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Eight straight times, the Browns snapped the ball inside the Buffalo 2-yard line in Week 10. The offense failed to score a touchdown, even when given bonus chances by defensive penalties.
Five of those plays were runs with Nick Chubb, one of the NFL’s best at breaking tackles. Those five carries netted minus-2 yards, including the 4th-and-goal play where Chubb was bowled under for a loss almost as soon as he got the toss from quarterback Baker Mayfield.
It was an embarrassing series for the offense and for Freddie Kitchens. During his conference call with reporters on Monday, the rookie coach offered an explanation of what went wrong on the epic red zone failure.
“Yeah, we have to do a better job of maintaining our blocks,” Kitchens stated. “We were on the right people for the most part. We just have to win our one-on-one matchups a lot of times down there. When you get down in goal-to-go situations, you would like to be able to run the ball in. To do that, you have to win your one-on-one matchups.”
The Bills defensive front did dominate the line of scrimmage the entire series. Kitchens was not pleased with the mentality of his offensive line in the tight quarters and close-range combat.
“This is just my personal belief: You are dealing with different types of scenarios when you are at the 1-yard line as opposed to the 12. It is a lot more about being precise in landmarks, execution, timing and things like that when you are in red zone offense because the field diminishes. When you are down there at the 1, it is almost like being in a phone booth. It is more of a mentality thing.”
It’s something the Browns need to fix quickly. The Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of four games in a row, visit FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday.