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Week 3 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 10, Baltimore Ravens 28
What you need to know
| Cleveland Browns |
QB Derek Anderson struggled, especially in the second half. He looked flustered and confused the entire game. His accuracy was terrible and he got several balls batted down at the line of scrimmage. Anderson was lucky to only throw three interceptions.
RB Jamal Lewis ran the ball well, getting the most out of every run. The Browns abandoned the run late in the game, but they were successful against Baltimore's blitzing, including a nice screen by Jerome Harrison that ended up scoring their only touchdown.
WR Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow could not get going. Whether it involved balls thrown into tight coverage or balls that were not catchable, it led to bad fantasy nights for both studs.
| Baltimore Ravens |
QB Joe Flacco started the game out extremely hot, completing his first eight passes. Then he made a couple mistakes on coverage reads and threw two interceptions, leading to Baltimore to basically shut down their pass game. Flacco only completed five passes in the final three quarters of the game.
RB Willis McGahee was running with power against the Browns, gaining tough yards in the trenches. He gave up some carries to LeRon McClain (not Ray Rice) when he got poked in the eye and started to bleed from it. McClain ran the ball very well and cashed in on a couple of short touchdown runs.
WR Derrick Mason was clearly Flacco's favorite target, being thrown to seven times. He blew by the Cleveland corner on a double move but the corner held him to save a huge play that likely would have resulted in a touchdown.
What you ought to know
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 14 - 37 - 125 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Anderson looked awful against the Ravens. He was unable to get anything going against the swarming Baltimore defense. He was sacked four times, had many passes tipped at the line, and inaccurate on throws when he did have an open receiver. Through three weeks, it has looked like Anderson has regressed from last seasons' midseason breakout.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 12 - 56 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (4 targets) |
Lewis seemed to have good vision, making cuts and fighting through defenders for extra yards. He was put on the shelves though when the Browns fell way behind in the third quarter, never getting the chance to wear down the Ravens' defense.
| RB Lawrence Vickers, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) |
Vickers caught a few passes out of the backfield as Derek Anderson was pressured.
| RB Jerome Harrison, Rec: 1 - 19 - 1 (1 targets) |
Harrison was sparsely used, but he made the most of his time. He caught a screen pass when Baltimore blitzed on a third and long and ended up scoring from the 19 yard line.
| RB Jason Wright, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0 |
Wright saw limited action, but had a couple of nice runs where he showed solid quickness and made some nice cuts.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (8 targets) |
Edwards was covered well by the Ravens, who often were quick to react to his first move and broke up timing routes. He had no chance on a couple of balls thrown his way. He did not have any drops on the night, but he did bobble the ball once. Two of his routes got jumped by the Ravens for interceptions, one resulting in a touchdown.
| WR Syndric Steptoe, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (6 targets) |
Steptoe served as the number two wide out, but could not make an impact across from Braylon Edwards.
| WR Josh Cribbs, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) |
Cribbs was not used on offense much, being targeted only twice. He caught one ball for 17 yards, while the other target was uncatchable. The Browns did not try to get him the ball behind the line of scrimmage.
| TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (13 targets) |
Winslow and Derek Anderson did not have their usual chemistry, connecting on only two of 13 passes thrown to Winslow. Winslow seemed to be the focus of the Ravens' gameplan. Many of the balls thrown to Winslow were in extremely tight coverage, with most of the rest being uncatchable. One pass Anderson threw to Winslow had Ray Lewis destroy Winslow on a slant and the ball ended up popping up to be intercepted.
| PK Phil Dawson 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Dawson made his only field goal attempt.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Browns were solid against the run for most of the game, but gave up a couple longer runs when the Browns offense could not stay on the field. The defensive line was consistent in keeping the Ravens offensive line from pushing them off of the line of scrimmage, causing tough situations often for the running backs of the Ravens.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The pass defense was impressive, making a few great plays and staying home on their coverage. They did not put too much pressure on Flacco though, which is cause for some concern. Their coverage was tight and their tackling was also impressive, only allowing 129 yards through the air.
| QB Joe Flacco, Pass: 13 - 19 - 129 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 6 - -2 - 0 |
Flacco seemed to have the offensive coordinator believing in him before the game, and he looked sharp early completing his first eight passes. Then he threw two interceptions that were clear mistakes and proceeded to only throw the ball eight more times in the game.
| RB LeRon McClain, Rush: 17 - 66 - 2, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (2 targets) |
McClain looked solid filling in for McGahee, often powering through tackles to gain extra yards. He ran for two touchdowns in the red zone and came in ahead of Ray Rice.
| RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 15 - 64 - 1, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
McGahee was a workhorse while he was in Sunday. He took a severe poke to the eye and was bleeding from it, causing him to come out of the game. He tried to return with a sunglass mask but came out after his first play back. He did a solid job moving the chains and falling forward when he was in.
| RB Ray Rice, Rush: 5 - 21 - 0 |
Rice did not see much action, carrying the ball only five times despite Willis McGahee missing much of the game.
| WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (7 targets) |
Mason was Joe Flacco's favorite target, but he only caught four balls for 42 yards. He made a nice move that could have led to a touchdown but Brandon McDonald held Mason to save it.
| WR Demetrius Williams, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (3 targets) |
Williams was the third wide receiver and caught all three balls thrown his way.
| WR Mark Clayton, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) |
Clayton caught both short passes thrown to him, but was unable to haul in a deep pass that was just out of his reach
| TE Todd Heap, Rec: 2 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) |
Heap has not been targeted much by Flacco this year, and today was no change. He did manage to make a move or two on the two passes he did catch to gain 32 yards.
| PK Matt Stover 0 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Stover missed his only field goal attempt in the first quarter on a 48 yard attempt that hit the upright.
| BAL Rush Defense |
Baltimore was average against the run, giving up consistent gains while the Browns ran the ball. It seemed like they were more focused on the Cleveland's passing attack, often blitzing. They were getting penetration against the Browns but it seemed to be penetration the Browns wanted to allow to open up holes.
| BAL Pass Defense |
The Ravens dominated the Browns' passing game. They forced three interceptions, hurried Derek Anderson all night, and had extremely tight coverage. They made Derek Anderson look like a back up quarterback.