All the stars were aligned. The Cleveland Browns were amped and ready to face off with the Buffalo Bills. The crowd was electric and the brown pants were out. Greatest football player of all-time, Jim Brown was going in to Cleveland’s “Ring of Honor”. Thursday night football was in full effect in downtown Cleveland, OH.
So, what could go wrong?
Hometown hero quarterback, Brian Hoyer was knocked out of the game on the second Browns offensive possession. The stadium seemed deflated as former starting quarterback Brandon Weeden took over as the Browns’ field general. After coming out flat and rusty in his first few drives, Weeden engineered drives and stabilized the situation effectively. The boos slowly dissipated and turned to cheers.
But, this was game that took a total team effort in all facets of the game. While Cleveland did allow a 54 yard “home run” by CJ Spiller, the top rated defense in many categories made stops and plays when called upon. Travis “Ricky Bobby” Benjamin set a franchise record for punt return yardage in a single season game with 179 yards. The Browns feisty defense sealed the game when TJ Ward picked off Bills QB Jeff Tuel late in the fourth quarter. Josh Gordon made a bobbling catch in the back of the end zone in the third quarter.
When it’s all said and done, the brown-and-orange are in first place in the AFC North and have their first 3-2 start since 2001. Hoyer is out for the season with a torn ACL and Weeden is back in the driver seat for now. The Browns now have ten days till their next game vs. the Detroit Lions back at First Energy Stadium.
Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Browns Beat Writer for The Inscriber: Digital Magazine. You can follow him on Facebook: Ryan (BrownsWriter) Ruiz and Twitter @ryanpruiz24. Ryan is also a Browns correspondent for The Sportsfix. Tune in every Friday at noon on www.thesportsfix.net.
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