Faltering Colts Tamed By Browns 

Without their superstar quarterback, the Colts continued their woeful start to the season and lost in yet another disappointing display. With Manning out injured the Browns knew this would be a chance to gain a much needed victory, and did so quite convincingly. The Browns won 27-19, although the score line appears close, Cleveland had the better of the game and the Colts will be uninspired with yet another poor performance from a team that were many peoples summer super bowl favorites. 
 
Although Indianapolis was missing their key man Peyton, the Browns most certainly were not, with Peyton Hillis scoring two touchdown runs during the game. Many questioned whether Hillis could continue his Madden 12 cover winning form of last season, this game proved that even when facing a tough defensive team, he can still perform admirably and help his team be victorious. 
 
Manning is predicted to miss at least another 8-10 games, if not the whole season and if the first two weeks of the season are anything to judge the Colts on, they certainly need to make bold roster moves now to avoid one of their most disappointing seasons in their entire history.  
 
With their star quarterback Manning, the Colts are normally always competing for a playoff spot, however without his experience and leadership, the Colts had little to no chance of winning, even though their team is filled with experience and they were the home side. 

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Veteran Kerry Collins has done an okay job replacing Manning, however he does not have the quality obtained by Manning. He started the match in good form completing a large amount of his passes, however when the game was finished he was left with poor stats, finishing 19 of 38 and throwing for only 191 yards. Collins also added to this woeful performance by fumbling once and throwing once interception. In a game where the Colts could only seemingly rely on field goals, they were never going to have a chance against an improving Browns side. 
 
Just in case any Colts fans had not looked at their schedule, It does not get any easier as last years AFC champion Pittsburgh are coming. With this match coming sooner than the Colts would want, they will need to prepare and make sure they can tweak some of their obvious weaknesses, or expect the Steelers to make the Colts the embarrassing performance of 2011 in any sport across the country. 
 
Colt McCoy had 211 yards, throwing for one touchdown and was the leader the Browns have been lacking for the past 10 years. With the support of Hillis and Cribbs, McCoy has a solid unit to work with. Josh Cribbs showed his idea of performing in a solid manner by returning a few punts and kicks for decent yardage. Elsewhere on the field Evan Moore was a stand out performer with a fantastic catch in the deep area of the end zones corner, pushing the Browns ahead by a single point early on. 
 
A player who carried on from last weeks poor performance was Joe Haden who made a few silly errors allowing the Colts to have some success that should have never happened. 
 
Next up for the Browns is a home game against the Miami Dolphins. A match that will be important for both teams, as the Browns will be looking to carry on from their away victory over the Colts whereas the Dolphins will be seeking their first victory of this season. This should prove to be a tight match in which either team could win. The difference may come down to errors, or a bit of luck or a fantastic play that changes the game.   

By Kenny Brown
ProFootball-fans.com Cleveland Browns Correspondent