CLEVELAND: The opportunity to even their record was there for the taking for the Browns Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium. Instead, two key penalties contributed to a 25-20 loss to the division-rival Baltimore Ravens.
The first crucial penalty came with the Browns holding a 20-19 lead and driving. On a second-and-15 play from the Ravens 21-yard line with 14:32 left in the game, rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman got tangled up with Ravens cornerback Jimmie Smith. They tussled during the play and Coleman pushed his hand into Smith’s face toward the end of it and Smith retaliated.
Out came the flag and the official called a 15-yard penalty on Coleman for unsportsmanlike conduct. Two plays later the Browns settled for a 52-yard field-goal attempt from kicker Patrick Murray that missed to the right.
“Just being competitive,” Coleman said when asked about the incident. “I can’t do that. I can’t do stuff that costs us penalties and puts us in negative yards.”
Browns coach Hue Jackson agreed.
“Can’t do it. They are always going to see the second penalty,” he said. “That is a moment for him to grow and learn. These games are tough. People are going to say things to you. People are going to push you and all that, but you can’t retaliate.”
The penalty stained what had been a fine day for Coleman in his FirstEnergy regular-season debut. Quarterback Josh McCown targeted the rookie from Baylor eight times and he caught five passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He was one of the primary reasons the Browns jumped out of the gate and scored 20 points in the first quarter. Despite that mistake and stifled momentum courtesy of the Ravens defense, the Browns were still in the game.
Though the Ravens eventually took a 25-20 lead, the Browns still had a chance with 2:53 left in the game when they received the ball after the Ravens kicked off after a successful field-goal attempt by kicker Justin Tuck.
They drove to the Ravens’ 30-yard line and had a first-and-10 with 27 seconds left when McCown dropped back and found Terrelle Pryor on the sideline for a 20-yard gain. A replay seemed to show Pryor flipping the ball toward the official after the catch.
Instead, the ball hit Ravens free safety Lardarius Webb and the official flagged Pryor for taunting. A noticeably agitated Pryor in his postgame interview referred any questions regarding the call to Jackson. Eventually, he offered his take.
“I’m just saying there’s other people that can catch a ball and spin it and look at players in the face,” Pryor said. “But if I get up and drop the ball, clearly I wasn’t trying to drop it on nobody. But I’ll let coach Jackson handle that.”
Jackson said he didn’t see the play.
“I’m not going to say if it was or wasn’t. I haven’t seen it,” he said of the call. “I’ve heard different sides of it, but they called it so we have to do a better job of making sure that we get the ball to the official and go from there.”
The Ravens were called for defensive holding on the play so the offsetting penalties returned the ball to the 30.
One play later, McCown looked for Pryor down the middle and found Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley near the goal line instead, effectively ending the Browns’ chances of a comeback.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.