In the midst of their worst stretch in franchise history, the Browns will return to the place where the pain and suffering started when they visit the Buffalo Bills beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The last time the Browns played in Orchard Park, N.Y., they entered Nov. 30, 2014, with a record of 7-4 and in the hunt for a playoff berth. But they fell 26-10 with quarterback Johnny Manziel relieving a slumping Brian Hoyer and receiving his first extended playing time in an NFL regular-season game. The defeat triggered a five-game losing streak to end the season.
The Browns have never recovered. They have lost 31 of 34 games dating back to that meeting with the Bills, whose venue changed names this year from Ralph Wilson Stadium to New Era Field.
Almost nothing is the same for the Browns.
Manziel self-destructed and is out of the NFL. Hoyer is recovering from a broken arm he suffered in October with the Chicago Bears, his second team since he left Cleveland in free agency. Mike Pettine, coach of the Browns the past two seasons, took this year off from football after being fired.
“Well, it’s not happy to think about,” left tackle Joe Thomas said of the slide set off by that loss to the Bills. “I never thought it would be that way. But the NFL’s a crazy business, and a lot of things can happen in that time. I think that was kind of the beginning of the Manziel era, for better or worse. [Offensive coordinator] Kyle Shanahan left after the season. I think a lot of things happened that were unexpected.”
It’s been a bizarre blur ever since.
“You think we should’ve had a shot at the playoffs,” said left guard Joel Bitonio, who’s on injured reserve. “We had a shot at the division that year, and to win not very many games since then, it’s been tough.”
Now the Browns (0-13) are in danger of losing all 16 games in Hue Jackson’s first season as their coach, a sore subject for everyone involved.
“If you don’t lose a little sleep at night with your record being 0-13, you don’t really have the love for the game that we want you to have,” cornerback Joe Haden said.
After the Browns face the Bills (6-7), they’ll host the San Diego Chargers (5-8) on Christmas Eve and visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5) for the finale on New Year’s Day. They haven’t held a lead since they had a 7-6 halftime advantage Nov. 10 against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Browns also haven’t won in more than a year, and Manziel was their starting QB when they last prevailed on Dec. 13, 2015.
“I hope we get one so that can’t be the storyline anymore,” Bitonio said.
Only three teams have lost their first 14 games. Only the 2008 Detroit Lions have gone 0-16.
But for Browns players seeking a glass-half-full mindset, it’s important to remember things can turn for the better in the NFL just as quickly as they can turn for the worse. After all, the Lions made the playoffs in 2011.
“I look at teams like the Oakland Raiders,” inside linebacker Chris Kirksey said. “They’re arguably one of the best teams in the league right now and they weren’t like that a couple years ago.”
In 2014, the Raiders started 0-10 and went 3-13. They were 7-9 last season and are now 10-3.
A franchise quarterback is usually the key to a turnaround. Matthew Stafford did it for the Lions and Derek Carr for the Raiders.
The Browns don’t have a long-term answer at the game’s most important position, but they own two picks in each of the first two rounds of April’s draft.
They also have a coach players are convinced belongs.
“This is the worst season that I’ve ever had playing football,” Haden said. “ But with Coach Hue, I have his back 100 percent.
“He always comes up to me like, ‘Joe, next year this time we’re going to be getting ready for the playoffs.’ I’m with you. We feel the same way. I believe in coach.”
Jackson has repeatedly said opponents had better beat up on the Browns now because it’s not going to happen for long. So far, his players are still buying the theory.
“The way he is in the meeting room and how he interacts with the players, how he stays positive, that shows that he’s a great leader,” Kirksey said. “He’s not panicking right now. He’s not going crazy. He’s still being our leader. That’s what makes him such a good guy and such a good coach is that he’s always positive about everything. So I truly believe when he says it’s not going to be like this next year.”
The players know the roster will undergo more significant changes, but they expect Jackson back next season.
“He has a way to connect with every person on the team that I haven’t seen before,” Bitonio said. “When we get the bodies and the people in the right spots, I feel like he has the offensive mind at least to get us in the right direction and put us out there to succeed.”
Meanwhile, questions about the job security of Bills coach Rex Ryan are rampant. He has won with his back against the wall before, though. When he coached the New York Jets in 2013, they beat the Browns, then won their final game to finish 8-8. He kept his job for another season.
“They are going to play for him,” Jackson said. “That is just what they do. Rex always gets his guys to play. I have worked with Rex, so I know what kind of coach he is. He is as good of football coach as I have been around. ... They will rally their guys and get them ready to play. For us, we just want to go compete and go try and win a game.”
The Browns last won at Buffalo on Oct. 11, 2009, when they prevailed 6-3 and snapped a 10-game drought despite completing just two passes in swirling winds.
“One of my many records in the NFL that I’m proud of,” Thomas said.
Asked if he recalled feeling relieved, Thomas said, “Yeah, it was like winning the Super Bowl.”
It would be apropos for the Browns to end their current skid in Orchard Park, though the site of their next victory is the least of their worries at this point.
“I just want to end it,” Haden said. “I don’t care where we end it.”
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.