Browns fall to Ravens: Prepare for Broncos in Thursday night showdown

Cleveland looks to rebound with Brady Quinn against Denver

Even after squandering a 14-point, third-quarter lead Sunday against the visiting Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns had a realistic chance to rally back from a late 30-27 deficit. But instead of capitalizing on favorable field position at their own 44-yard line with 3:25 remaining in the key AFC North Division clash, the Browns literally threw away the opportunity to drive for a tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown.

On third-and-8 from the 46, Browns quarterback Derek Anderson stepped away from a rushing defender and lofted a screen pass toward running back Jason Wright in the middle of the field. Anderson's lob fluttered and floated like a slowpitch softball, and Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs knocked it out of the park by grabbing the interception and returning it 42 yards for the clinching touchdown in the Ravens' 37-27 victory.

“There was a little pressure,” Anderson said in describing the play that resulted in Suggs' interception. “The guy made a good play on it. I didn’t want to hold onto it and take a sack. I wish I would’ve handled that a little better, but I’m trying to win games.”

The interception by Suggs was the last in a series of damaging plays that occurred after the Browns went ahead 27-13 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Wright with 6:07 left in the third quarter.

There was the 20-yard completion from Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco to veteran receiver Derrick Mason on third-and-16 on Baltimore's ensuing drive, which culminated with a 1-yard scoring run by Le'Ron McClain.

There was the 28-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Mason to tie the score at 27-27 with 13:57 remaining.

There was Braylon Edwards' drop of what would have been a 77-yard touchdown bomb from Anderson on the Browns' next possession.

And there was the 60-yard run by Baltimore rookie Ray Rice that set up a 22-yard Matt Stover field goal to put the Ravens in front, 30-27, with 5:36 left.

It all added up to a demoralizing loss for a Cleveland team that could not afford one. In falling to 3-5 on the season, the Browns now trail the Ravens (5-3) by two games and the Steelers (6-2) by three in the AFC North.

“The coaching wasn’t good enough, the playing wasn’t good enough, and that’s why we’re 3-5 now,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said during his Monday press conference. “We’re going to see what we can do to try to change things around for the last half of this year and see if we can flip the script, if nothing else.”

On Tuesday, Crennel announced that Brady Quinn will start at quarterback in Thursday night's home game against the Denver Broncos.

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“I felt like we needed a different dynamic in the offense, so that is why I made that decision,” Crennel said Tuesday. “Some of the things that had to do with it were our record, offensive ranking, offensive production, so I made the decision to make the change.”

It will be the first NFL start for Quinn, a second-year pro from Notre Dame whom the Browns selected with the 22 nd pick in the first round of the 2007 draft.

“We have been talking about this for a while now,” Crennel said. “Usually I try to be pretty thorough about what I do and evaluating things. I just felt like it was time, and that is why I decided to do it.”

Quinn, who grew up as a Browns fan in the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Dublin, was a four-year starter at Notre Dame. Browns general manager Phil Savage engineered a trade with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on draft day of 2007 to acquire the Cowboys' pick at No. 22 in the first round in exchange for the Browns' second-round selection in 2007 and their first-round pick in 2008.

"We certainly felt like it was worth the chance to go up and get Brady," Savage said on April 28, 2007 when he announced the drafting of Quinn. "I would say that when you give up a future number one, the quarterback position is probably the one position you’re willing to do it for. We’re getting Brady Quinn now, so where is he going to be a year from now relative to another quarterback we might try to get next year? So it seemed like it was worth the loss of next year’s number one to go get the quarterback now."

Thus far, Quinn's only playing time in the regular season for the Browns came in last year's finale against San Francisco, when he completed three of eight passes for 45 yards in relief of the injured Anderson in a 20-7 victory.

“It will be fun to get back out there,” Quinn said Tuesday. “I am excited now, and I will be once game time comes around. I think the biggest thing for me is just remaining calm and not getting too excited.”

Thursday's contest against the AFC West Division-leading Broncos (4-4) will kick off at 8:15 p.m. EST and will be nationally televised by the NFL Network.

“I think Quinn will represent himself and represent the Browns very well,” Crennel said. “This is a lifetime opportunity for him to be quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, and now he has got it. We will see what he can do with it.”

By Tom Kessler
ProFootball-fans.com Cleveland Browns Correspondent