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Week 16 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 14, Cincinnati Bengals 19
What you need to know
| Cleveland Browns |
Derek Anderson helped the Browns dig a 19 point first half hole, one which they were never able to recover from in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Anderson struggled all game long going 29 for 48 for 251 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. He was clearly off all game long and no amount of halftime adjustments were able to make up for this. He had trouble with passes either sailing over a receiver's head or simply being well off target. Braylon Edwards still managed to be the focal point of the Cleveland passing game, catching eight passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Kellen Winslow also got into the act catching seven balls for 73 yards.
Jamal Lewis had a good game, rushing for 92 yards on 21 carries. The problem for Lewis and the entire Cleveland running game was, being down 19 points coming into the second half, the Browns shifted toward the passing game and simply did not use Lewis nearly as much. Even third down/passing down specialist Jason Wright who ran three times for 38 yards and caught three passes for 34 yards saw his role diminished as the Browns offense focused almost exclusively on getting the ball to Edwards and Winslow.
The Cleveland defense turned in another lackluster performance allowing Kenny Watson to rush for 130 yards and use of a ton of game clock. The Browns did come up with two interceptions off Carson Palmer, largely due to mistakes on the Bengals part as opposed to great defensive coverage on the Cincinnati receivers.
| Cincinnati Bengals |
The Bengals game plan focused around rushing Kenny Watson right down Cleveland's throat, and the plan worked very well. Watson finished the game with 30 carries for 130 yards and one touchdown. He also caught three passes for 20 yards. Watson had success all game long running right up the middle of the field for most of his yards and taking pressure off of Carson Palmer and the Bengals passing game.
With the success of the ground attack, the Bengals were considerably reserved in their passing attack. Carson Palmer only threw 21 passes, completing 11 of them for 115 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Both Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh had very quiet days, with only Houshmandzadeh catching a touchdown and neither topping 50 receiving yards.
The Bengals passing defense was successful at capitalizing on Derek Anderson's interceptions turning two of his interceptions into ten points. For most of the game, the Bengals pass coverage schemes coupled with Anderson's struggles helped contain the potent Cleveland offense. The Bengals rush defense did struggle to defend Jamal Lewis but with the Browns being forced to pass the ball, specifically in the second half, Lewis and the Browns rushing game, largely disappeared.
What you ought to know
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 29 - 48 - 251 - 2 TD / 4 INT, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
Anderson had one of his worst performances of the season tossing four interceptions, none of which were easily forgivable. His first two interceptions were essentially the same over the middle throw that was nowhere near his intended receivers. In fact, on both throws, no less than three Bengal defenders were in position to make the catch. Both interceptions turned into points for the Bengals adding to the hole the Browns were collectively digging for themselves. His third interception was the true back-breaker as it came on the Cincinnati nine yard line and was a poor toss to Kellen Winslow. Indeed, for most of the afternoon Anderson's throws seemed just out of reach of his receivers as if he was just a step too slow. On the routes where he did connect, his receivers had to either dive for the ball, or jump and expose themselves to big hits. This was especially apparent on a leaping catch made by Winslow early in the third quarter. On the play, Winslow ran a nice cut route over the center of the field but the throw from Anderson was not only well behind him but forced him to leap into the air to make the catch. This throw allowed two Bengal defenders to lay a nice sandwich hit on Winslow.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 21 - 92 - 0, Rec: 5 - 42 - 0 (5 targets) |
Lewis had some nice runs up into the middle of the Cincinnati defense, again taking two and three defenders with him for extra yardage. His longest run was a 15 yard gain in the third quarter where, after running off the right side of the line, he was able to make a nice cut toward the center of the field and it took two Cincinnati defenders to bring him down. Despite his effectiveness, the Browns were forced to play from behind for the entire game and it necessitated an emphasis on the passing game. Lewis' role in Cleveland's passing game is next to nothing as he has been, and was today, used primarily as an emergency drop off target.
| RB Jason Wright, Rush: 3 - 38 - 0, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (4 targets) |
Wright was used as a change of pace back as had some success running the ball up the middle of the field on draw plays. His longest gain of the day was an 18 yard run up the middle of the field where he made a very nice cut to his left side that caused no less than three Bengals to miss their tackles and opened up the center of the field. Unlike Lewis, Wright certainly had a second speed gear that he was able to use once he got into open territory.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 8 - 52 - 2 (15 targets) |
Edwards suffered the most from the struggles by Derek Anderson. While he did lead the Browns in terms of number of receptions, his yardage was weak primarily because most of his receptions came on short cut routes toward the middle of the field. He did catch two touchdown passes, both over the center of the field, and was the first red zone look for Anderson. He was usually double teamed and had to either dive or leap for the pass. His first touchdown reception was impressive as he shed his coverage and found a gap over the center of the field for the catch.
