Power Play of the Week: Down the Sideline to Joshua Cribbs

I had a technical glitch with posting the "Power Play of the Week" on Wednesday, so here it is in delayed fashion.

Prior to the last week's game, I felt that way the game went down would be very similar to when we took on the Oakland Raiders. It wasn't just because both teams played on the West Coast, but rather because each team seemed to feature similarities on offense and defense.

In the Raiders game, I got excited when the Browns recovered an onside kick with about a minute left in the game. Against the 49ers, I had a very similar feeling of excitement, except for that fact that it came with about six minutes left in the game. After Cleveland had done nothing offensively all game, Colt McCoy dropped back and threw the ball relatively deep down the left sideline to Joshua Cribbs. From the Plain Dealer:

"I was asking for it all game," said Cribbs. "I told that the coverage they were playing, they were not getting wide enough on his cover 2. All game I told Colt, 'trust me!' And he said, 'if I throw it over, you better catch it.' It was really dramatic at that point.

"I said, 'if you throw it over there, I'm going to score!' And he did. He had faith in me. Even though I wasn't his first read, he threw it to his playmaker. I commend him for that."

McCoy admitted Cribbs wasn't in the progression against that defense, but once he launched the ball, "I thought it was a touchdown."

I'm glad that McCoy recognized Cribbs, but this is another point where you have to wonder if McCoy is missing a lot good reads that is hindering the offense. Cribbs went for 45 yards and a touchdown on the play to give the Browns a legitimate chance at tying the ball game up. That's why this play if the Power Play of the Week.