Baller Alert’s Team of the Week: Cleveland Browns

After both offenses struggled on their first drives, the Falcons were the first to score as quarterback Matt Ryan completed a 24 yard pass to wide receiver Julio Jones for a touchdown. On the following drive, the Browns were stopped on third down but decided to go for it on 4th and 1. Quarterback Brian Hoyer’s pass to fullback Ray Agnew fell incomplete, which would have turned the ball over to the Falcons, but a holding penalty was called on Atlanta’s defense to keep their drive alive. After a pass from Hoyer to Josh Gordon for 22 yards moved them down to the Atlanta 11 yard line, running back Isaiah Crowell ran the ball in for the touchdown to tie up the score at 7-7. After the offense put in work in the first quarter, the Browns defense came up big in the second quarter with back to back turnovers. At the start of the quarter, Matt Ryan threw a pass on third and long intended for Jones but cornerback Joe Haden got in front of the receiver and intercepted the pass. The Browns were able to kick a field goal off of the turnover to take a 10-7 lead. On the next Falcons possession, they found themselves in another third down situation when linebacker Paul Kruger sacked Ryan and caused him to fumble the ball. The Browns recovered and kicker Billy Cundiff tacked on another 3 points to the score at the end of the drive with his second field goal of the day. After forcing the Falcons to punt on the next drive, the Browns got the ball back and were making their way down the field when a pass intended for tight end Jim Dray was intercepted by safety Kemal Ishmael. This time, the Falcons were able to capitalize off of a turnover. With good field position after the interception, Matt Ryan moved the offense down the field before eventually connecting with running back Jacquizz Rodgers for a touchdown score to take a 14-13 lead. The Browns got the ball back with less than a minute to go until halftime. With 3 seconds left, Cundiff attempted a long 60 yard field goal which fell short and into the hands of wide receiver Devin Hester. Time had run off but the ball was still alive; Hester found a gap and was able to run the ball back 75 yards before offensive tackle Joel Bitonio finally caught up and tackled him to save what would have been a touchdown. 

The Browns had possession of the ball to open up the second half. On second down, they attempted a reverse with a toss from Hoyer to running back Terrance West to Josh Gordon but the pass from West to Gordon was botched and hit the ground. Gordon then made a huge play by picking up the ball and throwing it towards the sideline to prevent what could have been a tremendous loss of yards. With Gordon’s quick thinking, the Browns were able to get the ball back where they started rather than being backed up in their own territory. With a huge 40 yard pass from Hoyer to wide receiver Andrew Hawkins on the next play and a couple of runs by Crowell, the Browns got deep into Falcons territory. A sack by linebacker Kroy Biermann prevented the Browns from converting on third down and they kicked a field goal instead to take back the lead. On their next possession, the Browns were able to score again as Isaiah Crowell avoided four tackles and ran for 26 yards and a touchdown to bring the Browns up 23-14. The Falcons got the ball back, moved down the field, and responded with a run touchdown of their own to bring the Browns’ lead back down to two. Hoyer had a big opportunity to extend the lead late in the fourth quarter but an interception in the end zone by cornerback Desmond Trufant kept the Falcons alive. The Browns defense successfully stopped the Falcons from scoring off of the turnover, forcing them to punt and getting the ball back for the offense. Another interception thrown by Hoyer gave the Falcons yet another chance to take the lead and this time they did with a field goal by kicker Matt Bryant. With less than a minute left in the game, the Browns were in need of a miracle. And a miracle they got. Hoyer quickly brushed off the last two interceptions and completed passes to his wide receivers Miles Austin and Josh Gordon for big gains down the field. Hoyer was accurate when it counted the most and he was able to get his offense into field goal range just in the nick of time. With 5 seconds left, Cundiff attempted a 37 yard field goal that went up and through the posts to clinch a thrilling and hard-fought Browns victory. 

After many years of disappointment, it looks like Browns fans finally have something to cheer for. The Cleveland Browns have been able to find some chemistry with their new head coach Mike Pettine and quarterback Brian Hoyer and achieve a winning record for the first time since 2007. And now with the return of Josh Gordon, there is nowhere to go but up. As the race for the AFC North is very tight with three teams sitting at 7-4, the Browns have a very good chance to take over their division in the coming weeks and make it into the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.

Now what’s football without the fine football players hiding underneath those pads and helmets? Each team definitely has its share of cuties and the Cleveland Browns are no exception! Let’s take a look at WR Josh Gordon, TE Jordan Cameron, and LB Barkevious Mingo.

#12 Josh Gordon – Wide Receiver

#84 Jordan Cameron – Tight End

#51 Barkevious Mingo – Linebacker