Cleveland Browns 24-23 barely edge ahead of Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers almost pulled out their second victory of the season but were denied by the Cleveland Browns. Neither side has had much success in this season. Browns have lost 7 of 11 games this season and Panthers have lost 10 of 11.
Panthers got off to an excellent start. Rookie Quarterback Jimmy Clausen led them in the first offensive drive of the day. Panthers drove for touchdown in 6 plays and were aided by 15 yards in penalties on Cleveland. They combined rushing and passing plays
to cover the yards. There were no big plays until the end when running back Mike Goodson rushed 26 yards for touchdown. He powered through the right and found a gap in the Browns' defence. Free Safety Abram Elam tried to cut off Goodson but the running back
was through to the end before Elam could get to him.
Carolina’s lead didn’t last long. Cleveland answered with a touchdown of their own. Quarterback Jake Delhomme, former Panthers' quarterback, was particularly riled up to be playing against the team that cut him. In three successive passes, Delhomme threw
34 yards to take the Browns to Carolina’s 43 yard line. Running back Peyton Hillis accumulated 131 yards in the game and scored his first touchdown to finish off the drive. Hillis scrambled to the right with the offensive line providing cover. Panthers’ safety
Sherrod Martin almost pushed Hillis out of bounds. Hillis dived the final few yards for touchdown.
With the scores now tied, Clausen tried to mount another offensive but was unable to make it work. Panthers started on the 25 yard line and could only move up one yard before having been forced to punt. Jason Bakers’ 47 yard punt was returned for 9 yards.
Browns started their next offensive on the 36 yard line. Cleveland was helped along the way by 20 yards in penalties on Carolina. Delhomme was able to complete a pass only once in the drive, throwing a 19 yard pass to Mohamed Massaquoi. The touchdown, 2nd
of 3, was scored once again by Hillis. The running back ran up the middle into the end zone. Carolina’s Safety dived at Hillis’ feet to bring him down but Hillis was through to the end by then.
Within the first four minutes of the second quarter, Browns would score a touchdown again and the man for Cleveland was once again Peyton Hillis. From the 24 yard line Hillis dashed 18 yards to get Cleveland inside the red zone and set up his next play.
Hillis overpowered Carolina’s Safety Charles Godfrey, running him over to make his way to the end zone and his third touchdown of the half. Cleveland had created a 14 points lead over Carolina.
Carolina cut that down to 8 with two field goals, 43 and 42 yards, by John Kasay in the second quarter. In the third however, he would miss a crucial field goal. In the first play of the 3rd quarter, linebacker Jon Beason intercepted Delhomme
on Cleveland’s 39 yard line and ran 7 yards. Panthers moved up four yards but couldn’t keep the drive alive. Kasay attempted a 46 yard field goal for Carolina but the attempt was no good.
One play later, Delhomme was intercepted again. The pass was intended for Massaquoi but Carolina’s cornerback Captain Munnerlyn got in front of Massaquoi just at the right moment and carried the ball, uninterrupted, 47 yards for touchdown.
Carolina had put up a strong comeback and trailed Cleveland by just one point. 7 minutes into the 4th quarter, Carolina edged into the lead with a 43 yard field goal by Kasay. In the next drive, Browns took back the lead with a field goal of their
own. The game hanged in the balance, in the final minutes. Possession returned to Caroline in the last minutes of the game. Jimmy Clausen threw 11, 32 and 28 yard passes to get the Panthers within 24 yards of the end zone but only four more seconds remained.
Kasay attempted a field goal in the final play of the game. He kicked the ball from the 42 yard line. Had the attempt been good, Panthers would have won the ball however the ball veered just inches to the left. The attempt was no good and the Browns won
24-23.
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