Myles Garrett and the Browns are limping toward the end of a miserable season

CINCINNATI – Two more games. That’s it.

The Cleveland Browns were long dead and limping to the finish line, but had a chance to make Sunday’s 24-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals much more interesting than the final score or first-half events suggested. But the Browns didn’t, instead slipping to 3-12, and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson did little to make anyone believe he was anything more than a third-stringer in the first part of what was supposed to last three games, to end this miserable round of the season.

New quarterback, a familiar barrage of crippling turnovers. The Browns should have taken an early lead, but D’Onta Foreman fumbled just past the goal line on the game’s first possession and Thompson-Robinson was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter when the Browns were still within reach. Foreman played for the first time since late October and Thompson-Robinson made his first start this season because the Browns decided it was time to pull the plug on Jameis Winston and give the second-year quarterback a chance.

On Friday, reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett decided it was time to reverse course from his previous statements that he was fully committed to playing in Cleveland and tell reporters that he had a plan to join the Browns To get, must be sold back to immediate playoff competition.

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The timing was odd for a number of reasons, most notably because it was already seven weeks since the trade deadline and Garrett is under contract for two more seasons. But on Sunday, Garrett became the youngest player to reach 100 sacks in his career and just the second to record at least 12 sacks in five consecutive seasons. A week shy of his 29th birthday, Garrett is still clearly one of the best players in the NFL.

Whatever you think of his timing or his possible motivations – the “hard knocks” cameras in the building, potential contract leverage or perhaps just disgust for an inferior franchise – it’s clear that the process is one that Browns players are dealing with Conversations have accelerated.

“I didn’t say anything that nobody was aware of,” Garrett said Sunday.

The Browns need almost a complete teardown, and now Garrett is saying it. This is evident in the way the Bengals quickly covered 99 yards after Foreman’s fumble. It becomes clear that Thompson-Robinson is even out there. This is clearly evident in the financial and roster uncertainty the Browns face going forward, most evident in the $172.9 million in salary cap space the team still has on Deshaun Watson. Garrett just said it in front of a microphone and then said it again after joining Lawrence Taylor in the club of players who recorded 12 sacks five straight seasons.

“People remember LT because he won,” Garrett said. “I want to win.”

The bar is so low for the current Browns that Thompson-Robinson made a few nice throws in the third quarter and Jerome Ford stood out as a runner with another strong game. Ford scored from 4 yards out with 5:50 left in the third quarter, cutting the Browns’ deficit to 17-6. When the Cleveland defense forced a second straight Bengals punt after Ford’s touchdown, there was at least a little momentum on the Browns’ side.

But old habits die hard – just as painful as old teams with too many bad contracts. The Browns grew more confident and missed chances, and they never got closer than Ford’s touchdown run. Here’s how the Browns gave away points on Sunday:

• The first drive fumbles at the goal line. Foreman was inches away from giving the Browns a 6-0 lead. We can’t say it was 7-0 because struggling kicker Dustin Hopkins missed his only point-after attempt in his first game back after playing on the bench. On the first play of the game, Ford launched a 66-yard run that took the Browns to the Cincinnati 11-yard line. After the fumble, a series of sacks and bad passes, the Browns finished the first half with just 86 total yards.

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• The Browns stopped the Bengals on third down at the Cleveland 41 in the final 30 seconds of the first half, but coach Kevin Stefanski called for a timeout. The Bengals got their punt team on the board before calling a timeout of their own and getting Cade York to kick a 59-yard field goal. York did it, extending the lead to 17-0 and setting the Bengals franchise record for longest successful field goal. If the Browns had called a timeout, the Bengals would have punted.

• With the Browns trailing 17-6, Thompson-Robinson crossed the goal line on a run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The touchdown was nullified by a Jordan Akins hold call. Two plays later, after another call pushed the Browns to the 22-yard line, Thompson-Robinson was hit on his throw and the pass was intercepted by Jordan Battle.

Even if either of those situations had played out differently, the shape of the game would have changed late and given the Browns a chance. Instead, they lost again – turnovers and game management errors were at the top of the list of reasons why.

“Obviously it’s really disappointing when you turn the ball over inside the red zone, then have another good drive and get a couple of penalties… that’s really disappointing. “Ultimately, you’re not going to put yourself in a position to win on the road. It’s not a lack of effort. That’s not the problem. It’s a lack of ball protection.”

Two more games. Things have been so bad that highlighting players who continue to put in good efforts is at the top of the compliment list every week.

Maybe the Browns can get one of their remaining two, but for now the goal should be to slide further in the league-wide rankings and land in the top five of April’s NFL Draft. Maybe a high draft pick can be a big selling point to get Garrett to stay. Maybe the Browns can use this month to get key reps for other young players they need, and it’s fair to say Ford is a good player, Jerry Jeudy is a goalie, and the young defensive linemen are Mike Hall Jr. and Isaiah McGuire at least have shown positive signs. But the list of positives the Browns could sell to anyone right now is short, and finding a path back to competency has long been difficult.

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We’ll see this being shot, sold and possibly built (or completely reconstructed) from January to March. But the Browns know they don’t have a quarterback of the present or future on their roster, know they face important decisions on both lines and face eight more quarters in which they’ll have to try to string together a few positive plays without being too imploding, being thwarted and/or simply giving the ball away.

Perhaps at some point it will be necessary to trade Garrett for draft picks, as painful as it may be. For now, the Browns just need to get through this season without any more major injuries or TV drama. Even before Garrett spoke up, those in charge were fully aware of the impending discussions and decisions.

(Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)