Browns hang tough for half in home loss
CLEVELAND (MCT) — So much for second chances.
Browns quarterback Brady Quinn’s second stint in the starting lineup this season blew up in the third quarter Monday night, marred by two interceptions and a low block on Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs that may come back to haunt Quinn whenever he faces the Baltimore Ravens.
Quinn’s interceptions set up nine Ravens points as the Ravens pulled away for a 16-0 Monday Night Football victory before a crowd of 69,023 at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The game ended with Pro Bowl receiver/returner Joshua Cribbs lying near midfield, blindsided by nose tackle Brandon McKinney on a lateral play. The two teams surrounded Cribbs for the post-game prayer and he was carted off.
Falling to 1-6 in his career as a starter, Quinn completed just 13-of-31 passes for 99 yards. His rating was 23.45, his yards per attempt 2.8. He has produced just one offensive touchdown in 14 quarters, that in the season opener. Even Quinn’s popularity wasn’t enough to keep fans in the stands, as they started to abandon ship before the fourth quarter began.
For Quinn, it all unraveled on the Browns’ second series of the third quarter, when the Ravens broke the game open on strong safety Dawan Landry’s 48-yard interception return for a touchdown. Quinn’s pass for tight end Robert Royal was high and wide and Landry easily nabbed it and cruised into the end zone to give the Ravens a 13-0 lead.
But kicker Steve Hauschka’s extra point was blocked by Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers. It was the second PAT blocked by Rogers this season and the third of his eight-year career, to go with 13 blocked field goals.
Quinn followed with another turnover on the Browns’ next series, his pass to receiver Mike Furrey going through Furrey’s hands to cornerback Chris Carr. As Carr returned the interception 11 yards, Quinn took out Suggs and was flagged for a personal foul that looked like a cheap shot.
While Suggs was down, Quinn went over to talk to him, bending over to be heard. Suggs limped off the field with what was later announced as a sprained knee and did not return.
That interception and return to the the Browns’ 24 set up a 44-yard Hauschka field goal that gave the Ravens a 16-0 lead.
A Dublin, Ohio, native and former Notre Dame star taken 22nd overall in the 2007 draft, Quinn won the job over Derek Anderson out of training camp, but lasted only 10 quarters before being benched at halftime against the Ravens on Sept. 27. The Browns produced only one of their five offensive touchdowns under Quinn. Even as Anderson struggled, Mangini maintained that Anderson gave the Browns a better chance to move the ball.
But with Anderson’s 36.2 rating last in the league, Browns coach Eric Mangini announced he was going back to Quinn last week after Anderson struggled in four consecutive games.
Mangini’s initial instincts might have been right. In 13 offensive possessions against the Ravens, the Browns punted nine times, threw two interceptions and finished the first half with a kneeldown and finished the game a lateral play.
The Browns crossed midfield only twice, with their deepest penetration the Ravens 45-yard line.
After a scoreless first half, the Ravens marched 59 yards in four plays on its first possession of the third quarter, with running back Ray Rice scoring on a 13-yard run. The big play was Joe Flacco’s 41-yard pass to Derrick Mason, taking advantage of poor coverage by Browns cornerback Brandon McDonald.
Mangini went 3-0 after bye weeks with the New York Jets and it was evident that the Browns’ coaching staff spent the break dreaming up new wrinkles. The Browns used both the no-huddle and the Wildcat formation with Joshua Cribbs. The Ravens offense appeared confused by some of the Browns’ defensive formations, using up all their first-half timeouts (losing one on a challenge) with 8:45 left in the first quarter.
But the creativity produced no points, with the Ravens matching the Browns’ futility in the first 30 minutes. Hauschka’s 36-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
