After the Browns lost to the Steelers in Week 12, safety T.J. Ward wasn’t shy about pointing a finger of blame at the Cleveland offense for the loss.
The Browns lost again in Week 13 and the offense turned the ball over three times and took a safety to help the Jaguars’ effort. Nose tackle Phil Taylor pointed to the turnovers as the prime culprit again this week, but cornerback Joe Haden, who had one of the two interceptions, wasn’t willing to blame the offense when the Jaguars scored with 40 seconds to play to win the game.
After the game, Haden wanted the blame for Cecil Shorts’ touchdown catch and he also wanted to vent some of the frustrations that come with a 4-8 record produced by sloppy play on a weekly basis.
“We f------ can’t stand losing, it hurts,” Haden said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I go out there and put my f------ heart out there every time. Every time. You know what I’m saying? And we end up coming up short. It was my fault on the touchdown. He ran a good route, a good play, good offense. Don’t take nothing from our D, we’re out there every time grinding, fighting. This s--- hurts. ... And, you’re gonna to come with the same questions every week and we’re gonna give you the same answers. ‘We’re gonna get better next week, we’re gonna get better next week.’ Until we do it, there’s nothing else to talk about. Straight up.”
Haden and the defense haven’t been perfect, but the overall burden of blame for the team’s state of affairs lies on the other side of the ball. Eleven turnovers in the last three weeks have been the leading cause of three straight losses that have turned playoff dreams into another Cleveland nightmare.