It's been awhile since the fans in the Superdome have been this stunned. The Cleveland Browns pulled off a miraculous 30-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints, making it the third consecutive year that Cleveland has taken out the defending Super Bowl Champions.
In the game thread, someone asked if there would be any goats for this game. The answer is, quite simply, "No." In a game that was such a joy for Cleveland fans to watch, all I can think about is the number of game balls that can be handed out. I'll get to those tomorrow and in my game review. For now, let's take a look at the big plays that were made by the Browns today, because there were certainly a lot of them.
- The Saints punted to Joshua Cribbs on their first drive, and he threw a lateral across the whole field to Eric Wright. Wright returned the kick 62 yards, setting up a field goal. +3 for Cleveland.
- On Cleveland's second drive, Colt McCoy threw deep for Joshua Cribbs in the end zone. The Saints were flagged for pass interference, a 38-yard penalty. Peyton Hillis then punched it in for a touchdown on the next play. +7 for Cleveland.
- Up by only 10 points and the Saints driving, Drew Brees threw his first red zone interception in his last 80 tries to LB Scott Fujita. That's either -3 or -7 for New Orleans.
- On 4th-and-8 from the 23 yard line, up 10-3 in the first half, Reggie Hodges lined up to punt. The play turned out to be a fake, and Hodges ran for the first down...but wait! He kept on running for a total of 68 yards, setting up a Browns field goal. +3 for Cleveland.
- Trying to run their two-minute offense in the first half, a few whacky bounces off of players led to a shocking David Bowens pick six, as he leaped into the end zone. +7 for Cleveland.
- On the Saints' first drive of the second half, they were backed up in a 1st-and-35 situation after a double penalty was called. That allowed Cleveland's defense to keep the momentum they had in the first half and remain confident.
- After the Saints had scored their first touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to make the score 20-10, the Browns' offense showed up for really its first time of the game. The offense consisted of tough running from Peyton Hillis, as well as a trick third down throw from Hillis to Colt McCoy to keep the chians moving. The drive only netted a field goal, but the real key here is this: 7 minutes and 30 seconds were taken off the clock. +3 for Cleveland.
- Up by only 13 points, there was still concern that New Orleans could come back. They were driving fast, but then David Bowens read the quarterback and made a play on the football again, this time returning the pick 64 yards and an uncontested touchdown. Ball game for Cleveland.
Final Score: 30-17, Browns Defeat Saints
Cleveland moves to 2-5 as they enter their bye week. It feels kind of cool that I used my upset special on the Browns this week and I was right. We'll remember this win for awhile. GO BROWNS!!!