Cleveland Browns: Browns Win On Legs Of RB Peyton Hillis Vs Bengals
It took four weeks, but the Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals by playing all four quarters and utilizing Peyton Hillis to the fullest.
The win didn't come without its bumps and scary moments, but we're not here to dwell on what went wrong because the Browns got a victory today.
So let's celebrate and look at what went right with the Browns for a change.
Peyton Hillis
1 of 9
The Incredible Hulk lives, and he wears Orange and Brown!
Peyton Hillis ran for another 102 yards today, literally bouncing defenders off the field. Denver Broncos fans are not happy campers at the moment when they look at their running game and see what the Browns are doing with their former fullback.
Hillis has been a great pickup for the Browns and a great trade by General Manager Tom Heckert.
Hillis is so good so far, that the Bengals defense, which specifically keyed on shutting Hillis down, was powerless to stop him.
Hillis just wore those defenders down, or just flat knocked them out of the game.
Expect sales of the Hillis jersey to rise exponentially as the season goes on.
Seneca Wallace
2 of 9
Let's be real for a moment despite the happy attitude: The offensive line's pass protection was atrocious, and Seneca's mobility is a major reason some of the passing plays turned out as they did.
The pass protection started out good, started to break down in the second quarter, got worse in the third and then stabilized in the fourth.
But Wallace rolled with it, stayed upright for the most part, and made a few plays out of nothing, so let's focus on the positive and not his continued overthrowing of receivers in the end zone and along the sideline.
We don't want to talk about that at all.
Matt Roth
3 of 9
Matt Roth made more than a few good plays, including two sacks. The man was a beast and even if he didn't record a stat, Roth was part of the play.
You can't ask for more than that from your players.
Roth was a great waiver wire pickup after he had a "falling out" with the Miami Dolphins last season.
The Dolphins loss is the Browns gain, and it's nice to be on the winning end of a waiver wire transaction.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Kenyon Coleman
4 of 9
Kenyon Coleman was another Browns linebacker who had a monster day. Coleman's stats don't do justice to just how effective he was at breaking up the rhythm of the Bengals passing game.
He had three tackles and one sack, but like Roth, when the Browns defense showed its teeth, Coleman was right there in the thick of it.
Chansi Stuckey
5 of 9
Chansi Stuckey had five catches for 56 yards in what is the best performance by a Browns wide receiver in 2010.
He appeared to suffer an arm injury after one catch, but returned to the game. However, he wasn't utilized as much in the second half, which is something to raise an eyebrow at had the Browns lost.
But we don't dwell on "What If's" here, so congratulations to Stuckey.
The Tight Ends
6 of 9
Tight ends Evan Moore and Benjamin Watson made a huge difference in the game as Moore caught a touchdown pass and Watson made six catches for 60 yards.
The Browns have made the most of their upgrades at tight end this season, and for all the hand-wringing over the ineffective wide receiver corps, the fact the tight ends are performing well makes up for it.
Whatever works, and if the throws to the tight ends get the job done, then that's what you keep doing.
A Token Look At The Negatives
7 of 9
Don't pile on Eric Wright, no one could cover Terrell Owens.
It's difficult to say without a hard review of the game film whether it was just a mismatch on all levels, or if mistakes were made.
Sheldon Brown picked a bad time to trip and fall, but that's not a talent or mismatch issue, so he gets a pass.
As for the rest, since the game was a victory, let's all hope they go into the film room and learn from their mistakes.
What Can The Browns Take From This?
8 of 9
Besides a victory, the Browns can take the experience of having played all four quarters, holding off the competition and pulling out a victory when everything was pointing to another second half meltdown.
The team still has a long way to go before they're ready for primetime, but a win is a win is a win, and they can ride this victory into the Falcons game next week.
Up Next, The Atlanta Falcons
9 of 9
The Falcons just survived a scare from the San Francisco 49ers, so they won't be in any kind of mood to take the Browns lightly.
This is going to be a hard game to win as the Falcons most likely are headed to the playoffs.
But more on that later, the Browns got their first victory of the year and it's time to celebrate that.
It's a good day to be a Browns fan!
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")