Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns finished their preseason with a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams. This was the Browns’ dress rehearsal for the regular season, with some starters playing for the first time, including quarterback Joe Flacco. Starters getting the day off included WR Cedric Tillman, OG Joel Bitonio, CB Denzel Ward, CB Greg Newsome, and DE Myles Garrett. Let’s get to the full game recap.
The Browns kicked off to begin the game, with QB Dresser Winn coming on to lead the Rams’ offense against some of the Browns’ starters on defense. Cleveland held them to a three-and-out after a breakdown on the Rams offensive line, as LB Carson Schwesinger came through with a free rush to force an incompletion.
QB Joe Flacco took over at the 22 yard line. After a 4-yard run by RB Dylan Sampson, WR Jerry Jeudy couldn’t hold on to a quick pass from Flacco. On third down, Flacco hit TE David Njoku for a gain of 5 yards, resulting in a three-and-out of their own. P Corey Bojorquez got off a beautiful 62-yard punt that the Browns downed at the 5 yard line.
The defense took advantage, as DE Isaiah McGuire pressured Winn in the end zone, and then he threw an errant pass with 5 Browns defenders around Sadly, CB Myles Harden dropped the interception/possible pick six. On third down, DE Alex Wright sacked Winn in the end zone, but Winn was able to just barely get out of the end zone to avoid the safety. After the punt, Cleveland took over at the Rams’ 44 yard line.
RB Jerome Ford had a run for 11 yards to move the chains, and then a few plays later, on 3rd-and-9, Flacco completed a pass to Sampson, who broke a tackle to get 14 yards and a first down. After the play, C Ethan Pocic was injured and helped off the field. A few plays later, Flacco did a quick drop and fired a touchdown to TE Harold Fannin for a 15-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 7-0 lead.
Cleveland then kept the next kickoff in bounds and was able to get the stop at the 16 yard line to force Los Angeles to begin backed up again. Cleveland got another three-and-out, but McGuire was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for celebrating after the third down stop. It might be a sign of the league cracking down on celebrations, which was a topic the other day. No worries — the defense forced another three-and-out, with WR DeAndre Carter taking it out to the 20 yard line to begin the next drive.
Flacco completed a third down screen pass to RB Pierre Strong for 18 yards, then hit TE David Njoku for 15 yards into Los Angeles territory heading into the second quarter.
RB Ahmani Marshall couldn’t get the chip on a defender on second down, leading to a 9...
