Cleveland Browns defeat the odds with win over the New Orleans Saints
When your starting quarterback throws for under 75 yards and your team wins, your defence has to be having one heck of a game. And that’s exactly what the Cleveland Browns relied on to pull off the potential
upset of the year by defeating the defending Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints 30-17 on Sunday.
Browns rookie quarterback Colt McCoy completed just a handful of passes for 74 yards, in his second start in the NFL. But his numbers didn’t have to jump off the page when his defence forced four interceptions—two
of which were returned for touchdowns by David Bowens.
“You don't dream of games like that," Bowens said. "You don't ever think anything is going to happen like that. It's unbelievable."
Veterans Scott Fujita and Sheldon Brown also had interceptions for the Browns as they improve their record to 2-5. Brees, who was intercepted 11 times last season in 15 games, has thrown 10 already in
2010 in just seven.
Fujita played with the Saints last season, and is very familiar with Brees and knows his tendencies. This familiarity with Brees helped him and the Browns’ defence slow down one of the league’s most potent
offensive units.
"I tried to do my best early this week in practice to prepare our team for what we would face today, as it's no secret that I am familiar with the Saints," Fujita said. "It's one thing to plan the X's
and O's, but it's another to come out and execute it. The way we did it was pretty impressive. ... I didn't think we'd shut them down like that."
On a night when Cleveland’s defence shined, the offence was far less impressive. Despite having excellent field position from their special teams units, the Browns had to settle for field goals early on.
First, Eric Wright found a crease on a punt return and scrambled down the sideline for a 62-yard return.
Then punter Reggie Hodges faked a punt and ran with the ball 68 yards down to the Saints 9 yard line. However, both key plays by the special teams resulted in kicker Phil Dawson connecting on field goals
from 23 yards and 21 yards respectively.
The Saints (4-3) trailed all game and finally scored a major after Brees tossed an 11-yard touchdown strike to David Thomas to cut the lead to 20-10 right before the half. Brees did not have his best game
and finished the game completing 37 of 56 passes for 356 yards with four interceptions.
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