up another Vikings touchdown.
Those calls helped turn a 16-15 Browns lead into a 30-16 deficit. It’s an old, tired line, but the Browns aren’t good enough to overcome that many mistakes.
The Week 9 bye will be much welcomed.
What it means: A season that started with a glimmer of hope built around the belief that rookies DeShone Kizer and Myles Garrett would be a foundation for the future has dissipated into mistakes, turnovers, glaring roster needs and eight losses in eight games. The Browns have given up at least 30 points in four of the past six games and have scored more than 18 points only once this season. The only thing unique about this loss was the continent where the game was played.
What I liked: The defense played well in the first half. As Forrest Gump might say, that’s all I have to say about that.
What I didn’t like: Zane Gonzalez is proving why it’s folly to use a draft pick on a kicker. Gonzalez accounted for four lost points on his own, with a missed extra point and a missed 35-yard field goal attempt. The Browns used only a seventh-round pick on Gonzalez, but he has missed four field goals this season. Cody Parkey was not an issue last season, so the Browns thought themselves into this situation.
Fantasy fallout: Isaiah Crowell got his first touchdown of the season and ran well, but his production is still not close to living up to the chatter about Crowell entering the season. He’s a talented back, but he doesn’t see the ball enough to warrant play in fantasy.
Players who didn’t step up: Kizer reached his goal of playing the entire game but did little to move the ball after a late first-half drive. Kizer was 8-for-12 in the first half as the offense scored 13 points, but in the second half he was 7-for-19 and wildly inaccurate before three garbage-time completions made the stats look slightly better (18-for-34 overall). When the Vikings went up 30-16, Kizer had two possessions in which he did not get a first down. Kizer has not progressed tremendously since the preseason, though to be fair, he's getting little help from his receivers. Two-thirds of the way through the fourth quarter, the Browns had 2 yards in the quarter. Total.
What’s next: The Browns welcome the bye week before returning with a game in Detroit on Nov. 12.