Burns
Hall of Famer
Browns Defense Dominates in Turnoverfest
Baltimore, MD - Another week, another win for your Cleveland Browns. The Browns dominated the division rival Baltimore Ravens, winning 45-14 on the road, to improve to 2-0 on the season. You couldn't ask for a better start for a team that only won a single game last season. The Browns look like the clear-cut favorite to win the AFC North, now standing alone in 1st place in the division. The game featured 10 turnovers, but luckily, 7 of them were from the Ravens. This Browns defense was absolutely dominate, not allowing any points until the 4th quarter, when the game was very much already decided.Here is your game recap, presented by RecapWizard:
This game, offensively, was very much the opposite of Week 1. In Week 1, Deshone Kizer was able to lean on a running game that gained nearly 300 yards. However, the Ravens' gameplan was clearly to shut down the run. Almost any time a run was remotely possible, the box was stacked. They wanted to force Kizer to beat them...and he did just that. Kizer was nearly perfect in this one, throwing for 258 yards and 3 TD. He did have 1 INT, but it was simply a mistimed throw, and isn't anything to be concerned about. Aside fron the INT, Kizer only threw 2 other incompletions. He was in the zone, completing 14 of his 17 passes.
The defense was the story of this game for Cleveland, picking off Ravens' QB Joe Flacco 6 times. They also intercepted Danny Woodhead's pass attempt late in the 4th quarter. It was an impressive display of ball hawking by the Browns, who now have a +8 turnover differential in the 1st two games. They still need to work on not allowing as many yards, but this week was an improvement over last.
The Browns started slow in this one, not managing to go very far on the first possession. However, an excellent punt by Britton Colquitt pinned the Ravens back deep. A few plays later, Jason McCourty was dancing his way into the endzone with a pick 6, putting the Browns up 7-0. A few possessions later, Deshone Kizer made the best throw of his young career, putting the ball only where Corey Coleman could get it, as Coleman ran past everyone for a 70 yard TD, putting Cleveland up 14-0. The Browns would add a field goal toward the end of the 1st half, and went into halftime up 17-0.
About halfway through the 3rd quarter, Kizer hit Kenny Britt on a perfect pass, giving Britt his first TD of the year, putting the Browns up 24-0. It was looking good for Cleveland here, and the Ravens were definitely starting to get a bit desperate.
After yet another Joe Flacco INT, the Browns would drive down the field, due in part to a 58 yard run from Corey Coleman, and eventually score on a TD pass from Kizer to Njoku, putting the good guys up 31-0 in the 4th quarter.
The Ravens would finally score, thanks to some great plays by Joe Flacco, but Justin Tucker, who had an awful day (2 missed FGs, missed PAT) missed the PAT. So, the score was 31-6. Then, Duke Johnson had his first impact of the season for the Browns, as he took the ensuing kickoff back for a TD to put the Browns up by 32 points.
On the next drive, Joe Flacco would throw his 2nd pick 6 of the ball game, this time to Jamar Taylor, and the Browns were suddenly up 45-6. The Ravens would add a TD late, to make the score a bit more respectable, but this game was Cleveland's from the get-go.
It was another impressive performance in all aspects. The running game as slowed down, but Kizer looked like a legit NFL QB, the defense couldn't stop causing turnovers, and the special teams and a huge impact on the game, both in the kicking game, and the returning game.
Sadly, there were a couple of big injuries in this one. WR Sammie Coates went down with a torn shoulder, and he'll be out 3-4 weeks. The biggest loss, was DE Myles Garrett going down with broken ribs. He'll miss anywhere from 6-8 weeks, and is a MASSIVE loss for this young Browns' defense. The Browns did make a trade to replace Sammie Coates, we'll talk more about that in the game preview.
No highlight video this week, due to techinical difficulties
The Browns are on the road once again in Week 3, as they travel to Indiana to take on the 1-1 Indianapolis Colts. A win here would put the Browns at 3-0, which would be critical in their fight for the playoffs. Look for our Week 3 game preview coming soon, and as always...go Browns.
For all things Cleveland Browns, stay tuned to The Dawg Pound
Last edited: