The Browns fell in overtime, 45-42, in a marathon game against the Oakland Raiders. Cleveland falls to 1-2-1 while the Raiders improve to 1-3.

Here are my quick takeaways from the heartwrenching loss …

The NFL owes the Browns an apology for the officiating

There are too many instances of blatant officiating malpractice to list (we’ll do that later) but to sum up in one tweet:

Shame on Walt Anderson. This was a #Browns win and he STOLE it from them. Shame. — Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) September 30, 2018

The completely unfounded reversal of the first-down spot, over the objection of rules analyst Dean Blandino and a flabbergasted Fox broadcast crew, directly stole a regulation win from the Browns.

Special teams were abysmal

The Browns special teams were so far from ascending to below-average they couldn’t see that lowly benchmark.

Jabrill Peppers is uncreative and easy to tackle as a return man. He got no help whatsoever from the blocking in front of him. On his final kick return effort there were four Raiders in coverage who had run past their alleged blockers. The coverage units continue to give up too many running lanes and the tackling efforts are too often undisciplined.

At least rookie kicker Greg Joseph looked great on the wretched Oakland Colisuem baseball field.

Mayfield is for real but still a rookie

The numbers don’t look great, but the one that matters most is the 0-1 record for Baker Mayfield as the starting QB of the Cleveland Browns. The No. 1 overall pick showed leadership, composure and the ability to overcome adversity, some of it of his own creation.

He was not perfect. The early pick-six was not his fault. Nor was the botched snap in the fourth quarter that led to the Raiders taking the lead. The fumble created by pressure from Maurice Hurst was, however. So too was the interception that ended regulation, a terrible decision when other options were present. As magical as Mayfield’s escapes can be, he does need to protect the ball better in the pocket. Mayfield also missed a wide-open Antonio Callaway on a deep would-be TD.

Mayfield did not panic. He did not get conservative, to his detriment at the end of the game. With help from the impressive run game, Mayfield kept the offense on the right track. The team scored over 40 points for the first time since 2009.

So. Many. Drops.

Cleveland receivers dropped seven passes, unofficially. Antonio Callaway had at least three, but he was joined by Jarvis Landry and David Njoku in the drop department too.

Just after the Raiders took the lead in the fourth quarter, Njoku and Landry each dropped a pass that hit both hands.

At least it wasn’t just the Browns receivers who couldn’t catch. Oakland dropped at least six passes too, including a wide-open TD by Martavis Bryant early in the game. They also dropped three passes in a row on one third-quarter drive.

Takeaways continue on defense

The Browns have taken the ball away more in the first four weeks of 2018 than in all 16 games in 2017.

The opportunism stands out. Take Damarious Randall’s INT, Cleveland’s second of the day. This is a terrible throw by Carr, but credit Randall for making the play.

Nick Chubb’s strange day

The first and third time the rookie running back touched the ball, he ran for a total of 104 yards and two TDs. Oddly, they were his only touches of the game. Meanwhile, Carlos Hyde ran 22 times for 82 yards and a TD. Hyde was fine, but Chubb was electric. Giving him only three chances was an odd choice by the Browns coaching staff.