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Week 7 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 11, Washington Redskins 14
What you need to know
| Cleveland Browns |
The Browns could not get their passing game on track until their last two drives in the fourth quarter, which negated the solid effort by Jamal Lewis as they lost the game. Lewis ran with great determination and power, driving defenders for extra yards on most of his rushing attempts. He was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage just three times, but all three of those rushes came inside Washington's three yard line. Apart from those three rushes, Lewis averaged five yards per carry, which was impressive considering Cleveland's passing game was a non-factor for most of the game. In addition to the goal line carries, Lewis came close to scoring by taking a short pass and running to the one yard line where he was stopped as he stretched for the end zone.
Derek Anderson did not get into a rhythm until late in the fourth quarter. He missed open receivers several times and appeared to be pressing most of the time. Eleven of his passes were thrown too high, too low or too wide to be caught. While some of that was due to Washington's pass rush, he just missed open receivers at other times. Anderson's case was not helped by his receivers dropping five passes that were catchable. The Browns did not get a first down as a result of a pass until late in the third quarter, and none of their receivers had more than one reception until late in the game. When he got into a rhythm, Anderson looked for Kellen Winslow, who returned to action from the illness that had sidelined him, and Braylon Edwards. However apart from a couple of late catches by Edwards, they were unable to generate big plays. Ninety-six of Anderson's 136 passing yards came in the fourth quarter.
The Browns attempted 13 plays on three possessions in the red zone, and came away with one touchdowns and a field goal. They ran four times, with Lewis getting three carries from inside the three yard line, coming up short on all three rushes. Of Anderson's nine pass plays, he threw to seven different receivers, with Winslow being stopped at the one yard line, Cribbs catching a pass for a touchdown, and Edwards catching a two-point conversion. The other two red zone pass plays ended with the ball being tipped at the line of scrimmage and Anderson being sacked. Overall, a frustrating effort on offense by Cleveland, which was epitomized by Anderson having to call a timeout in the fourth quarter because the play clock was running out, and getting into an argument with his fullback Lawrence Vickers with Vickers angrily pushing Anderson's arm off him as they walked to the sideline.
| Washington Redskins |
The Redskins ran the ball extremely well and combined with an efficient passing game and superb defense, got the victory despite a lost fumble by Clinton Portis late in the game. Portis averaged 6.48 yards per rushing attempt by hitting the line of scrimmage decisively, and applying constant pressure on Cleveland's defense. In addition to showing excellent quickness and explosiveness, he seemed to end all of his runs by falling forward for extra yardage. His fumble gave the Browns good field position which they turned into a touchdown and two point conversion for the final score, but apart from that miscue, Portis was the best offensive player on the field. Shaun Alexander entered the game at the beginning of the third quarter and ran for eight yards on his first carry, but did not total any additional yards on his two subsequent carries.
Jason Campbell was efficient in directing an aerial attack that relied mostly on short and intermediate passes. He was fairly accurate with his passes, with just four of his incompletions due to him missing an open receiver. Campbell focused most of his attention towards Santana Moss, Chris Cooley and Antwaan Randle El, throwing 18 of his 23 passes to the three of them. His lone touchdown throw was to Moss, who turned a short pass into a score by making several defenders miss, including on a spin move to get into the end zone. Campbell provided just enough balance to Washington's strong running game and did not attempt to go for many big plays as a result of the success of the rushing attack.
The Redskins ran four plays on two red zone possessions, and came away with two touchdowns. They passed the ball three times, twice to Moss, including one for a touchdown, and once to Randle El who was tackled at the two yard line. Portis ran for a touchdown on the next play, as Washington was very efficient in the red zone.
What you ought to know
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 14 - 37 - 136 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 4 - 0 |
Anderson was ineffective for most of the game. Part of his challenge was the Redskins' pass rush, and dropped balls by some of his receivers, but he missed open receivers 11 times during the game. He seemed unsure of himself for most of the game, and did not get into any rhythm until the last two drives, when he threw with confidence and hit his receivers in stride to lead his team to within three points. Overall though he was inconsistent and did not appear confident in his decision-making or his throws. The only receiver he developed any rapport with was Braylon Edwards, but that was late in the game. Despite targeting Edwards 13 times, he only connected on four passes.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 19 - 80 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) |
Lewis ran with a lot of power and showed good acceleration to the hole, and seemed on the verge of breaking free for bigger gains several times, but the Redskins' swarming defense held him to just two runs of over ten yards. However, eight of his 19 carries were for four yards or more, which was testament to his strong running against a very good defense. Lewis could have gained better overall numbers, but Anderson missed him on two throws, while he took the pass he did catch to the one yard line.
| RB Jerome Harrison, Rush: 3 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) |
Harrison's carries all came in the fourth quarter.
| RB Lawrence Vickers, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Vickers had a quiet game except for a flare-up with Anderson in the fourth quarter where the two men argued after Anderson had to call a timeout to prevent a delay of game penalty, upon which Anderson went directly to Vickers.
