BALTIMORE: On Monday, Browns coach Hue Jackson said he would keep rookie Cody Kessler in the starting lineup because he was opposed to playing “musical chairs” with his quarterbacks.
But Jackson couldn’t resist the temptation to shake it up Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens in a prime-time AFC North matchup televised nationally on NFL Network.
However, Jackson’s decision to bench Kessler in favor of veteran Josh McCown with 9:36 left in the third quarter with the Browns trailing by six points backfired.
McCown had three turnovers, and the Browns fell 28-7 to the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, setting a franchise record for consecutive defeats in a single season by losing their 10th game in a row. They had nine-game losing streaks in 1975 and 2004.
At 0-10, they’re also off to the worst start to a season in team history. They went 0-9 in 1975 before winning their 10th game.
They’ve lost their past 13 games dating back to last season. Before this year, the record for a drought spanning seasons was 11 games.
They’re now 3-28 since their five-game losing streak to end 2014 began.
They’ve lost 20 of the past 21 games and haven’t won since Dec. 13.
Kessler had completed 11-of-18 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown without an interception for a rating of 92.6 when Jackson gave him the hook.
Jackson had challenged Kessler earlier this week to be more aggressive with downfield passing and when the third-round draft pick didn’t satisfy in that area, Jackson clearly thought McCown could provide a spark by stretching the defense vertically.
But McCown threw an interception on his first series, went three-and-out on his second and threw another interception on his third.
By then, the Ravens (5-4) had taken complete control.
In garbage time, McCown was strip-sacked and lost a fumble on his fourth series and went three-and-out again on his fifth series.
He finished 6-of-13 passing for 59 yards with two interceptions for a rating of 19.9.
Rookie quarterback Kevin Hogan also took two snaps in the first quarter. So the Browns became the first team to use three quarterbacks in a game since the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 18, 2011, according to ESPN.
The Browns led 7-6 at halftime, but they squandered a second-half advantage for the fifth time this season.
Quarterback Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes in the second half as the Ravens scored 25 consecutive points after trailing 7-3 in the second quarter.
Flacco completed 30-of-41 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions for a rating of 97.2.
After the Browns went three-and-out to start the second half, the Ravens orchestrated a nine-play, 64-yard scoring drive. Tight end Darren Waller beat rookie cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun on an in route and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Flacco, allowing the Ravens to seize a 13-7 advantage with 9:36 left in the third quarter. Flacco went 5-of-6 passing for 53 yards on the drive, and Waller caught the first touchdown pass of his NFL career.
The two teams then traded interceptions. Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs rushed around left tackle Joe Thomas and grabbed McCown’s right arm as he threw.
The disrupted pass was intercepted by cornerback Jerraud Powers at the Browns’ 40 with 8:45 left in the third quarter. Suggs also beat Thomas and strip-sacked McCown in the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Joe Haden bailed out the Browns four plays after McCown’s first interception when he leaped to pick off a pass Flacco intended for rookie running back Kenneth Dixon in the end zone with 6:39 remaining in the third quarter.
A three-and-out by the Browns on McCown’s second series — it ended with him being sacked — led to the Ravens taking over at Cleveland’s 43. The Ravens capitalized on the field position when Flacco connected with wide receiver Steve Smith for an 11-yard touchdown, then fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a two-point conversion and a 21-7 lead with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
Instead of countering, McCown threw another interception on the next series.
On second-and-22 from the Ravens’ 38, he launched a pass into the end zone intended for wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, but safety Eric Weddle picked it off with 13:48 left in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens piled on when wide receiver Breshad Perriman caught a 27-yard touchdown pass over Boddy-Calhoun with 6:21 remaining.
Boddy-Calhoun had an interception late in the first quarter, and the Browns led 7-6 at halftime.
After the Ravens went ahead 3-0 on Justin Tucker’s 25-yard field goal with 10:29 left in the first quarter, the Browns responded with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and took a 7-3 left with 6:30 left in the second quarter.
They benefited from a 16-yard defensive pass interference penalty called on rookie cornerback Tavon Young as he covered rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman on second-and-13 from the Browns’ 40.
Four plays later on second-and-7, rookie tight end Seth DeValve ran behind the coverage of Weddle and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kessler. It was DeValve’s first career touchdown and only his second career catch. It was also Kessler’s longest touchdown pass. Through his first six starts, his longest was 12 yards.
But the leash on Kessler was short, and everything fell apart after Jackson turned to McCown in the second half.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.