Listed as questionable all week after suffering an injury to his right shoulder during the Cleveland Browns' Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans, quarterback Deshaun Watson sat Sunday's Week 4 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
And his team certainly missed him as the offense gained just 166 total yards in a lopsided 28-3 home loss to their AFC North rivals.
But even had Watson been available, Cleveland still may not have had a chance as Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense ran wild on the Browns' top-ranked defense.
With the win, John Harbaugh is now 25-6 against the Browns in his career and 12-4 in Cleveland.
So, who exactly deserves the blame for Cleveland's second loss of the season? Let's start with Harbaugh's counterpart.
Browns to blame for Week 4 loss to Ravens: Kevin Stefanski
Look, the Browns were at a bit of a disadvantage to start with Watson on the shelf, forcing Kevin Stefanski to start rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson (we'll get more in-depth on him shortly). But it's not as if the Ravens were at full strength as Harbaugh entered the game down six starters.
Stefanski simply didn't take advantage. Truth be told, it looked as if his team wasn't ready to compete at all. Instead of rallying with their superstar on the bench, the Browns essentially looked beaten from the get-go.
To make matters worse, Stefanski made several questionable decisions throughout the afternoon, most notably with his play-calling. I mean, trick plays for a guy who's never played a single NFL snap before Sunday. Overall, this was just an uninspired performance from Cleveland on both sides of the ball.
Browns to blame for Week 4 loss to Ravens: Dorian Thompson-Robinson
As mentioned, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the former UCLA standout whom the Browns selected in the fifth round of this year's draft, had yet to take a regular-season snap. And Stefanski's questionable playcalling didn't really allow him to ever get comfortable.
But here's the thing. Thompson-Robinson is still an NFL quarterback. And he genuinely earned his spot as Deshaun Watson's backup with some strong play during the preseason, beating out Joshua Dobbs and Kellen Mond. So, using the excuse that this was his first real game only goes so far.
The fact remains that the 23-year-old played a lousy football game. Yes, it's that simple.
As a super senior at UCLA last year (he took his extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19), Thompson-Robinson completed a career-high 69.6% of his passes. But accuracy wasn't his friend on Sunday as he connected on just 19 of 36 (52.8%) targets against the Ravens, ultimately throwing for just 121 yards. He also took four sacks, but the Browns' offensive line certainly deserves some of the blame there.
But the O-line can't take the blame for Thompson-Robinson's three interceptions, the first two of which led to Baltimore touchdowns. The third didn't matter, as it came on the game's final play.
As Cleveland has a bye in Week 5, one has to assume Deshaun Watson will be ready to roll for the Browns' Week 6 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. And Dorian Thompson-Robinson might just be happy about that. If he played this poorly against the Ravens, just imagine what Nick Bosa & Co. would do to him.
Browns to blame for Week 4 loss to Ravens: The entire Cleveland defense
Perhaps it's a bit of a copout to blame the entire Browns' defense here, but you can't simply pinpoint one player or one unit as everyone was torched in this defeat.
Coming into this week, the Cleveland defense ranked first in nearly every major statistical category through the first three games. But that won't be the case when Week 4 officially comes to a close on Monday night.
Lamar Jackson was absolutely brilliant on Sunday, accounting for all four Baltimore touchdowns.
Entering this battle with the second-highest completion percentage in the league, trailing only Justin Herbert, the 2019 NFL MVP had his most accurate game of the year thus far, connecting on 79% of his passes for 186 yards. Each of his two touchdown passes went to tight end Mark Andrews, who ended his day with five receptions for 80 yards.
Jackson also accounted for 27 of Baltimore's 131 rushing yards and ran for two scores. Gus Edwards led the Ravens' rushing attack with 48 yards, while Justice Hill added 33 on just three carries.
As mentioned, the Browns have a bye week and then resume their 2023 season with a Week 6 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. And if Stefanski & Co. want to avoid another "Browns to blame" column in two weeks, they'll need to make some adjustments during their time off.
