Week after week, year after year, we’ve seen the Cleveland Browns lose in unbelievable fashions. Missed field goals, blocked kicks returned for touchdowns on the final play, penalties, missed penalties and interceptions, just to name a few.
But this Sunday in a game against the New York Jets, the Browns lost in a way I’m not sure I’ve seen before. The Browns outplayed the Jets in basically every aspect of the game, but lost because they gave up TWO return touchdowns on special teams.
It’s not every game that you see a return touchdown. In fact, Cleveland had only allowed one all year prior to Sunday. But then, against the worst team in the NFL, a team that you really should beat, you allow two in a ROW. The Browns ended up losing the week 10 matchup, 27-20.
Watch both of the Jets’ return TDs below:
reservations for 6, game tied at 7#CLEvsNYJ on CBS | @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/uNw1ANcRJj
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 9, 2025
to. the. crib. 74 yards and the lead #CLEvsNYJ on CBS | @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/Rou8o0qu8v
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 9, 2025
Without these two classic Cleveland blunders, the Browns would have undoubtedly won the game. Let’s break down Cleveland’s box score dominance.
Cleveland led in first downs, 23-12, total yards, 278-169, turnovers forced, third-down efficiency and time of possession. They also held Jets’ QB Justin Fields to just 54 passing yards.
I was curious about the odds of this loss, so I asked ChatGPT the odds (accounting for the overlap between some of these stats, and using data from 2000-2023), of a team winning if they led in first downs by 10 or more, led in total yardage by 100 or more, won the turnover battle, led in third-down efficiency, led in time of possession, and held the opposing QB to under 100 passing yards.
The answer ChatGPT came up with was 98.6%. So, based on the way the Browns played Sunday, they had a 98.6% chance of beating the Jets.
I then asked it if it could find a single documented case between 2000-2023 of a team losing despite winning in all of those metrics. It could not find a single case. ChatGPT could be wrong, of course. It can be weirdly inaccurate at times. But regardless, I still found it fascinating.
It would be a truly Cleveland Browns thing to do to be the first team to earn this exceptional record. But even if it isn’t the first time it’s ever happened, overcoming those 98.6% odds is pretty unbelievable.
So why do the Browns continue losing this way? It’s not the defense, and the offense did a decent enough job this week. The special teams have been solid all season long, so why do they break horrendously out of nowhere?
Many say the Browns need a coaching change.
I had a conversation with a friend the other day about Kevin Stefanski where I was asked if I thought the Browns should fire him.
My immediate reaction was no. Cleveland has had two playoff seasons in my lifetime, and both were under Kevin Stefanski. I’ve seen a carousel of coaches, from Pat Shurmur to Mike Pettine to Freddie Kitchens. None of them have gotten close to what Stefanski’s accomplished in Cleveland.
But yet the Browns continue to be historically bad. So the question remains. Should Stefanski go?
Personally, I still maintain that Stefanski isn’t the problem. He’s not the one who made the decision to get rid of Baker Mayfield and trade for Deshaun Watson. It’s not his fault that the Browns haven’t had a lot of good draft picks recently. He’s not the one who fumbled the bag in drafting Gabriel either (though I hope time proves me wrong). All of these problems are coming from upper management.
I think that Stefanski is doing the best he can with what he has. He has an incredible defense with a horrific offense, and there must be something he’s seeing behind the scenes from Shedeur Sanders that makes him hesitate to start him over Gabriel. But with Gabriel’s rough play this season, one can only wonder when Stefanski will pull the trigger on the rookie from Colorado.
Ultimately, I trust Stefanski to do his job. He’s done it twice before, leading this franchise to the playoffs. Once, he almost beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. Not even Josh Allen has accomplished that.
Trust in Stefanski. Maybe it will just take a little time.
