Muniman

My take on the game: I think the Browns played the Pats fairly well overall. Don’t get me wrong, the Browns never really threatened the Pats (except early in the 1st quarter), and I give the Pats all the credit in the world, they are a great team. In one of my earlier posts this past week I stated that if the Browns could not afford turnovers if they wanted to stay in the game. So what do they do? They turn the ball over 4 times.

The first turnover was an interception in the end zone via a bone-headed pass by Derek Anderson. He tried to force the ball in there when he should have chucked in the cheap seats and taken the field goal to tie the game at 3-3 early in the 1st quarter. In my opinion, this is where things went south for the Browns. You can’t turn the ball over on the road against an excellent team like the Pats and expect to win.

The 3 other turnovers were a interception on a tipped pass, Anderson had his passing arm hit while throwing by Mike Vrabel causing a wounded duck that was picked off, and finally Kellen Winslow had the ball knocked out of his hands after a reception and it was returned for a TD with 42 seconds left in the game. Once again I give credit to the Pats for these heads-up plays on their defense.

I will say this about the Browns, they never gave up, came within 10 points (27-17) in the 4th quarter, and moved the ball fairly decent (especially the 1st & 4th quarters) against the best defense in the NFL. The Browns also stopped the Pats in the red zone at least twice, maybe 3 times. Those darn turnovers really hurt them as the Patriots garnered 21 points from them. Oh well, I wasn’t expecting a win, but I was pleasantly surprised by their overall play, and how they kept fighting till the end.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- These Patriots are just having too much fun.

Showboating, leaping into teammates' arms and jumping over the goal line on a touchdown -- with Randy Moss doing none of that -- they made history with a 34-17 win Sunday over the Cleveland Browns, the latest victim of a powerhouse that seems to score at will.

Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns, tying an NFL record with at least three in each of his first five games. Junior Seau grabbed two interceptions, and New England became the first team to start a season with five wins by at least 17 points.


Oh, and the Patriots never trailed for the fourth game as they moved to 5-0 for the third time in club history.

It shouldn't be as easy when they visit Dallas next Sunday. But so far, they've been behind for just 12:36 this season -- and they followed that 7-3 deficit against Buffalo with 35 straight points in a 38-7 win.

The Browns (2-3) had shown promise after years of mediocrity. But they lost running back Jamal Lewis for the game with an injured right foot after he rushed for 11 yards on their first play.

The passing attack couldn't pick up the slack as Derek Anderson threw three interceptions in the first half, two on consecutive offensive plays by Cleveland, that led to 14 points.

Twice in the fourth quarter, the Browns cut the deficit to 10 points. And twice the Patriots came right back with touchdowns of their own.

The 38-year-old Seau looked like a kid again, although coach Bill Belichick may frown on his ill-considered celebration when he raised the ball high in his right hand while he was still returning an interception.

Three plays later, Benjamin Watson's joyous demonstration wasn't nearly as risky.

Wide open in the left flat, he caught Brady's pass at the 8-yard line, jumped at the 1 and landed in the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns. The extra point by Stephen Gostkowski, who had kicked field goals of 20 and 25 yards, made it 20-0 with 1:01 left in the half.

Later, Brady leaped into the burly arms of guard Logan Mankins after a 25-yard touchdown pass to Watson for a 27-10 lead just 4 1/2 minutes after Anderson's 21-scoring pass to Tim Carter.

Back in 1920, the Buffalo All-Americans won their first four games by at least 22 points, then beat the Rochester Jeffersons by only 11.

The Patriots didn't need Moss to have another big game. He began the day as the NFL leader in yards receiving and total touchdowns, but finished with three catches for 46 yards and no touchdowns.

And Brady didn't have to be as brilliant as he was in his first four games, when he completed 79.2 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. He was a mere 22-for-38 for 265 yards and no interceptions Sunday.

Sammy Morris, filling in for injured Laurence Maroney for the second straight game, gained 102 yards on 21 carries, one week after rushing for 117 yards.

More good news for the Patriots: safety Rodney Harrison returned after a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances, reportedly by using human growth hormone.

And, finally, cornerback Randall Gay stripped Kellen Winslow of a reception and returned the fumble 15 yards for a touchdown with 42 seconds left.

__________________
The key to winning is poise under stress -
Paul Brown

GO BROWNS!