Browns Fall Short Against Bengals
CINCINNATI — The Cleveland Browns fell short in its first division game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, 34-27.
Cleveland’s rookies finally had the breakout games that Browns fans were waiting for, but it wasn’t enough to counter Andy Dalton’s three touchdown passes and a couple of big plays. Brandon Weeden improved his 5.1 quarterback rating from week one by 110 points and added two touchdowns. He threw for 322 yards. Trent Richardson finished with 109 yards rushing and two touchdowns himself.
Adam “Pacman” Jones returned Cleveland’s first punt over 80 yards to put the Bengals on the board first. The Browns answered back with a Phil Dawson 50 yard field goal and the score stayed 7-3 to end the first quarter. The Browns knew Bengals wide-out Andy Dalton would be a threat with Browns cornerback Joe Haden serving a four game suspension and it didn’t take Green long in the second to find the end zone. Green scored on a 10 yard pass from Dalton to make it 14-3. Cleveland’s first-round draft pick Trent Richardson became the first Browns rookie to rush for over 100 yards and he brought the game within four with a 32 yard touchdown run. The Bengals kicked a field goal to take a 17-10 lead heading into the half.
The Browns kept things competitive in the third. Brandon Tate caught a 44 yard pass from Dalton to make it 24-10, but Richardson caught a 23 yard pass of his own and took it to the endzone for his second score. The play that killed Cleveland was a short pass to Cincy’s Andrew Hawkins that he turned into a 50-yard score in the fourth quarter. Weeden did respond with a touchdown pass to Greg little from 24 yards out, but the Browns wouldn’t recover. Both teams added a field goal and time ran out for Cleveland. Cleveland drops to 0-2, while the Bengals break even at 1-1. The Browns will be back in Cleveland next week to play the Buffalo Bills at 1:00 p.m.
