Quinn impressive, but Browns fall to Broncos

Cleveland's defense forgets to show up for the second time in a week

Brady Quinn’s debut as starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns was a nationally televised showcase of precise passing and poised leadership.

Unfortunately for the Browns and their beleaguered defense, Denver gunslinger Jay Cutler fired the final salvo in an entertaining shootout Thursday night to rally the Broncos to a 34-30 victory.

A packed house at Cleveland Browns Stadium – as well as viewers from throughout the country who tuned in to the NFL Network's telecast of the game – watched Quinn complete 23 of 35 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL start.

“Here’s my expert analysis: Wow,” NFL Network commentator Cris Collinsworth said at the end of the first half after Quinn connected on 11 of 15 passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Kellen Winslow. “It is just remarkable what we’ve seen.”

Throughout the contest, Quinn moved adroitly in the pocket, stepping away from rushing defenders and buying extra time for his receivers to get open. Collinsworth and play-by-play announcer Bob Papa lauded Quinn's decision-making in directing a Browns offense that finished with 399 total yards.

“This has been quite a performance,” Collinsworth said after the second-year pro from Notre Dame engineered a nine-play, 78-yard drive to give the Browns a 30-27 lead in the fourth quarter.

While Quinn was impressive for Cleveland, Cutler was dynamic for Denver. The Broncos' third-year signal-caller passed for 447 yards and three touchdowns, leading his team to 564 yards of total offense.

Cutler threw all three of his scoring passes in the fourth quarter. His 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall with 1:14 left was the game-winner.

For the second time in five days, the Browns found a way to lose after leading by double digits in the second half. After squandering a 27-13 advantage in their 37-27 defeat against Baltimore on Sunday, the Browns blew a 23-10 lead to the Broncos.

“It’s disappointing that your defense can’t hold a lead, that your defense does some of the simple things wrong and poorly,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said afterward. “Missed tackles, letting them throw balls over our head, tight ends in the middle of the coverage, those kind of things shouldn’t happen. We didn’t make any plays. It’s unfortunate, it really is.”

The loss was damaging – and perhaps lethal – to the Browns’ playoff hopes. With their record falling to 3-6, they’ll have to win at least six and possibly all seven of their remaining games to have any chance to qualify for the postseason.

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After the Broncos (5-4) opened the scoring on a 1-yard run by rookie Ryan Torain, the Browns answered with a 59-yard drive that culminated with Quinn's first career touchdown pass. Quinn threaded the needle between two defenders on the 5-yard play, connecting with Winslow in the back of the end zone.

Quinn's second scoring pass to Winslow covered 16 yards and put Cleveland ahead by a count of 17-7 early in the second quarter.

The Browns led 20-10 at halftime and extended their advantage to 13 points on Phil Dawson's third field goal of the night, a 33-yarder with 10:21 remaining in the third quarter.

Winslow had his best game of the season with 10 catches for 111 yards, but he made three costly mistakes in the fourth period.

A promising Browns drive stalled early in the fourth after Winslow was called for an offensive pass interference penalty. The subsequent Cleveland punt was followed on the next play by a 93-yard touchdown pass from Cutler to rookie Eddie Royal – who caught the ball at his own 37, eluded a tackle attempt by Brandon McDonald and dashed into the end zone.

Winslow lost a fumble on the Browns' ensuing possession, and the Broncos capitalized when Cutler threw a 28-yard touchdown to tight end Daniel Graham to give Denver a 27-23 lead.

After the two teams traded late touchdowns – with Cleveland scoring on a 1-yard run by Jamal Lewis with 4:57 remaining and Denver responding with Cutler's 11-yard toss to Marshall with 1:14 left – the Browns had one last chance, taking possession at their own 33. Their final drive ended on downs when a pass on fourth-and-1 sailed through Winslow's hands and fell incomplete.

“I just can't get that out of my head, that last play,” Winslow said. “The great ones, the legends catch that. That's where I want to be. But I'm going to take it as a lesson. That was a routine catch. I thought I looked it in, but I just missed it. I let my team down.”

Quinn was also self-critical after the game.

“This loss is flat-out on me,” Quinn said. “I feel and I know that I’m good enough that whenever we have the ball at the end of the game, no matter how much time is left, no matter what the circumstances, that I can make a play to let us win.”

Others were much more positive in reviewing Quinn's debut performance.

“This is a terrific start for this young kid,” NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci said.

“I thought he managed the game very nicely,” Crennel said about Quinn, who completed passes to eight different receivers and who did not turn the ball over. “He did a nice job. He used his backs. He used his tight end, used the running game. He was able to get out of trouble himself with his feet. I thought he did a nice job.”

By Tom Kessler
ProFootball-fans.com Cleveland Browns Correspondent