Anemic Browns Finish With Season-Ending Blowout Loss to Ravens

In one of the most predictable outcomes of the NFL season, the Cleveland Browns pulled no surprises.

In a 35-10 regular-season finale loss to a Baltimore Ravens team that had distinct advantages in both talent and motivation, the Browns did at least "win" something. The defeat at M&T Bank Stadium dropped their record to 3-14 and assured them of a Top 3 pick in April's NFL Draft. That position could improve if the New England Patriots or Tennessee Titans win on Sunday.

The Ravens were favored by 20.5 points, the biggest spread of the NFL season and one of the Top 10 largest lines in league history.

For Cleveland, quarterback Bailey Zappe made the ninth start of his career. For Baltimore, quarterback Lamar Jackson was trying to win his third MVP. And so it went according to form.

The Browns trailed by 11 at halftime but the Ravens fed star running back Derrick Henry in dominating the second half. With the victory, Baltimore clinched the AFC North and a home game in next weekend's playoffs.

Zappe, Cleveland's 40th starting quarterback since 1999, threw an interception on his second pass attempt and was briefly replaced by Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the Browns' offense sputtered as usual. The Browns ended with six consecutive losses and the NFL's lowest-scoring offense at 258 points. In their final four games they managed only 26 points.

They did break a streak of 24 drives without a touchdown when Zappe hit tight end Jordan Akins with a 16-yard scoring pass to make the score 21-10 with 11:33 remaining. The Ravens responded with a 70-yard drive capped by Henry's 2-yard score to put the game away.

With no running game to speak of, Zappe finished 16 of 31 for 170 yards and two interceptions and wasn't helped by two drops by receiver Jerry Jeudy on well-thrown passes that would've been 20+-yard gains when the game was still competitive.

A dismal season that started slowly completely nosedived when quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered an Achilles injury in Week 7. The 14 losses are the most for the Browns since going 0-16 in 2017. 

The season officially ended with a surrender kneel-down in the final seconds of a game they trailed by 25 points.

They fell behind 7-0 on Zappe's second pass of the game, but trailed only 14-3 at halftime thanks to three fourth-down stops.

Baltimore cornerback Nate Wiggins stepped in front of a lethargic out route and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown on Cleveland's second possession. A sign of the horrendous season: Quarterbacks have thrown only 18 touchdowns, but also 22 interceptions and three Pick 6s. Jackson has thrown 40 TDs and only four INTs.

After Zappe's interception and then ugly underthrow incompletion on a fourth-down, the Browns inserted Thompson-Robinson in an attempt to spark the offense. Dustin Hopkins got them on the board with a 23-yard field midway through the second quarter on a drive aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty.

The conclusion was a far cry from one year ago, when Kevin Stefanski won Coach of the Year and Joe Flacco led an 11-5 record and late-season push to a playoff game. This might have been the final game for Browns' six-time Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio, who after his 11th season will ponder retirement.

In his bid to become the first single-season sack champion in franchise history, Myles Garrett failed to get to Jackson. He finished with 14, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals' Trey Hendrickson.