Browns Are Streaking After Record Setting Day!
Written By: Craig Lyndall | Category: General | Comments: 28
The Cleveland Browns are on a (GASP!) two-game winning streak. Unbelievable as that might sound, get this. The Browns achieved this surprising feat by setting two records. Jerome Harrison ran wild on the Chiefs today. Harrison had 34 carries for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns. This included a 71 yard touchdown that was the second-longest of Harrison’s career. Harrison set the team record for rushing in a single game for the Browns. But even with this impressive game, Jerome Harrison wasn’t my story of the day.
Josh Cribbs added two kickoff TD returns to his lifetime stat sheet. In doing so, Cribbs becomes the all-time leader for kickoff return touchdowns. The #PAYTHEMAN trend on twitter completely blew up, as you might imagine. Cribbs almost single-handedly allowed the Browns to stay in the game. Cribbs’ second kick return TD was an answer to a three TD outburst by the Chiefs in the second quarter to send the Browns down only 4 at halftime 20-24.
The good news is the Browns won the game. But there was plenty of bad news. Brady Quinn had an abysmal day going 10-17 for 66 yards with 2 interceptions. Quinn did have a very big bootleg run in the fourth quarter for a 24-yard first down on third and short. Other than that, Quinn was simply forgettable. I guess he ran the no-huddle, and I guess he handed the ball off to Harrison. Other than that, Quinn won’t have fun watching the tapes of this one.
The Browns defense also didn’t have their best day. They were the beneficiary of at least three drops that I remember by Chiefs pass “catchers.” Matt Cassell couldn’t have been more ticked off with his team. Jamal Charles had a breakout day running for over 150 yards on 25 carries including a touchdown. In addition to that Kaluka Maiava dropped what could have been the easiest little interception pass ever thrown. That could have iced the game.
Now for any potential controversies. There is no right answer whether or not Jerome Harrison should have scored or kneeled at the one yard line on that last scoring play. Yes, the Browns gave the Chiefs a really good look at the tying touchdown at the end of the game, but I still think it is a pointless exercise to question a touchdown-scoring play. If I get to choose, I choose that he goes down at the one. Still, it isn’t a lock that that will work out in your favor, either. There is no truly correct answer.
Also, same goes for Phil Dawson’s missed 52-yard field goal try. Phil came up 3-4 yards short. The Browns might have picked those yards up on third down if they had run the ball instead of allowing Josh Cribbs to try to throw it straight into the end zone. I like the fact that they went for the jugular with Cribbs throwing the ball into the end zone to Stuckey. You can’t hate on the coaching staff just because something doesn’t work. In this case, they missed on the Cribbs pass and on the subsequent field goal. Second-guessing is easy. Maybe they should have punted.
At the end of the day, the Browns won the game 41-34. It made me very happy to see the Browns come out with the win even with another day with no passing attack. Another win on the books for Mangini who might be pleading his case to Mike Holmgren soon. Word has it that Holmgren turned down the Seahawks this week and is going to give the Browns an answer Monday or Tuesday whether he wants to work for the Browns or not.
You will get news on that as soon as it happens here at WFNY.
(Photo Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Author: CraigLyndall
Craig Lyndall has been writing about all the Cleveland sports teams at WaitingForNextYear since September 2008. When he isn't, you can find him selling insurance or playing music. Follow WFNYCraig on Twitter.Craig Lyndall has written 433 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
Up through the quad, to the gymnasium!
WE’RE GOING STREAKING!!!
What an unbelievable game to watch; I was simply astonished they kept punting/kicking to Cribbs throughout the game. Also what an outstanding game for Harrison and the O-Line making Kansas City’s defense look abysmal.
I will happily take the two in a row no matter how ugly Quinn and the defense looked.
Being your green hat!
Jerome did the right thing scoring and wasting those 3-4 seconds might have been the difference today. It definitely gave Cassel at least one less chance to throw it in there.
I’ll buy the FG attempt and the Cribbs throw. There’s no point in playing not to lose at this point. We need as much swagger and momentum as we can get going into next season. No second-guessing here today.
