For all of Sunday's topsy-turvy surprises, the results for Cleveland looked dangerously familiar.
Another loss. This time in the form of a 31-28 defeat against the Colts, which dropped the Browns to 0-3 for the second year in a row under coach Hue Jackson.
"I'm not discouraged. I'm not disappointed," Jackson said after the game, per The Plain Dealer. "I see signs, but it's just not happening fast enough."
Immediate transformation is always a tall order with a rookie quarterback under center. Instead of placing DeShone Kizer into a veteran-heavy attack, the second-round passer is missing his lead receiver in Corey Coleman and playing with one of the youngest rosters league-wide, a dynamic that led to a whopping eight drops on Sunday.
"I wish I could explain the drops," Jackson said. "The [offensive] pass interferences, I need to go back and watch that. We run the same crossing routes as everybody else."
Under duress for much of the game, Kizer was a mixture of ups and downs, generating a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives, but also throwing two killer third-quarter interceptions. He wasn't helped by a secondary that had no idea how to stop Colts star pass-catcher T.Y. Hilton.
"Nothing magical is going to happen," Jackson told reporters. "We have to get better."
This was a game these young Browns hoped to use as a showcase for their developing players, a tilt many felt they could -- and should -- win as proof of the greater plan in Cleveland. Instead, it raises the pressure on a front office and coaching staff that sits at 1-18 over the past two seasons.
"Nobody's down, nobody's throwing in the towel," Jackson said. "If anything, I'm [teed] off ... We have to make the plays ... That's what pro teams do, and we have to get better at it."
