Browns coach Freddie Kitchens wasn't holding back in his assessment of his team's offense after a 13-12 preseason loss to the Buccaneers, calling it unacceptable.
"It was just a frustrating night all the way around,'' Kitchens said (per cleveland.com). "Offensively we didn’t execute, not even close to where we want to go.”
Even though Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb and David Njoku sat out Friday's game, forcing Baker Mayfield to play with backups in the first half, Kitchens was still disappointed in the Browns' offensive performance.
The Browns instead relied on receivers Rashard Higgins and Jaelen Strong, as well as running back Kareem Hunt in the backfield.
“Those guys are coached to execute,’’ Kitchens said. “Those guys are coached to do their job and we didn’t do a very good job of preparing those guys to do their job and they didn’t do a good job of doing their job.
"The execution wasn’t there, and it had been before. Those guys have played in other games and they performed in practice and they’re expected to perform. ... It's not going to be acceptable, and we'll figure out why it happened – bad technique, bad execution, bad plays, bad play call. It could be any damn thing. We're not going to start placing blame tonight; we're in this thing together.''
Mayfield struggled in the first half, finishing a 10-of-26 performance for 72 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. The Browns started the preseason scoring 30 points against the Redskins and 21 when they faced the Colts. All 12 points Friday came from kicker Austin Seibert.
"I'm not happy with some of my throws, but we'll see," Mayfield said. "We just have to get all the little details ironed out and it doesn't matter who's in there. We've got to be able to click. ... We'll be able to look at the film and really learn from this and be able to use it. Two weeks from now, it's the real thing."
The Browns have one more preseason game, against the Lions, on Thursday before opening the regular season Sept. 8 against the Titans.