The Cleveland sports writers are a joke though, really. We win 2 games, all of a sudden Mangini should DEFINITELy get more time after they’ve been calling for his head all year. How quick we forget the QB controversy, the terrible drafting, the playing a bunch of bums like Jamal Lewis and ex-Jets etc. The best thing that has happened to this club this year is the wave of injuries, especially to Jamal. It forced Mangini to think outside his horrendously short-sighted box and made him play some guys who can actually make a few plays. I hate the thought of a revolving door, and there’s certainly an argument for one more year, but man, the about-face of the sports writers is a complete joke.
Disappointing to see Quinn’s performance today… at this point I’d almost rather see him convert to tight end or something.
Finally, obviously kudos to Cribbs and Harrison. What a treat to watch an exciting game with huge plays like that.
Craig,
You’re right. There is no correct answer to that final TD.
But I will say this. I’d rather take the certain 7 than risk a bad snap, bad hold, blocked kick, or some other botched play that has a better than 50% chance of occurring when it comes to Cleveland sports.
Having said that, Mangini’s reaction to a TD just put another nail in his coffin for me.
Whose fault is it that you don’t trust your D to get a stop with 80 yards and 45 seconds? Yours.
Whose fault is it that the game was even that close to begin with? Yours.
I have never seen a coach show such a lack of faith in his team.
His scowl after the TD just showed me he is holding this team back just so that he can be right. Playing Lewis, Sitting Quinn, not wanting a TD. It just shows that he would rather fail so he can bring in more of his guys.
Wow! Those of us here at Washington State know well who “the ghost” is! He a WASHINGTON STATE COUGAR and one of the greatest runners at ever at WSU. We knew the kid would produce given the chance…. it’s taken awhile, not let him run!!! Way to go Jerome! and GO COUGS!!
Historycat – Spot on! You always take the 7, given a chance.
Mangini’s scowl was ridiculous, they cut the camera off of him too quick, I bet it was even worse than we saw – that really got me as well. The guy’s an egomaniac.
As far as Mangini being hear next year goes…not a chance. No way The Walrus holds on to him with the power that Lerner is about to hand over.
I wanted to jump through the screen and smack that “someone stole my lunch money” face right off him when Jerome scored the GO AHEAD touchdown. He must have forgotten that whole bad snap leading to a KC touchdown scenario figuring that a field goal to win was the guaranteed.
If there was anytime to for Mangini to be upset at a player it would Steinbach for the motion penalty moving the easy 3rd and 3 to a 3rd and 8, then be mad at Daboll for Cribbs failed td pass when Harrison is picking up 8-9 yards a carry. Finally slap himself for calling the FG unit out on the field when it was clearly tim to punt.
I think NE’s looking for a videographer Eric, have a great life.
Oh, and I’ll put this here just because I’ve been thinking this all day.
Dear Philadelphia and Baltimore,
You’re a bunch of little girls. We would have played without delay in 22″ of snow.
Sincerely,
Cleveland
I just want to share that I love Browns fans. I watched today’s game at the bar of the Greater Boston Dawg Pound and it feels good to know how many great fans there are everywhere even during the down times. Especially here in New England where such fandom during the down times is, was, reserved for the Red Sox
Always take the points!
Go Browns!
Quinn = ~@~
love to see a W bit really wanted Suh. Ah well
Now fire mangini.
I was ecstatic to see that Cribbs pass to Stuckey. I’ve long been of the mind that we need to include more Cribbs throws from the Wildcat to make the package more effective. I also love that we went deep in that situation, showing a little bit of killer instinct in play-calling.
I’m of two minds about Harrison’s last TD. Yes, generally you want to take the points, but also if you’re given the choice you always want to have the ball last. Let’s not forget that the D didn’t do much to earn trust over the course of the game.
@ EZ- I hear ya on the D, but let’s not forget the bang up job the kicking crew had done either, a missed FG and a TO for points.
Take the 7.
Pay the MAN!
This team is so frustrating. I cannot figure out who the Browns are. Great D against Pittsburgh and then the D stinks out the joint vs KC? Mangini has them playing hard even though we were 1-11 – awesome. Managini has Harrison on the bench all season – awful. Back ups are playing well but we wont/cant play 2 2nd round draft picks? What is this team?
Alway get the points when the score is not in your favor
Not much to say about this game other then make sure Cribbs gets a payday… this week. I want to see more of Harrison for the rest of the season to see if him/Davis/Cribbs will be good for next year. Great game by Cribbs and Harrison. Now the news will be waiting for Holmgren to say what he has to. Hopefully he’ll come in to be a VP, get a GM and a new coach.