| WR Joe Jurevicius, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jurevicius was largely a non-factor in the game as most of Anderson's looks were to either Edwards or Winslow and his third look was usually toward the running back, either Lewis or Wright.
| TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 7 - 73 - 0 (11 targets) |
Winslow had a good game, albeit a difficult one as he tried to deal with some of the poor passes coming his way. He was most effective over the middle of the field, either cutting from the sideline toward the middle or simply running a stop route to a defined point behind the Cincinnati linebackers. Early in the first quarter Anderson connected with Winslow on a short pass off the left side of the line. Winslow showcased not only his strength but some impressive moves on the play, forcing two defenders to miss and bolting down the field. Despite his effectiveness in the overall passing game, Winslow was not a major factor when the Browns got into the red zone. Most pass plays were designed to either go to Edwards or were dump off passes to Jason Wright or, occasionally, Jamal Lewis.
| PK Phil Dawson 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Dawson had a quiet day of extra point duty going two for two. The Browns did blow a field goal chance, with the holder fumbling the snap and being tackled as he tried to recover the ball.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Browns rush defense simply had no answer to the rushing attack of Kenny Watson. For the entire game the Browns were unable to seal off gaps in the center of the line that allowed Watson to rush for over 100 yards. Even when the Browns would bring seven and eight players into the box and run a full blitz package they were unable to get any movement on the line and stall the rushing attack.
| CLE Pass Defense |
While the Browns did come up with two interceptions off Carson Palmer, the success of the Bengals rushing attack kept the Cincinnati passing offense quiet for most of the day. Both of the Browns interceptions came from Leigh Bodden, the first being a nice read by Bodden where he broke off his assigned coverage and snagged the pass right from T.J. Houshmandzadeh's hands. The second, however, was only due to the fact that T.J. Houshmandzadeh fell down on his route and Bodden was there to swipe the pass away.
| QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 11 - 21 - 115 - 1 TD / 2 INT |
Palmer had a very quiet day, throwing for only 115 yards, mainly due to the success of the Cincinnati running game. The Bengals were content to hand the ball to Kenny Watson for most of the afternoon. Palmer did throw two interceptions, the first being a wobbly pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh that was picked by Cleveland DB Leigh Bodden. The second pass saw Houshmandzadeh fall down and again Leigh Bodden happened to be in the right place at the right time and snagged the ball. Palmer did have some trouble with throws sailing over his receivers heads, but by and large the Bengals simply committed to running the ball for the entire game.
| RB Kenny Watson, Rush: 30 - 130 - 1, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
Watson was the star of the Cincinnati offense, finding and exploiting the large gaps in the center of the line. He did benefit from the holes given to him by the Bengals offensive line, but once he found the gap, Watson was able to cut, make a defender miss and kick into second gear to get up the field. His quickness after getting past the first line of defenders was what allowed him to really rack up the yardage. While running the ball well, Watson was also a threat in the passing game, with certain packages being designed to specifically go to him. But it was his success running the ball that not only moved the ball downfield but kept the Cleveland offense on the sideline.
| WR Chad Johnson, Rush: 1 - 16 - 0, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (9 targets) |
Johnson, much like Houshmandzadeh had a very quiet day with only 44 receiving yards on four receptions. He was still the primary target of the passing offense, but with the Bengals running game working so well, the need to pass was simply not there.
| WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 2 - 25 - 1 (6 targets) |
Houshmandzadeh had a very quiet day, only catching two passes for 25 yards but he did manage a touchdown pass on a nice throw from Carson Palmer toward the corner of the endzone. Houshmandzadeh clearly beat his coverage on the play but it was Palmer's perfectly placed pass that was responsible for the touchdown.
| TE Reggie Kelly, Rec: 1 - 24 - 0 (1 targets) |
Kelly was a non factor in the game, catching only one pass for 24 yards.
| PK Shayne Graham 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Graham had a good day going two for two in field goals and one for one in extra points. His 38 yard field goal in the first half was a nice kick into 20 to 25 MPH wind gusts that made the kick all the more difficult.
| CIN Rush Defense |
The Bengals rush defense did have its troubles stopping the power rushing attack of Jamal Lewis in the first half. In particular, the Browns did have success with both the simple rush up the middle of the field and the draw play, also to the middle of the field. It was clear that when the Browns wanted to run, the offensive line was able to generate a good push against the Cincinnati front four. Due to the large 19 point hole that the Browns were in coming into the second half, Cleveland largely abandoned the rush and took to the air.
| CIN Pass Defense |
The Bengals pass defense took advantage of a very poor performance from Derek Anderson, coming up with four interceptions. While they were only able to sack Anderson once, the pass defense was able to put some pressure on Anderson, forcing him to either throw the ball away or to make a bad pass into coverage.
