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| ARI at CIN | CAR at GB | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | KC at IND | MIA at PHI | NE at BUF | NO at HOU |
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Week 11 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 33, Baltimore Ravens 30
What you need to know
| Cleveland Browns |
The Cleveland Browns struggled to find any offensive rhythm and were unable to stop the Ravens' second half offense. Derek Anderson threw for 274 yards and one interception. However, Derek Anderson delivered when it mattered most. He was able to lead the Browns down the field on the first drive of overtime and set up the 33 yard game winning field goal.
The Browns turned to the power rushing game of Jamal Lewis to help control the clock and make up for the deficiencies of the pass offense. Lewis ran for 92 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown, and ran with strength and authority for most of the game.
Braylon Edwards had eight catches for 85 yards and Kellen Winslow had 64 yards on five catches. Adding to the frustration of the Cleveland passing offense were the 12 penalties for 104 yards called on the Browns.
The Cleveland defense was the glaring problem during the game. The passing defense struggled to stop Kyle Boller and the Ravens pass attack during the second half surrendering 23 points in the second half.
In a wild finish to regulation, Phil Dawson kicked a field goal to tie the game that bounced off the upright and then the vertical cross bar and then back into the end zone. The initial ruling was no good but after discussion, it was determined the ball had broken the plane of the field goal and it was good which sent the game into overtime.
| Baltimore Ravens |
Following a pitiful first half offensive performance, Kyle Boller and the Ravens offense found their rhythm in the second half. Boller threw for 279 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions with most of his passing yardage coming during the second half. He found WR Derrick Mason for six catches and 83 yards and WR Devard Darling for four catches, 107 yards and one touchdown. Despite the improvement in the offense over the course of the game, the Ravens still fell short in overtime, losing the 33-30.
Willis McGahee had a strong day, running the ball 21 times for 102 yards and one touchdown. He was a non-factor in the passing game and largely saw his production fall off over the course of the game as the Ravens were forced to abandon the rushing game to keep pace with the Browns.
The Ravens defense was very successful at confusing, and stunting the Browns passing game for most of the afternoon. The Ravens were able to get some pressure on Derek Anderson and forced an interception for a touchdown. The defense did struggle to contain Jamal Lewis and while they did hold Lewis for less than 100 yards rushing, they surrendered two rushing touchdowns and allowed 4.2 yards per carry to Lewis.
What you ought to know
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 24 - 38 - 274 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 2 - 1 |
Anderson had a good, while not spectacular day, throwing for 274 yards and completing 63 percent of his passes. The Browns offense had trouble getting into rhythm for most of the day. A combination of turnovers, penalties and a few dropped passes all helped stall the Browns passing game. The Browns turned to Jamal Lewis and a power rushing game to make up for the shortfalls of the passing game. As of result of this shift in philosophy, Derek Anderson did not post the prolific passing numbers of games past.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 22 - 92 - 1, Rec: 4 - 30 - 0 (5 targets) |
Lewis had one of his strongest performances of the season running for 92 yards and one touchdown. He ran with authority, often taking two or three tacklers with him before falling to the ground. Late in the third quarter, on a Browns scoring drive, Lewis had a key ten yard run to set up a first and goal. On the run, Lewis shed two tackles, drove up the center of the field and took another three Ravens defenders to finally pull him down. Runs like this one typified Lewis' day.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 8 - 85 - 0 (15 targets) |
Edwards did not have one of his most memorable days, but nonetheless remained the key piece of the Browns passing offense. He did drop a sure touchdown pass early in the first quarter and had a key fumble during the Browns first possession of the game. Outside of those mistakes, Edwards still turned in a decent performance, making some very difficult catches over the center of the field and continued to be Derek Anderson's primary target in the passing game.
| WR Joe Jurevicius, Rec: 4 - 82 - 0 (4 targets) |
Outside of one big catch, Jurevicius had a very quiet day as the Browns passing offense struggled to find rhythm. His biggest catch of the day was a 52 yard catch in the first half. Despite breaking away from his assigned defender, Jurevicius did not have the speed to break away from the remaining Ravens defenders and was tackled before the end zone.
| TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 5 - 64 - 0 (7 targets) |
Winslow had a quiet day, but was able to give QB Derek Anderson a safety outlet over the center of the field. He did come up with a huge 18 yard reception during overtime that put the Browns well into Phil Dawson's field goal range.