Even in the win I think Mangini needs to go. His talent evaluation of our roster is ridiculous. Harrison has made plays throughout his career when given the chance. He ran for 121 against cincy when he was the only option. But he still had games where he had ZERO rushing attempts. Throw in the QB debacle, the inability to DRESS 2nd round picks, and his overall stubbornness Ive seen enough. I agree right on with historycat.
Last tid bit- Why did they think Daboll was doing such a great job? It doesnt take a genius to call runs to harrison when he was at 150 yards in 14 attempts. He still shows that he is inept even with 3 offensive TDs. call a pass when they are 9 people in the box. Yes, maybe its not trusting in BQ, but geez, back them off and Harrison might be avg. 15 yards a rush in that game. KCs DC is awful. Sitting from my house I was calling every play the browns were going to do (be it pass, run right, run left). Seriously had 90% of the calls right. Daboll tells the D what he is going to do simply by the personnel on the field. When Royal and Vickers are in the game, 95% of the time the ball is being carried right behind them. When Stuckey, and either Robo, Gaines or Moore comes in its a pass. When Cribbs is in a wildcat its a run away from Quinn. KC knew the Wildcat part, and stuffed Cribbs today, because they do the same thing every time. Thats why Cribbs needs to go to RB, so the D cant load one side up and attack it. If im Oakland im going to prepare for the most basic offense in NFL history and worry about beating our D (which didnt look too hard today). Ryan needs to keep dialing up the pass rush to give the D a chance, because we aren’t good enough to match up in coverage.
that got a little long…
And I wanted to just throw one more ting out there. If Berry and Suh are gone by the time we are on the draft board, I would seriously look at Dez Bryant. MoMass isnt showing he can be the top receiver for a season, so he could go back to being #2, with Stuckey and Robo in the slot.
I’m kicking myself for not taking up my wife’s offer to pay for me to go to this game. How long have we all been saying to give Harrison some playing time? How badly do you think Romeo was cringing during that game? Even at the 5th or 6th pick we could have a chance to draft Eric Berry…oh, and of course
PAY DA MAN!
Is KFC still open?
I’m not getting personal, or pointing anyone out directly, but for two weeks people are COMPLAINING that we won. And I’m so sick and tired of the “I wish we’d lose so we could draft Suh” argument. Not to be all Dennis Green, but you play to win the game. We’re still going to be a top 5 so we’ll get a decent player .Just be happy the team won. 2 weeks in a row. Cribbs for mayor.
2 in a row, one more and we have ourselves a winning streak!
you know what i love about cribbs? the man goes bowling in brookpark (gotta love twitter).
i mean, how more “cleveland” can you get?
All of you calling for Mangini’s head are fools. Mangini has done what he thought was best for the team since he got here. He was told to blow up the team and build it from the ground up. Now, because he has done that and the Browns looked like a re-building team this year, you want to see him go. Would I have handled the QB thing differently, yes. However, he is the coach. Any of you think you could have won more games this year just stop kidding yourselves. This team was horrible last year and needed a cleaning.
I was at the game yesterday and I can tell you that this team is playing hard. There is no question that the things put in place by this coaching staff are beginning to take hold. What if they win out and are 5-11? That is better than they were last year and shows improvement over the course of the year. Also, he is the first coach to beat pittsburgh in 6 years. No small feat. And, with the atmosphere that is in place with the players buying in, the 11 draft picks in a talent heavy draft are looming even larger. They will be able to step right into a system that is beginning to pay dividends.
For those of you who pan his draft, you couldn’t do better than a franchise center that was 8 million dollars cheaper at 21 than a #5 pick would have cost. I would trade down every time for more picks. It is not Mangini’s fault that the previous regime left him with 4 draft picks last year. He needed picks and got them. Are some of them working out faster than others? Of course, some take longer to develop and some never do. That is the nature of the beast. No team hits on every draft pick and that includes all the perennial winners.
Let then man have a second year to prove that the team is going somewhere. Don’t punish him for doing what he was brought in to do.
PAY CRIBS! :X
Mangini reaction to Harrison’s last TD was way out of line. He should have got mad at that stupid punter for making no effort to jump on that botched snap in the endzone. If i was the coach i would cut that punter now for making no effort at all. I dont care if you have to get somebody off the streets. That guy would never play for me
lets make it 4!