Kevin Stefanski made a few questionable decisions in the Browns’ 27-25 escape in Jacksonville on Sunday. The rookie head coach had to answer those questions in his postgame press conference.
Stefanski was asked about a couple of key decisions that didn’t go his way in the game.
Instead of kicking the field goal to go up 11 with under six minutes to play, Stefanski opted to go for it on fourth down from the Jaguars 22-yard line. He explained why in his postgame Zoom,
“Those are the things I always consider,” Stefanski stated. “In the moment, you are considering that. I just felt like the plays that we had would convert. I take all of that into account – our matchups, the plays themselves and the players that are running those plays – and I felt confident in them that we could continue to move the chains and have an opportunity to score a touchdown or run a few more minutes off the clock and kick a field goal.”
There was controversy, one that Stefanski apparently still didn’t fully grasp after the game. The Browns challenged a spot on offense and the officiating crew did change the spot, but it still wasn’t good enough to attain the first down. Referee Jerome Boger mistakenly announced that the Browns lost the challenge, a situation he didn’t rectify with any clarity.
Instead of the field goal, the Browns went for it on the 4th-and-short and failed to convert. Or at least that wound up being the ruling. One official indicated Kareem Hunt clearly got past the line needed with his spot, but the official from the other side spotted it much shorter. The measuring sticks came out and Boger awarded the ball to the Jaguars despite the ball appearing to touch the stick needed to make the conversion.
“I would have to go back and look,” Stefanski said. “We were talking about it on the headset, but I do not believe I had that challenge. I got the timeout back, but I do not think I got the challenge back.”
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