Browns pull out trick play at worst time

It started as a quip; a one-liner to use while in the company of other Browns fans.After a few years, it became a go-to sentence, something to say when things went wrong.But after six years of watching head coach Kevin Stefanski lead the Browns, I'm starting to believe it's true:Kevin Stefanski would rather trick you than beat you.The Browns found a way to lose to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, 31-29.There were mountains of ineptitude crammed into almost four hours of football.It would be impossible to go into it all, even if you simply recited the errors the Browns made.Cleveland's run defense was a mess. It's special teams were abysmal, its offense, inconsistent.It all had to be to lose to a 1-11 Titans team.But rather remarkably, the Browns had an opportunity to erase all of it.Despite trailing the Titans 31-17 with five minutes left, quarterback Shadeur Sanders brought the Browns back.He led two touchdown drives, bringing Cleveland to within two points of the Titans after throwing a beautiful TD pass to Harold Fannin with a little more than a minute left.To tie the game, the Browns had to go for two.They had to because, after Sanders made a brilliant run to the end zone earlier to cut the Titans lead to 31-23, Stefanski opted to go for two.It's just what teams seem to do now. An analytics thing.I won't criticize going for two after that touchdown for two reasons:1. At the time, I wasn't crazy about the idea of overtime between these two squads.2. We don't know what the first two-point play was, since Sanders dropped the snap and the play never got off the ground.Sanders – who had led the rally and looked every bit the part of a franchise quarterback for the previous five minutes – was taken off the field for the second two-point attempt.Quinshon Judkins, the Browns rookie standout tailback from Ohio State, lined up in shotgun at the quarterback spot.Cleveland has run the formation in short yardage situations this season and had success with it.But usually, Judkins takes the snap and goes up the middle to the end zone.This time, Judkins took the ball and moved to his right, as wide receiver Gage Larvadain ran on a reverse from the left.Having watched the play 10 times, I'm assuming Judkins was supposed to flip the ball to Larvadain, and Larvadain was supposed to go left around the edge to the end zone.But that's not what happened.Instead of flipping the ball, Judkins hesitated. He missed Lavadain as the receiver came by, and then was trapped by Tennessee defenders.So, Judkins ran backward before throwing a pass across the field to Larvadain – who also was well covered.The whole thing felt like a Benny Hill sketch. The only thing missing was Yakety Sax.There are some who have said that, if Judkins had simply pitched the ball to Larvadain, it would have been an easy score.Fine.But here is my issue: Shadeur Sanders threw three touchdowns and ran for another. He went over 360 yards passing.Plus, as the previous two drives showed, he was on a hot streak.Taking him off the field for the most important play of the game was inexcusable.It would have been like the Cavs taking Donovan Mitchell off the floor for the last play after he led a late 14-point comeback.The problem comes back to something that Stefanski and his staff seem to be guilty of a lot this season:They overthink themselves.We've seen this a few times in the last few weeks.Last month against the Jets, QB Dillon Gabriel had a play where he rolled out to his left, then threw back to his right (horizontally) for Malachi Corley.Gabriel airmailed the throw.Last week, on a fourth and short in its own territory, the coaching staff had Fannin take a snap with Sanders off the field.The play was chaos, and Fannin fumbled.These plays clearly work in practice. But in all the plays mentioned above, rookies were being asked to do things they haven't done in games.Sanders was playing well. The Titans weren't able to cover Fannin all day.The old saying is that in big moments, think players, not plays.The Browns – and Stefanski – don't.They'd rather trick you. PLAYER OF THE GAME: It's between Sanders and Fannin. But because the Bowling Green State University mascot, Pudge the cat, was in Findlay last week, Fannin (who played at BG) wins the tiebreaker.The happiest I've been about the Browns – in years – was when they drafted Fannin. He was a stud at BG, and he's been excellent in his rookie season with Cleveland.But Sunday, he and Sanders took it to another level.They connected eight times for 114 yards and a touchdown.Fannin's touchdown catch, in the corner of the end zone while being well covered, was a thing of beauty.He has potential to be a superstar. NEXT GAME: The Browns travel to Chicago to face the rejuvenated Bears. Chicago is 9-4.Second-year quarterback Caleb Williams has been playing very well, despite a late interception that cost his team Sunday's game against the Packers.Expect a fired up Bears team.Still, this is a great opportunity for Sanders. If he can play well in Chicago and start stacking some good starts together, he can force himself into the Browns plans for next year and beyond. MY PICK: Bears 28, Browns 14.