A week after another demoralizing loss, this one to the lowly Houston Texans, the Browns squared off against a red hot, high-powered Inidanapolis Colts squad. The Colts, for their part, come into the game leading the pack in the tightly contested AFC Wild Card hunt and winners of four in a row.
The Browns defense got off to another great start, forcing a Joseph Addai fumble on the Colts' first play from scrimmage. The Browns took over in Colts territory, but ultimately traded the fumble in for another field goal for the early lead. The Colts would then march the ensuing kickoff 65 yards, consuming over 7:00, before the Browns defense forced them to settle for a game-tying field goal.
The Browns took the kickoff late in the first quarter and drove into the second quarter, marching 66 yards before sputtering inside the Colts' 10 yard line and settling for another field goal to retake the lead. Another slow and tedious drive found the Colts going for it on the goal line and coming up short when Peyton Manning fumbled the ball on the QB sneak into the end zone. Dallas Clark recovered the ball for Indy in the end zone, but thanks to the infamous "Dave Casper Rule", the end result was the Browns taking over on downs at their goal line. A three and out by the Browns, followed by a punt and a Browns interception of Peyton manning's Hail Mary pass as the clock expired killed the first half with the Browns holding a surprising 6-3 advantage.
The third quarter saw a little more action, but not much, as both defenses continued to shine. Both teams missed chip-shot field goals, Cleveland punted twice and Peyton Manning threw his second interception of the game as the Browns defense continued to smother one of the most potent offenses in the league while their offense continued to fail to capitalize on the opportunities.
Things came full circle in the fourth quarter. Defense had been the story for both teams and in the end it decided the outcome. Following an Indianapolis punt, Cleveland's next possession ended with a Derek Anderson sack and fumble which Robert Mathis would recover and take 37 yards for the game's only touchdown, giving the Colts the lead 10-6. The two temas would then trade punts until late in the quarter when Robert mathis struck again for the Colts, sacking Anderson a second time and knocking him out of the game with a knee injury. Ken Dorsey would then come in for the Browns to play out the string as one of last year's most exciting offenses was once again held to only 6 points.
If there's a way that this game could have gone worse, I can't think of it. The Browns defense held Peyton manning to a career low 125 yards passing and held him without a touchdown pass for only the second time this season. The only hope that anybody would have given the Browns going into this game would have been to try and make this a defensive contest - that's just what they did, as both teams combined for around 400 yards total offense. The Browns defnse caused two turnovers (not counting a Hail Mary interception at the end of the first half), both on the Colts' side of the field, and the Browns managed only a field goal on those possessions. Losing Anderson only adds insult to (literal) injury, especially in light of the news tht Brady Quinn's broken finger is going to put him on the shelf for the remainder of the season.