| PK Phil Dawson 4 - 5 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 15 points |
Dawson had a good day going three for four on field goals including a key 51 yard field goal that sent the game into overtime and a 33 yard game winning field goal in overtime.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Browns were vulnerable to the Ravens' rushing game. RB Willis McGahee was able to run for 102 yards on 21 carries during the game. In particular, the Browns had trouble shutting down runs up the center of the field. The Ravens offensive line was able to open up very large holes in the center of the Browns defense, and Willis McGahee was able to respond to the opportunity. This was most evident during the first drive of the third quarter. During the drive, the Ravens were able to effectively pass their way down most of the field, but the a key 24 yard run by McGahee set up a two yard touchdown run on the following play.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The Browns pass defense, once again, had trouble shutting down the Ravens passing offense. Too often, the Browns would allow the Ravens plenty of room over the center of the field. In particular, on the first series of the second half, the Ravens marched down the field, with Kyle Boller finding Derek Mason wide open three times. The drive ultimately led to the Ravens taking over momentum in the game and further exposed the Browns vulnerable pass defense. From this drive on, the Ravens focused on the downfield passing game and attacking the Browns secondary -- with a high degree of success. Cleveland had no answer to the Ravens passing attack late in the fourth quarter, surrendering the game tying touchdown with less than six minutes left in the game. The Browns did intercept a Kyle Boller pass for a touchdown. The pass was tipped as Boller threw the ball, and the wounded duck pass never had a chance to hit a wide open Derrick Mason in the end zone. The silver lining to the day was the Browns ability to generate a good pass rush on Kyle Boller for most of the day.
| QB Kyle Boller, Pass: 22 - 41 - 279 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 19 - 0 |
Boller looked downright awful during the first half, struggling to find open receivers and drawing boos from the Baltimore crowd. By the second half, Boller had found a rhythm and timing with his receivers that all began on the first drive of the third quarter. On this drive, Boller and Derrick Mason hooked up three times and drove 75 yards for a touchdown. As the game progressed, Boller became more and more comfortable running the offense, and began to connect with other receivers including Devard Darling and Quinn Sypniewski. Finally, Boller was very composed and in control as he led the Ravens down the field late in the fourth quarter, a drive that set up a 47 yard field goal that gave the Ravens the lead.
| RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 21 - 102 - 1, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (2 targets) |
McGahee found a lot of success running directly into the center of the Browns defense. Most of his biggest gains of the day, including a 24 yard run in the third quarter, came running right between the tackles. Most of the time, he was able to shed the first tackler and get into the second level of the defense. McGahee was a nearly non-factor in the passing game, catching only two passes.
| WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 6 - 83 - 0 (10 targets) |
Mason was a true bright spot for the Ravens. While he had no catches in the first half, he came back to make six catches in the second half for 83 yards. He was Kyle Boller's first look in the passing game, and while he didn't have any major highlight reel catches, he was the most reliable target in the passing game. His presence was felt the most during the first drive of the second half, where he caught all three passes of the drive and helped Kyle Boller and the rest of the Ravens offense find a rhythm.
| WR Devard Darling, Rec: 4 - 107 - 1 (7 targets) |
Darling was quiet for most of the day until late in the fourth quarter. It was at this point in the game Kyle Boller connected with Darling on a 42 yard pass that helped set up a key touchdown. Two plays later, Boller and Darling connected on a 27 yard touchdown pass that tied the game.
| TE Quinn Sypniewski, Rec: 6 - 53 - 0 (9 targets) |
Sypniewski had a quiet day. He did not have many pass plays designed specifically for him but he was a safety option for Kyle Boller. Sypniewski did not drop any passes and showed some athleticism in attempting to catch balls thrown over his head or far off to his side.
| PK Matt Stover 3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 12 points |
Stover had a very good day, going three for three on field goals including a 47 yard field goal late in the game to give the Ravens the lead.
| BAL Rush Defense |
The Ravens rush defense struggled to contain the intensity and strength of Jamal Lewis -- the primary weapon of the Browns rush attack. Lewis was able to run with authority up the center of the field, and often required multiple defenders to tackle him.
| BAL Pass Defense |
The Ravens pass defense was effective in limiting the big play ability of the Browns offense. The Browns key offensive weapons of Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards struggled to get open against the Ravens secondary. While the Ravens did not present much of a pass rush until very late in the game, Ray Lewis was able to intercept a very poor Derek Anderson pass in the first half and return it for a touchdown. Furthermore, late in the fourth quarter, the Ravens were able to shut down the Browns pass offense and land some big hits on QB Derek Anderson.
