I have to say that once the Browns gave up the touchdown to the Dolphins early in the fourth quarter, I thought here we go again, the Browns are going to lose yet another game in the fourth quarter. And then it didn't happen! In fact, I'd say this game had the type of ending that we're really used to seeing against Cleveland rather than for Cleveland - an interception that turns into a virtually impossible-for-you-to-lose situation. Either way, the Browns found a way to get the win today in Miami, 13-10.
Jake Delhomme didn't set the world on fire by any means today, and tried so hard to throw a fourth quarter pick six, but he didn't turn the ball over and overall had a good day. That's not to say that I'm giving him a shining endorsement, but he did do everything he needed to do to lead the offense to a win. His final numbers today were 24/34 for 217 yards and a touchdown, good for a QB rating of 97.3. The good thing about those numbers from Delhomme is that you can't say that he only "managed" the game, especially because the rushing game was pretty much a non-factor. Peyton Hillis was the only one to rush the ball today (besides Delhomme's kneel downs at the end of the game) and he had 57 yards on 18 carries, for a 3.2 average. Not great numbers, and like I said in the Halftime Blurb, I think the offensive line's lack of blocking had a lot to do to that.
In terms of the passing game, Ben Watson had a fantastic game, with a career high 10 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Brian Robiskie didn't have the type of great game I was hoping he'd have, but it was nice to see Brian Daboll key in on the fact that the Dolphins were not covering Watson well at all and take advantage of it. It was also nice to see Mohammed Massaquoi get that 37 yard pass from Delhomme, as we haven't seen a lot of long passes this year.
Defensively the Browns came up big today and I think Rob Ryan is again putting himself on the list of coaching candidates for many teams coming up this off-season. Ryan's gang picked off Michigan graduate Chad Henne 3 times, and only allowed him 174 passing yards and a touchdown, going 16/32. That adds up to a rating of 37.8 - Anderson and Quinn kind of numbers. The two headed rushing attack was also contained as both Brown and Williams were held to 50 and 48 yards, respectively and the team had a total of 114 yards on 32 rushes, an average of 3.6 a carry.
Commentators Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf mentioned this plenty of times during the broadcast, but Joe Haden had an excellent game today with 5 tackles, 4 of them solo, 4 passes defended and one interception - his fourth in four games. I also said this in the Blurb, but he's clearly established himself as a starter on this defense. I think he's also making a good push for defensive rookie of the year, but I won't push it. I'd also like to give a shout out to Shaun Rogers who had a great game today, really dominating the offensive line of the Dolphins. He was around Chad Henne or whoever else had the ball all day and ended up with 3 tackles, all solo, a sack, a QB knockdown, and a tackle for loss. The emergence of nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin has been a great help to the Browns and Rogers, as he is now mostly used on passing downs where he can come in and just obliterate an offensive line.
I think this is a great win for the Browns not only because they played smart football, keeping away from their turnovers and creating them for the other team, but they found a way to win a close game. True, they did it against Carolina last week, but that was more about the kicker missing a field goal rather than the defense creating a stop like they did today. It's a very encouraging sign, and all the more encouraging for Eric Mangini and his staff.
Next week the Browns travel to Buffalo who might be a much better team than their 2-10 record would indicate as they took the Steelers to OT last week and gave Big Ben fits. I'd expect another Snow Bowl as these two teams seem to love to have, and I think it'll be a good game. Until then, enjoy the win Browns fans and check back mid-week for some filler to get you to the weekend. Go Browns!
~MAS
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