Watching replay after replay of the Browns' five turnovers didn't make it any easier for Hue Jackson one day after Cleveland's loss to Baltimore.
"The turnovers were a huge undoing not just for our offense, but for our football team," Jackson said Monday. "Anytime you turn the ball over like that ... I was surprised the score wasn't worse than what it was."
The Browns threw four interceptions and lost a fumble in the 24-10 loss at Baltimore. It was an afternoon full of growing pains for the league's youngest roster, particularly the NFL's youngest starting quarterback, DeShone Kizer. But Jackson loved the resolve he saw Monday and expects a big step forward next week at Indianapolis.
"We will learn from it," Jackson said. "We played two of the better teams in our division. There is still one more to play. We get that. We are 0-2, but the feel in the building, the feel with our football team is nothing like I felt a year ago.
"I think our guys are excited about getting back to work as fast as we can. We know we have a big game in Indy this week. We have some things to clean up – there is no question about that – and we will go from there."
-- DeShone Kizer was back to his normal self Monday after dealing with a migraine during Sunday's game, and Jackson expressed little concern about the issue affecting the Browns in the future.
"Normally when he has had them, he has had one episode of it and then it doesn't come back for about another six or seven months. That is kind of the way it has worked for him," Jackson said. "Some people get them every two weeks. Some people get them every three months. It just comes in episodes that people deal with. He knows when his are. It has been a five or six-month window when those things have normally happened to him."
Kizer missed a little more than a quarter while he dealt with the migraine. He was 15-of-31 for 182 yards, three interceptions and a fumble.
-- Jackson said rookie defensive end Myles Garrett was getting "closer" to returning and wouldn't officially rule him out for Sunday's game against the Colts.
The coach said he would have a better idea about Garrett's status Wednesday when the team returns to practice. Garrett has been sidelined since early September with a high ankle sprain and is hoping to make his NFL debut as soon as he's cleared.
The Colts, meanwhile, will be without Pro Bowl quarterback Andrew Luck for a third consecutive week.
-- Jackson reiterated the Browns' deployment of rookie Jabrill Peppers deep into the secondary is based in strategy and discouraging "the opportunity for people to throw it over our head," Jackson said.
"It is not about the corners or not having confidence in the corners," Jackson said. "This is something we truly believe discourages teams from trying to throw the ball over our head. You have not seen a ball go over our head that way. I think that is a credit to the strategy that (defensive coordinator) Gregg (Williams) and the defensive staff have put together that way."
Peppers has nine tackles in two games. He's yet to miss a snap.
