Browns battled hard but mistakes proved costly

By John Palmer  |   Monday, September 26, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Cleveland Browns
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Something had to give on Sunday. Would it be the rust on the Colt's offense? Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel's 6 – 0 record against Peyton Manning? The illusion that maybe Cleveland might have a decent offense? The nagging injuries to Indianapolis' receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne? How about the fact that neither team had allowed a sack yet this season.

Not surprisingly, most of those things gave Indy's way as they defeated the Browns 13 – 6.

The surprise was that the Cleveland Browns made this game closer that the stats might have indicated. Cleveland's defense was ranked 31st in the league, and in a normal season against the "normal" Indianapolis Colts offense, the numbers might have been record-setting. Lucky for the Browns, this is not your typical Indianapolis offense. In fact, Cleveland's miscues may have been as big a factor as the Colt's D. The Browns had a Dennis Northcutt punt return for a TD called back on a questionable illegal block. They also had enough early penalties to take away some of their early momentum. Still it was a competitive game. Trent Dilfer and Peyton Manning had similar games, with both looking impressive. The edge went to Indy's rushing (Edgerrin James ran for 108 yards) and receiving (Wayne 6 – 97, Harrison 6 – 53).

Cleveland gave up four first half sacks. Not surprisingly, three went to Dwight Freeney. The Browns effectively took away the long ball by Manning, but it was the consistent, ball and clock control of the Indianapolis offense, led by James' rushing, that did in the Browns. Indianapolis held the ball for the last 7:40 of the game to snuff out Cleveland's hopes of stealing a victory.

A number of records fell in today's game as well. The duo of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison became the NFL's best QB – receiver tandem, with nearly 10,000 yards – passing the Bill's duo of Jim Kelly and Andre Reed. Indy has also allowed only 16 points in their first 3 games, a franchise record. And in the "almost a record" category, Manning became the second fastest quarterback to reach 30,000 yards in passing. It should also come as no surprise that Miami's Dan Marino reached it one game faster than Manning.

Cleveland Browns fans can hold their heads high because their team played well against arguably the best team in the league. Indianapolis fans can start to get excited because it looks like Tony Dungy has finally put together the defense that might get them to the promised land.
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