Coming off of a bye week, the Cleveland Browns flat out dominated the New England Patriots, a team who entered the game with the best record in the NFL. This wasn't a fluke victory by any stretch of the imagination.
On offense, Peyton Hillis couldn't be stopped, as he ran for a career high 184 yards on 29 touches for 2 touchdowns. That includes a nice 35-yard burst that he had to finish off the Patriots in the fourth quarter, forcing New England to put backup Brian Hoyer into the game because they were losing so badly. Colt McCoy only threw the ball 19 times, but completed about 75% of his passes. Congratulations Brian Daboll -- the Browns finally had a perfect offensive game by emphasizing the run, and then having a few clutch passes mixed in. Today, I changed my mind -- McCoy is the starting quarterback the rest of the season.
As far as the Patriots' offense, Tom Brady looked confused with the defensive looks our team was throwing at him. His receivers struggled to catch the football at times, and Rob Grankowski had a costly fumble just before halftime. The Patriots only converted 3/11 of their third downs (27%), which I imagine is a season-low for them.
The Browns didn't stop the creativity and risk-taking in this game. They mixed it up on kickoffs to keep the ball away from Brandon Tate, and one of those tries resulted in an accidental onside kick recovery. On offense, a version of the "fumblerooski" was run, with Chansi Stuckey taking it in for a score. The Browns also converted a 4th-and-short in their own territory in the first quarter.
The past two games have been unbelievable, and who doesn't think we can beat the New York Jets next week now? Could Cleveland even be favored, considering how the Jets almost lost to the Lions?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Peyton Hillis
news.com
Posted in: 
