LANDOVER, Md. — It was there for a very brief moment. You almost had to be listening for it to catch the microsecond it occurred.

As left guard Joel Bitonio spoke Sunday after the Browns' 34-13 loss to the Washington Commanders, there was a brief second when his voice caught. It could have just been because he had to clear his throat or because he took too big a breath, but the likelihood was that it was the Pro Bowler trying to swallow his own emotions.

"Yeah, it's been frustrating," Bitonio said. "We have not performed anywhere close to where we want to perform. And like you said, it's self-inflicted stuff. We have plays called and one guy gets beat and that ruins a drive, you know what I mean? So we're frustrated and we got to find a way to get better.

"The season's a long season, and that's the thing. We're in a place no one wanted to be at, no one wants to be at, but how are we going to respond to it? How are we going to find a way to get a win?"

The Browns would take the ugliest win in the world right now. Sunday's loss was their third in a row, and fourth in the first five games, leaving them at 1-4 just past the quarter mark of the season.

The Browns have not yet played an AFC North opponent, and that won't happen for another two weeks when the Cincinnati Bengals come to Cleveland. The Bengals may also be 1-4, but there's a feel and a vibe to them that you can at least see a path out of the hole.

The Browns have shown none of that, because every game seems to be a replay of the previous one, with offensive stagnation, if not total ineptitude, while the defense struggles with its own fundamental issues — see tackles, missed — before it all collapses inward.

"Yeah, it's very frustrating," wide receiver Amari Cooper said. "Obviously, this is a complementary game and the offense, defense, special teams, when the offense steps up and creates the momentum, we try to look for the defense to keep that momentum and vice versa."

The Browns have been unable to play that complementary brand of football because they can't get both sides in the same groove at the same time. The closest that happened was in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Browns won that game.

Sunday, it just seemed like both sides took turns being the one to prevent the machine from ever getting going. The biggest issue, though, were the little self-inflicted problems that seemed to continue to come up at the worst times.

The Browns had another nine penalties, getting back near the double-digit territory they were in the first two games. They also had a turnover at midfield that turned into points.

"The game's hard enough," Bitonio said. "We have to do a better job, basic stuff, we just have to be better, honestly, every aspect of it. But it's frustrating."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns left looking for response after third consecutive loss