Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns had a nice start to the game offensively, but it was all downhill from there. And while the defense held strong for a half, things unraveled in the third quarter for a variety of reasons. Before you knew it, a close game was a 30-7 rout heading into the final quarter of play. One thing seems for sure: Dillon Gabriel is not the answer at quarterback. Let’s get to the full game recap, as the final score was 32-13.
The Browns’ defense bent on the first drive, but didn’t break, as New England received the opening kickoff. After QB Drake Maye used a mix of his legs, misdirection pitches, and quick passes, the Patriots quickly found themselves with a 1st-and-goal at the 4 yard line.
DE Alex Wright stuffed a handoff for a loss of 4 yards, and then Maye’s second down pass was knocked away. On 3rd-and-goal from the 8 yard line, Maye took too much time and DE Myles Garrett sacked him for a loss of 10 yards. K Andrés Borregales came on for a 36-yard field goal to give New England a 3-0 lead.
The Patriots’ defense stuffed the Browns’ first play, a screen pass for RB Quinshon Judkins, for a loss of 2 yards. Judkins’ first carry only gained one yard. On 3rd-and-11, QB Dillon Gabriel found TE Harold Fannin wide open on a crossing route for 19 yards and a first down.
A couple plays later, at midfield, WR Malachi Corley got the jet sweep handoff and made a man miss to pick up 31 yards down to the 18 yard line. On the next play, Gabriel ran a playaction fake and found Fannin again, wide open from the fullback spot for an 18-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 7-3 lead.
On the Patriots’ next drive, they handed the ball to RB Rhamondre Stevenson for 4 yards and then 5 yards, setting up a 3rd-and-1. They went for Stevenson again on third down, but DT Shelby Harris stuffed it for a loss of 1 yard, forcing a punt. On the punt, a 15-yard facemask penalty was called on New England, meaning Cleveland would begin their second drive at their own 34 yard line.
Gabriel began with a first down pass to WR Jamari Thrash, and then a carry by Judkins for 4 yards got the ball close to midfield. A swing pass to Judkins went for a loss of a couple yards, setting up 3rd-and-8. New England brought the heat, and Gabriel threw the pass away at the boundary as the punt unit then came out. A fair catch was made at the Patriots’ 15 yard line with under a minute to go in the first quarter.
WR Kayshon Boutte made some nice moves on CB Denzel Ward to start the drive for 15 yards, and another pass set up 2nd-and-3 to end the quarter.
The Patriots moved...
