Morris Claiborne not happy with himself after Jet's costly penalty allows Browns do-over on two-point try
Carlos Hyde of the Browns gets wrapped up by Morris Claiborne of the Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 20, 2018 in Cleveland. Credit: Getty Images/Jason Miller
CLEVELAND — Morris Claiborne was one of many Jets upset with himself Thursday night.
The veteran cornerback was whistled for a crucial penalty in the Jets’ humbling 21-17 loss to the Browns. A defensive holding on Claiborne gave the Browns a second shot at a two-point conversation, and they made the Jets pay.
“You don’t want to see that happen, especially when you get a penalty,” Claiborne said. “We stopped them. We were getting off the field. I know I can’t do that. I ain’t trying to do that. I’m trying to cover this man so he doesn’t catch the ball. Sometimes those things happen. But I’m a man. I eat that. I’ll take it and I’ll try to get better.”
Claiborne said he wanted to look at the film because he thought he was in good position. But the Jets can't have the play back.
The Jets were up 14-6 when Carlos Hyde scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter. The Browns went for two, and as Baker Mayfield was running around looking for a receiver, two yellow flags were thrown on the field. There was an offensive holding on the Browns and defensive holding on Claiborne. The penalties offset and the Browns got another chance.
On the second attempt, the Browns went with a little trickery, and pulled out a page from the Eagles’ Super Bowl playbook.
They direct snapped it to running back Duke Johnson. He handed it off to Jarvis Landry, who threw it to Mayfield in the end zone. The Eagles did something similar to the Patriots in the end zone, with quarterbackNick Foles on the receiving end of the pass.
“It was more the coverage than the play,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “We were on different pages and the cover was blown.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
