BEREA — Browns second-year wide receiver Corey Coleman is still beating himself up over a dropping a touchdown pass in Sunday's loss to the Bengals.
Trailing by 17 points early in the third quarter, the Browns marched down to the 29-yard line. Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer launched a strike to Coleman, who slipped past Cincinnati's coverage and was open in the end zone. Then, the ball went in and out of his hands.
"It's not acceptable at all," Coleman said Wednesday. "I take full responsibility for it. DeShone threw a great ball. I couldn't ask for a better ball than that. I've got to make that play."
Coleman, the team's 2016 first-round NFL Draft pick, prides himself as a playmaker on an offense desperately in search of them. That's why Sunday's miscue continues to bother him as the Browns prepare for a road trip to Los Angeles.
Browns coach Hue Jackson said he doesn't mind Coleman reflecting on the play, but stressed "he has to let it go, too."
"The competitive side, I'm glad that he understands how important it was, but there are going to be more," he said. "It would be different if he wasn't going to have any more opportunities to do that. The next opportunity that he gets, he has to make that play."
To be certain, Coleman has quickly made an impact after missing most of the season with a broken hand. In his first two games back (Jacksonville and Cincinnati), he's caught nine passes for 184 yards. Coleman knows it could be more.
"I have to make that play, and if you saw me on the sideline, it tore me down because you don't get that many opportunities to make plays like that," he said. "When that happens, you've got to make it count."
Coleman will have a chance to redeem himself this weekend.
"You have to get back up on the bike and do it again, and he was. He gets it," Jackson said. "You have to make that play, but he is going to get an opportunity to do it again. When it comes, he has to make that play."
Added Coleman: "It happens. I just can't let it repeat and keep on lingering into the next game. I just have to clear it and go to the next play."
