Cleveland Comes Alive In 27-10 Win Over Detroit

Oh what a difference a week makes. Last week against Green Bay the Browns could do very little on either offense or defense getting shutout 17-0 by the Packers. This week against the Lions the offense moved the ball better gaining 348 total yards and the defense was much improved in both effort and tackling holding the Lions to 288 yards. Cleveland controlled this contest from start to finish winning 27-10.

Derek Anderson got the start at QB and looked very good in leading the Browns on the opening drive which ended on a Jamaal Lewis four yard TD run. Anderson, who went 8-13 for 130 yards with an interception, made several strong throws and helped his case in the QB competition. Quinn went 3-5 for 29 yards and a sack in limited action.

Josh Cribbs continued to prove his value to the Browns by returning a punt 84 yards for a 1st quarter touchdown. Cribbs also took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown only to see it called back due to a penalty. Rookie James Davis, who gained 116 yards on just 12 carries, scored the Browns lone touchdown in the 2nd half on an 82 yard run. The special teams also did a nice job in both returns and coverage.

While the offense was much improved over last week, the defense showed they came to play as well. While playing with a  higher level of intensity the tackling was crisp and the coverage a lot tighter as well. Eric Wright set up a 1st quarter field goal with a nice pick and return of a Mathew Stafford pass. Kameron Wimbley had another solid game with six tackles.

While  Cleveland played with more purpose against Detroit the penalties (11 for 85 yds) and no sacks by the defense are two areas that must get fixed. All in all it will probably make practice a little more bearable next week. Well maybe just a little.