Browns Fade In Final Minutes And Lose To Jags 24-20

The Browns were overtaken in the final minutes against the Jags. Despite giving up the losing touchdown near the end, the Browns defense did everthing they possibly could to win this one and the Jags offense did everything they could to throw a bone to the Browns time and time again, to no avail. Dawson missed two 51 yard field goal attempts that could have made the difference in the score. Long kicks are tough, but making one is what sets the great ones apart. All chances for a playoff spot, remote as it were, are now a chewed up splintered bone.

The Jags offense threw four interceptions and put the ball on the ground twice. Garrard accounted for four of those turnovers. He was harrassed and manhandled by the Browns defense who sacked him four times. T. J. Ward had two interceptions and Joe Haden and Abram Elam each had one. Elam also gathered up a fumble for a touchdown in the third quarter. The only weak spot for the Browns defense was the running game where they gave up 133 yards to Maurice Jones-Drew and a touchdown.

Peyton Hillis was stuffed throughout the game in the running department, but seemed to be McCoys primary receiver in this one gathering up 6 receptions for 95 yards. Colt McCoy had a so-so game with 241 yards and a touchdown. The Browns are still lacking a key element in their offense, the long ball threat. Until they have that quick strike potential, they will not be a genuine threat. Mangini needs to show more confidence in McCoy's abilities and unleash him to explore that capability out. He needs to show more confidence in his receivers also, or find a receiver with that potential. The Browns were missing an important piece of their offensive puzzle in Joshua Cribbs.

Where do the Browns go from here? They go back home to play the Carolina Panthers and hopefully get back to winning. This game will be a good place to start. Go for broke Mangini, set the Dawgs free. Let's see some fireworks.

Browns Lose In Stunning Fashion To The Jets In OT-Final Score 26-20

After dismantling two of the top contending teams, the Browns lose in a heartbreaker. A mental error and a lapse in agressive tackling turned a great effort into a loss. Santonio Holmes took a pass from Sanchez and proceeded to weave around the frozen in their tracks Browns coverage for the winning score in OT. The mental error was rookie cornerback Joe Haden intercepting a ball he should have knocked down to force the Jets to punt with just over a minute left in OT. Who knows what the result of that punt would have been, but in all fairness to Haden, when you are in the heat of the moment and the adrenaline is pumping the obvious isn't so clear and defining. He did what a cornerback is supposed to do when the opportunity presents itself, intercept the ball. Any other time in the game it would have been an oustanding defensive play, just not in overtime when one play can mean your demise.

The Browns had a chance of winning their third straight, but a Chansi Stuckey fumble at New York's 32 yanked that chance away. Aside from that fumble, the Browns offense put in a decent day. Colt McCoy was error free and threw a touchdown in a pivotal moment of the game. Peyton Hillis ran for 82 yards and one touchdown. Joshua Cribbs looked good until an injury removed him from the game. The other offensive player that helped the Browns cause was Nick Folk of the Jets. His three missed field goals made it possible for the Browns to stay alive in regulation time.

The Browns may not make it into the playoffs, though it is still a remote possibility. But they are making a show of it. They have been handling a tough schedule remarkably, which at the beginning of the year you could have very easily been looking at an merciless string of losses these few past weeks. Hopefully, this loss didn't take the air out of the balloon. Cleveland next goes to Jacksonville. The Jaguars are bursting at the seams with hot air after pulling off a well conceived desparation pass against Houston for a win. The Jets game is history, Jacksonville is the next first step towards the playoffs.

Browns Defeat Jaguars 23-17 And End Season With Four Straight Wins

Celebration in Cleveland as the Browns win their fourth in a row and eliminate Jacksonville from the playoffs. It was cold, cold, and really cold in the Cleveland Browns Stadium, but the victory melted away for good any ice cycles the fans had accumulated from the first half of the season. Weather cold as it was in Cleveland definitely impacts a game and without a doubt it affected game play today. It was the running game of the Browns once more that carried the team to victory with some good defense thrown in.

Jerome Harrison proved his worth once more with another hundred plus yard run effort. Harrison carried the ball 33 times for a total of 127 yds and one touchdown. Joshua Cribbs added another 47 yds on 6 carrries includung a touchdown scamper of 14 yds in the second quarter. Cribbs longest run of the day was 25 yds. Chris Jennings contributed 38 yds on 9 carries. Cribbs and Harrison have proven themselves to be a one two punch and a knockout.

What can you say about the passing game, which has been for most of the season lame. True, the freezing cold weather will affect a passing game drastically, so I will give Anderson a pass on this game and maybe, it was the Browns game plan to utilize the strong running game of Harrison and Cribbs. Derek Anderson had only 86 yds on 7 completions out of 11 attempts and one interception. Phil Dawson was perfect with three field goals and two extra points accounting four 11 of the 23 points.

The defense harassed Garrard through the whole game sacking him three times and hitting him another ten times. Garrard ran for forty yards, which would indicate pressure and coverage were good causing him to run all over place. Garrard had 202 yds on 22 completions out of 39 attempts. The Jaguars couldn't close out a fourth quarter surge.

It was a happy ending to a terrible season. Fan expectations will be higher going into next year and Holmgren's challenge will be to fulfill those higher expectations. The running game looks to be in place. The quarterback position still remains a big question mark going into the Holmgren take over. We will see what happens in the days ahead. Season over for the Browns, now the playoffs will begin. Who will it be in the Super Bowl?