New England Patriots: Peyton Hillis and Cleveland Browns Outmuscle No. 1 Pats
I didn't see most of the second half of the New England Patriots' 34-14 loss to the Cleveland Browns. My head was in my hands, and my eyes were blurred from shaking my head.
I talked earlier in the week about how important the coaching matchup could be to the outcome of the game. Of course, Eric Mangini's ability to shut down the Patriots offense proved to be nothing short of pivotal in the game, as the Patriots could never find their offensive rhythm.
But there's so much more to this game than that. The final score says that as well as anything else, especially considering most were expecting a very close game from the start.
Here's my take on some of the key observations from the Patriots' loss to the Browns.
Special Teams Woes
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In a season in which special teams seem to be more important than any other season in recent memory, the Patriots were applauded for their consistent work on special teams. That, however, was what got them into trouble in the first place. A miscommunication between Rob Gronkowski and Sammy Morris took away the Patriots' first chance at the football in the first quarter and resulted in an early 10-0 deficit.
The guy who made the recovery? Former Patriots special teams specialist Ray Ventrone. Salt on the wounds.
Lack of Offensive Rhythm
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Of course, finger-pointing will ensue about the offensive issues, but who's really to blame? No one in particular, everyone gets a share. The offensive line allowed defenders to break right through, harrassing Brady at times. Brady had time on several throws that were misfired. There were a few dropped passes by Brandon Tate and Gronkowski.
Things were looking up with the Patriots down 17-7 at the end of the first half, driving meticulously down the field, but a costly fumble at the 1-yard line by Gronkowski eliminated that scoring opportunity.
Outmuscled on Defense
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In his postgame press conference, Vince Wilfork was as blunt as a hammer to the head when he said, "We knew they wanted to run the ball, and we couldn't stop them. That's a problem."
The defense started off the day by getting a few nice stops on the Browns defense, but faced with the task of stopping Peyton Hillis, the Patriots' bend-don't-break defense broke. And broke. And broke.
The Patriots' rush defense, which ranked 11th in the league coming into today's contest, gave up 184 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to Hillis.
People were talking about Colt McCoy proving himself as a starter. How can anyone prove themselves as a starter when the running game has a performance like that?
The Patriots got out-physicaled by the Browns, heading into a game with the highly-physical Pittsburgh Steelers. As tweeted by Mike Reiss, Vince Wilfork mentioned that the Patriots had a bad week of practice.
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It Wasn't Gronkowski's Fault (Entirely)
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Gronkowski's fumble at the 1-yard line at the end of the first half didn't help their chances, either. In fact, you could argue the point of that being the play that swung momentum permanently in favor of the Browns. It appeared that even though the Patriots had failed to put anything together, they would still have a chance if they scored before the end of the half.
That fumble cost them a score, but that was hardly the only reason they didn't win. In fact, the way the Patriots played in the second half, it's safe to say that any amount of rhythm they would have built heading into halftime would have quickly come to a dead halt.
In his postgame press conference, Alge Crumpler defended Gronkowski, saying "I don't even know why we're trying to single the young guy out...The only thing you can do from a situation like this is learn and move on. We have a lot of football left in this season and he has a lot of football left in his career."
Cleveland Browns Better Than We Thought?
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The Browns played their best game of the season, bar none. This performance even outdoes their big win over the Saints in Week 7. Holding the No. 1 offense in the league to 283 total yards and just 14 points is nothing short of spectacular.
Coming into this game, the Browns knew what they had to do to win it. They had to control the clock (38:08 Cleveland vs. 21:52 New England) and the ball (one fumble for Cleveland vs. two for the Patriots).
Quite obviously, they were able to do both and look impressive while doing it.
After a win like this over yet another team considered to be in the top of the league, are the Browns better than everyone thought? With their power running game and their unique brand of defensive football, they are slowly proving to be a threat to even the elite teams in the league.
Conclusion
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In short, a lot went wrong, and not a lot (if anything) went right. Offensively, the Patriots couldn't get any rhythm. Defensively, they couldn't stop the Browns once they found their rhythm.
This was the epitome of a team loss.
And the Patriots are going to have to prove that this game was the epitome of a fluke across the board over the next two weeks, with a tough two-game stretch against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts.
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