Cleveland Browns edge San Diego Chargers 7-6 in a low scoring Week 8 tie – NFL Recap
Cleveland Browns got their second consecutive home win with a 7-6 victory over San Diego Chargers in Week 8 game on Sunday, October 28, 2012, at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio.
Browns won their first game under new owner Jimmy Haslam III with a slightest of margins. Rookie running back Trent Richardson was their star performer as he scored the only touchdown of the game in the first quarter.
Richardson played despite fighting through a rib injury. He gave the best performance of his career after carrying the ball 24 times for 122 rushing yards. He was delighted to produce a game-winning performance for his team. He said:
“I felt real good for this whole week, for the whole week of practice. I just felt real good out there. I had to realize and sit down and talk to myself last week that, ‘You’ve got a purpose out there on the field every week.”
Browns relied more heavily on the running game which was suitable for the rough weather condition during the game.
Quarterback Brandon Weeden also showed good performance in a game where defensive play ran the show. He completed 11 out of 27 passes for 129 yards with no touchdown.
Chargers, on the other hand, got their third defeat in a row as they failed to get their offensive machine running.
Quarterback Philip Rivers was unable to flex his muscles as Browns defence maintained a strong wall in front of him.
Rivers finished the game with 18 of 34 for 154 yards. Chargers head coach Norv Turner pointed out that there were many reason behind the team’s failure in getting the winning points. Turner said:
“There are specific reasons (why we’re coming up short). Usually it is a different thing in each situation where you have an opportunity. You have an opportunity to make a big play and you only get so many in a game. We obviously are not able to sustain
throughout an entire game.”
Running back Ryan Mathews utilised the conditions very well and finished with 24 carries for 95 yards.
Browns scored the touchdown in their first drive of the game as Richardson ran 26 yards to reach the end zone.
It was a great comeback from Richardson, who was pulled out of the field last week after giving poor performance against Indianapolis Colts.
Browns took the early lead with a 26-yard run from Richardson which was followed by a kick from Phil Dawson to finish the first quarter 7-0.
Chargers opened their scoring chart with a 43-yard field goal from kicker Nick Novak as second quarter ended 3-7.
Novak scored another field goal in the third quarter to reduce Browns’ lead to one point. Rivers threw a superb pass destined for a touchdown to wide receiver Robert Meachem, who dropped the ball as score remained 7-6 till the end of the game.
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