Displaced Cleveland Fan

Yes, that title is correct. The Browns beat the Steelers.

Cleveland’s last win over Pittsburgh came on October 5, 2003. In their second meeting that season, the Steelers began a 12-game winning streak over the Browns with a 13-6 win. Interestingly, it was a 13-6 win by the Browns tonight that snapped that streak.

The game was broadcast on NFL Network. I hesitate to call it a nationally televised game though. But those who were able to see the game saw the Browns all but end the Steelers’ playoff hopes on a bitterly cold and windy night.
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Another game. Another loss. This has gotten ridiculous.

The Browns lost again to fall to 1-10. The loss came against the Bengals who are now 8-3 and have a 2-game lead in the division.

Brady Quinn didn’t pass the ball exceptionally well - 15 for 34 (44%) for 100 yards. Then again, he didn’t really get a whole lot of time to throw the ball. Cincinnati’s defense was putting pressure on him at will, particularly from the right side of the line. Not many quarterbacks would put up good numbers under those conditions.

Cleveland’s one score came on a Brady Quinn 9-yard touchdown run. That drive included a trick play where Josh Cribbs took a direct snap, Quinn rolled out to the left, and Cribbs completed an 18-yard pass to the QB. I don’t know if that means they ought to run more trick plays with Quinn catching the ball, or if Cribbs should play more quarterback.
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Arguably the two worst teams in the NFL faced off in Detroit. The Browns and Lions battled for the chance to pay a ridiculous sum of money to a #1 draft pick.

With the clock reading 0:00 at the end of the 4th quarter, the Browns were on top 37-31.

And yet the Browns still lost.

I guess losing week after week has been getting boring. This team has decided to be more creative in their futility.

So what happened?
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Just when you thought this season couldn’t get any worse…

Down by 16 points on the final play of the game, the Browns’ lone playmaker, Josh Cribbs, goes down and has to be carted off the field and taken away in an ambulance. Obviously we all hope he will be ok. But really, why run a play like this and put the players at risk when a win is hopeless? It just doesn’t make any sense.

Aside from Cribbs’ injury, there were a couple big questions going into this game:
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Another week. Another loss. This time it was a 24-point beating at the hands of Chicago which lost by 35 the previous week against Cincinnati. The Browns are terrible. If not for a botched punt return by Buffalo, they would be 0-8 right now.

Coach Eric Mangini has stubbornly stuck with QB Derek Anderson, despite four straight awful starts. Coming into this game, Anderson had a league-worst QB rating of 40.6. His 10.5 rating today won’t help. Against the Bears he was 6 for 17 (35%) for 76 yards and 2 interceptions. What’s funny, in a sad sort of way, is that the Bears returned the 2 interceptions for a total of 56 yards - just 20 less than Anderson’s total on 6 completions to Browns receivers.
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The title of the recap over at ESPN says it all - Rodgers, Pack bully Browns in warm-up for Favre, Vikings.

That’s all the Browns are anymore. They are a warm-up. A game against the Browns for a 3-2 Green Bay team amounts to nothing more than an exhibition game, or a scrimmage in practice. The Browns are awful. Plain and simple.
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In a thrilling shoot-out, Derek Anderson led the high-powered Browns offense over the Buffalo Bills in a game for the ages.

OK. That’s not exactly what happened. Not at all. Actually, the only part that’s right is that the Browns won.

Yes. Really. The Browns managed to beat another team in an actual game.

It’s not like they didn’t try to lose the game. Buffalo just wouldn’t take it. Then it looked like they would play for the tie, but the Bills would have none of that. A fumble on a punt return gave the Browns the ball back at Buffalo’s 16 yard line. Even Cleveland couldn’t blow this chance. They couldn’t get in the end zone. But the Browns did manage to kick a field goal for the 6-3 win.
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