Browns coach takes blame for failed 2-point try minus Sanders - ESPN

CLEVELAND — Browns coach Kevin Stefanski declined to explain what went wrong but accepted blame for a failed 2-point conversion attempt in his team's 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday that saw rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders watching from the sideline on the decisive play.

Cleveland trailed Tennessee 31-17 with six minutes remaining, but Sanders rallied the Browns late with a pair of touchdown drives. Sanders first scored on a 7-yard run but fumbled the center exchange when Cleveland went for two after the touchdown.

Later, Sanders connected with rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. on a 7-yard touchdown with 1:03 left, but the Browns left Sanders off the field as the offense went to its Wildcat package for another 2-point attempt.

Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins took a direct snap and ran to his right but mishandled the ball as rookie wide receiver Gage Larvadain ran in the opposite direction for a possible reverse. Judkins ran backward and launched a pass across the field to Larvadain in a last-ditch effort, but it fell incomplete.

«Not going to get into all the specifics but obviously it did not go as we thought it would,» Stefanski said after the game.

Stefanski handed playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees after Cleveland's Week 9 bye — he also said Rees had final say on what plays went into the game plan — but the sixth-year head coach took accountability for the failed conversion. Stefanski said he had already decided on the Wildcat play as the offense was moving down the field for the potential game-tying drive.

«I make every call.… I'm responsible for all of it,» Stefanski said.

Throughout the season, the Browns have turned to the Wildcat formation in short-yardage situations.