Another week, and another dismal performance by the Cleveland Browns' offense, a unit that managed just two field goals in a 14-6 loss on the road to the Baltimore Ravens.
Things seemed to get off to a good start for the Browns. The Ravens got the ball first, but kicker Justin Tucker missed a 50-yard field goal wide right. On the Browns' first offensive play of the game, Brandon Weeden fired a pass downfield to tight end Jordan Cameron for a gain of 53 yards. Cleveland had 1st-and-goal from the 7 yard line, but couldn't punch it in and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.
Both offenses had trouble moving the ball for the rest of the half, although Cleveland seemed to be having a little more success. The Ravens did string together a drive to close out the second quarter, but Tucker missed another field goal, this time from 44 yards with just 0:31 left in the half. Weeden quickly connected on several passes, and Cundiff surprisied everyone by drilling a 51-yarder to give the Browns a 6-0 lead heading into the half.
Cleveland got the ball first in the third quarter and picked up several first downs, but eventually had to punt. The Ravens finally got into a rhythm on offense with several key runs and pass plays, and the drive finished with a 5-yard touchdown run by running back Bernard Pierce. The Ravens led 7-6, but there was still a lot of time left to play. On the Browns' next drive, the Ravens had a breakdown in coverage, but Weeden overthrew running back Chris Ogbonnaya on a wheel route that probably would've gone for a 62-yard touchdown.
After a Browns punt, running back Ray Rice fumbled, giving the Browns the ball near mid-field at the end of the third quarter. Cleveland only needed a field goal to re-take the lead. Unfortunately, Weeden was sacked on the first play of the drive, making it 2nd-and-19. The Browns eventually got it to 4th-and-4 from the 39-yard line. Weeden found Cameron, but after a measurement, the officials determined that Cleveland missed the first down by a distance that is shorter than the thickness of a credit card. Yep.
Mid-way through the fourth quarter, Joe Flacco got his first touchdown pass of the game, picking on Chris Owens in coverage of receiver Marlon Brown. The Ravens led 14-6, but the Browns were still within one possession of tying the game. Weeden tried his best to rally the Browns, but Greg Little kept dropping the ball, forcing the Browns into long passing situations in second- and third-down. When the Browns had one last gasp for a drive, they had to start at their 1 yard line and with Jason Campbell at quarterback; Campbell was in because Weeden reportedly hit his thumb on a helmet. Campbell couldn't do anything, and Baltimore ran out the clock to finish the game.
Quick Hitters
- The Browns were good at defending the run again. Baltimore had 99 yards rushing, but just 2.8 yards per carry. OLB Barkevious Mingo had a couple of impact plays. Even though some of the coverage aside from Joe Haden struggled, you woudn't notice that if the Browns' offense could sustain more scoring drives.
- The offensive line played better than it did against the Dolphins, but still not at an acceptable level. Weeden was sacked 5 times, and the holes in the running game inside weren't there.
- Zero fourth quarter carries for Trent Richardson, but he also failed to bring any form of an "X-factor" when he touched the ball throughout the game.
- Weeden's big gaffe during the game was the overthrow to Ogbonnaya. You can't brush that under the rug. With that said, I thought Weeden played at an acceptable game. It sounds stupid to say that when the offense scored just six points, but he made a couple of big throws that Greg Little dropped, and from looking at the replays, the receivers really struggled against man coverage this week. There were three delay of game penalties, but Weeden seemed to be calling for the ball early on two of those.
- Spencer Lanning and the special teams coverage units didn't come through in the clutch this week. Lanning's punts were either too short or not angled to the sideline enough. On the one punt that could have been downed at the one, the Browns' coverage guys couldn't field it cleanly, resulting in a touchdown. The Ravens took the lead with a touchdown-scoring drive following that miscue. The Ravens, meanwhile, often won the field position battle due to the work of their punter, Sam Koch.
Weeden has a sprained thumb, and it's uncertain if he'll play next week against Minnesota.