The Cleveland Browns had another crushing loss this week, losing 26-23 in overtime to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The team had multiple opportunities to leave with a victory and move back to even on the season with a 3-3 record, but threw those chances away and fell to their fourth loss of the season. It was a tough game to let slip away because of the many times the Browns were on the brink of winning.

The game will be marked as one that just got away from the Browns. Not the one, because, well—there are bound to be more. So, let’s take a look at the big play opportunities the Browns had versus the Denver Broncos on Sunday, specifically, the ones they let slip away.

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4th Quarter 1:41 – Third-and-7 on the 8-yard line

With the Browns behind, 23-20, the offense had an opportunity on a third-and-7 play to take the lead over the Broncos. But as you can see here, Josh McCown was pressured, forcing an incompletion. The Browns followed this play by tying the game up with a field goal. Still, the Browns missed a huge opportunity to take the lead on this play. Let’s take a look.

As you can see from this clip, the Browns had an opportunity to score the go-ahead touchdown. This shot shows that tight end Gary Barnidge was running open down the middle of the field with a lane available for Josh McCown to throw through. The pressure by the Broncos pass rush, however, caused McCown to get happy feet and leave the pocket. His eye level came down as he tried to escape the pocket. McCown had the time to throw the ball to Barnidge had he kept his eyes downfield for a little longer. It was the first big missed opportunity of the game.

4th Quarter :53 – Second-and-10 on the Denver 46-yard line

This was one of the biggest plays of the game for the Browns. With under a minute left to play in regulation in a second-and-10 situation, the Browns were in good field position to drive for the game-winning field goal. The opportunity was halted when Josh McCown threw a horrible interception. Let’s take a look.

The play was just not a winner from beginning to end. The first problem with the play is the routes by the receivers and tight end. As you can see, all four of the Browns run routes end up on the left side of the field in the same area. This allowed the Broncos defense to cover a smaller chunk of the field, making it difficult for McCown to find an open target. The second problem is the pass rush. McCown was immediately pressured, causing him to move around and rush his decisions. The third and final problem was McCown’s decision to throw the ball. He threw on his back leg while being hit. He looked like he was trying to throw the ball away, but the pressure caused him to underthrow it and get picked off. The interception ended any opportunity the Browns could have had on third down.

Final Offensive Drive in Overtime

First-and-10 on the Denver 39

This was the first play of the drive in OT after the huge interception by Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo. The play started off the drive with negative result that was compounded by the next two. Here is how the play transpired.

The one was a dud from the beginning. The Broncos defense was in full-fledged run stopping mode with nine defenders in the box against this run. The toss play to running back Robert Turbin made the play extend to the sidelines, which was covered very well by the two Bronco defenders who were setting the edge. Browns fullback Malcolm Johnson compounded the issue by whiffing on a block on one of the two Bronco edge-setters. Turbin had no chance on this play to make a positive gain.

Second-and-13 on the Denver 42

After a loss on first down, the Browns were forced to pass on this play. This sack added even more negative yards to the drive, killing the momentum the Browns had after their big interception. Here is how the play went down.

On this play, the Browns sent out five players for Josh McCown to target in the pass play. But as you can see here, the Denver defense had perfect coverage on all five targets. Not one of the Browns targets was able to gain any space to be open for McCown to throw to in the play.

This clip shows the excellent up and under pass rush move that Sylvester Williams and Malik Jackson combine to do on this play. Williams goes straight off the line, while Jackson swoops behind Williams and up through the hole in the center of the line. Browns center Alex Mack is too slow to pick up Jackson, allowing him to get a free shot on McCown. The Broncos great coverage combined with their sleek pass rush move to make another negative play for the Browns.

Third-and-21 on the 50-yard line

The Browns final chance to get into field goal position finished just like the previous two plays, with negative results. Josh McCown was sacked for the second straight play, forcing the Browns to punt after starting their drive in great field position. Here is how the play transpired.

This had a chance to be a huge play. As you can see here, most of the Denver coverage is very good, except on the deep route by Browns receiver Brian Hartline. He is running a deep post route against a corner and a deep safety. He runs a perfect route, using a good in and out move at the top of the route to fake out the safety and gain advantage over the coverage. He is running open behind the coverage. It could have been the game-winning touchdown.

The game did not end on this play because of Josh McCown’s happy feet. As you can see here, McCown decides to run through the hole in the pocket rather than keep his eyes down field. He did not have any pressure on him from the pass rush. He could have stood tall rocketed a pass to Hartline, who was running open. But, McCown wrongly chooses to run through a gap in the line that closes immediately when he does, stopping him for another loss. It was a huge opportunity missed by Josh McCown and the Browns.

Highlight of the Game

The highlight of the game was inside linebacker Karlos Dansby. Dansby picked off two Peyton Manning passes, including taking one of those interceptions back for a touchdown. He also had seven tackles in the loss to the Broncos on Sunday. Dansby made two big plays for the defense. He was all over the field for the defense, causing havoc for Manning all day in coverage.

Lowlight of the Game

The lowlight of the game is quarterback Josh McCown. McCown completed only 20 of 39 passes for 213 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. After a couple of strong performances in his previous two games, he really struggled to meet that level versus the tough Denver defense. A lot of the praise could go to the talented Bronco defense, but as I showed in the film room this week, McCown missed a lot of opportunities on Sunday. McCown just did not play well enough for the Browns to win the game.