| RB Jason Wright, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Wright's participation was minimal.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 4 - 58 - 0 (13 targets) |
Edwards dropped a couple passes thrown to him, and was missed on four other occasions. He managed to get open against aggressive coverage, but was a non-factor until late in the game. In the fourth quarter he showed good hands and route running to snare some passes, including getting open in the end zone for a two-point conversion play that brought Cleveland to within three points. As with the other receivers, Edwards did not have a consistent effort.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (5 targets) |
Stallworth's impact was minimal and he was used mostly on short routes, being targeted deep just once. He did get open a couple of times but Anderson could not get the ball to him.
| WR Josh Cribbs, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (2 targets) |
Cribbs was decleated by a legal but vicious hit on his first target but contributed both with his kickoff returns and catching Cleveland's only touchdown.
| TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (7 targets) |
Winslow ran good routes and was able to get open consistently, despite missing time recently due to illness. However, he was overthrown four times and drew a penalty on his defender on another play. He caught the other two passes thrown his way, including one where he carried defenders to the one yard line before being stopped just outside of the end zone.
| TE Darnell Dinkins, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Dinkins was used mostly as a blocker.
| TE Steve Heiden, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Heiden was utilized mostly as a blocker and occasional outlet receiver.
| PK Phil Dawson 1 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points |
Dawson did not have any point after attempts and made one field goal from 37 yards and missed one from 54 yards that would have sent the game into overtime.
| CLE Rush Defense |
Cleveland's run defense had no answer for Portis. They were unable to control the line of scrimmage and as a result gave up an average of 6.48 yards per carry to Portis, as he routinely got to the second level of their defense. Their best play came late in the game when they forced Portis to fumble and recovered it, which led to them scoring to get within three points.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The Browns played the pass aggressively, but were unable to generate a lot of pressure on Campbell in part because of having to respect Washington's running game, and in part to Campbell getting rid of the ball quickly in the short passing game. Their tackling left a bit to be desired as the Redskins' receivers turned a few short passes into good gains, including one for a touchdown.
| QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 14 - 23 - 164 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Campbell did a good enough job of managing the game by relying on his strong running game and focusing on the short passing game to complement the running attack. Campbell was decisive in terms of whom to throw the ball to and was very accurate with his passes. He was not asked to take many chances in this game, but showed very good decision making and poise throughout. Although he focused on shorter passes, he threw a variety of passes and was comfortable with all of them, which helped keep the defense from keying on particular pass plays.
| RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 27 - 175 - 1, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Portis ran extremely well, except for a fumble late in the game. He accelerated to the line of scrimmage decisively, and made the right decisions as to which hole to attack, which led to his healthy rushing numbers. Portis showed a good combination of elusiveness in the open field and power once defenders closed in on him, to gain extra yards on most of his carries. He was the best offensive player on the field.
| RB Rock Cartwright, Rush: 3 - 12 - 0, Rec: 1 - -7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Cartwright ran hard every time he touched the ball, but had more of an impact on special teams returning kicks.
| RB Shaun Alexander, Rush: 3 - 8 - 0 |
Alexander entered the game in the third quarter but did not have many touches.
| WR Santana Moss, Rec: 4 - 75 - 1 (7 targets) |
Moss ran mostly short and intermediate routes, and displayed excellent quickness and speed after securing the catch. He gained yards after each reception, including his touchdown reception. Moss used his quickness to great advantage by running excellent routes and connected with Campbell very well on timing routes.
| WR Antwaan Randle El, Rec: 4 - 56 - 0 (4 targets) |
Randle El was targeted twice on intermediate routes, and caught all passes thrown his way. He ran his routes well, and showed his ability to run after the catch on all of his receptions, including one where he was stopped a couple of yards from the end zone. Randle El and Campbell had their timing down well and were in synch when Randle El's number was called.
| TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 4 - 32 - 0 (7 targets) |
Cooley ran his short routes well, and may have gained more yards if not for good defensive play by his defender on a couple occasions he was targeted. He was unable to break free for any long gains as he was tackled immediately after catching short passes.
| TE Fred Davis, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0 (2 targets) |
Davis' contributions were minimal. He was used on a reverse run that did not gain positive yardage, and did not contribute in the passing game.
| PK Shaun Suisham 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Suisham made both of his point after attempts, but missed his only field goal attempt, which was from 36 yards.
| WAS Rush Defense |
Washington's run defense was aggressive, with the linebacker providing a lot of support near the line of scrimmage. Although Jamal Lewis was able to gain a decent number of yards, the Redskins defense prevented him from breaking loose for big gains on several occasions when it seemed as though he was on the verge of doing so. The defensive line did not make many plays behind the line of scrimmage, but they and the linebackers did a decent job of flying to the ball once the running backs got past the line of scrimmage. They stiffened at the goal line and thwarted three rushing attempts by Lewis inside the two yard line.
| WAS Pass Defense |
The Redskins applied pressure to Anderson constantly, both with blitzes and from pressure by the defensive line. Although they did not record an interception and just had one sack, they came close on several occasions, and tipped Anderson's passes at the line of scrimmage four times. Their secondary set the tone early with several hard but clean hits to receivers as the ball arrived, and except for the Browns' scoring drive late in the game, stymied Cleveland's passing game.
