It began ugly. It ended bizarrely. In between, there were brief moments of promise from the Browns in Pat Shurmur's head coaching debut, but not enough to hold off the Cincinnati Bengals as they snagged a 27-17 victory over the Browns on Sunday afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The Bengals' back-up quarterback tossed a 41-yard touchdown to the star rookie receiver, A.J. Green, with 4:28 remaining -- on play where the Browns defense had barely broken its huddle before the ball was snapped. Green had no defender within 10 yards of him when he caught the pass from Bruce Gradkowski, a Toledo product who was called into action only after the Bengals lost their starter to injury at halftime.
The touchdown provided the bookend of Bengals' dominance, as Cincinnati jumped to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks mostly to seven Browns penalties in that first period. Bengals running back Cedric Benson rattled off 34 yards in the first quarter, finishing with 121 in the game.
The Browns stopped committing the unforced errors in the second quarter, however, and began scoring points, instead. Quarterback Colt McCoy threw touchdown passes to tight ends Ben Watson and Evan Moore, helping the Browns to a 14-13 advantage by halftime.
And after halftime, the Browns learned they'd acquired a bit of good fortune: starting quarterback Andy Dalton would be out of the game with a right wrist injury, sustained after a hard hit by Browns defensive lineman Phil Taylor.
Until the final quarter, the Browns held steady behind strong play from defensive back Joe Haden (five pass break-ups) and linebacker D'Qwell Jackson (two sacks). Phil Dawson added a 20-yard field goal.
Then somehow, the Browns lost their focus. The defense was not set on the game-winning touchdown, Gradkowski capitalized on the missed focus, and the Bengals snagged the season-opening victory.
McCoy was 19-of-40 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, Peyton Hillis rushed for 57 yards on 15 carries for the Browns.
The Bengals' back-up quarterback tossed a 41-yard touchdown to the star rookie receiver, A.J. Green, with 4:28 remaining -- on play where the Browns defense had barely broken its huddle before the ball was snapped. Green had no defender within 10 yards of him when he caught the pass from Bruce Gradkowski, a Toledo product who was called into action only after the Bengals lost their starter to injury at halftime.
The touchdown provided the bookend of Bengals' dominance, as Cincinnati jumped to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks mostly to seven Browns penalties in that first period. Bengals running back Cedric Benson rattled off 34 yards in the first quarter, finishing with 121 in the game.
The Browns stopped committing the unforced errors in the second quarter, however, and began scoring points, instead. Quarterback Colt McCoy threw touchdown passes to tight ends Ben Watson and Evan Moore, helping the Browns to a 14-13 advantage by halftime.
And after halftime, the Browns learned they'd acquired a bit of good fortune: starting quarterback Andy Dalton would be out of the game with a right wrist injury, sustained after a hard hit by Browns defensive lineman Phil Taylor.
Until the final quarter, the Browns held steady behind strong play from defensive back Joe Haden (five pass break-ups) and linebacker D'Qwell Jackson (two sacks). Phil Dawson added a 20-yard field goal.
Then somehow, the Browns lost their focus. The defense was not set on the game-winning touchdown, Gradkowski capitalized on the missed focus, and the Bengals snagged the season-opening victory.
McCoy was 19-of-40 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, Peyton Hillis rushed for 57 yards on 15 carries for the Browns.
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