Nov
17
Written by:
LarryMac
11/17/2009 9:56 AM
The first quarter was a defensive struggle as the teams traded three-and-out series until Chicago finally mustered two field goals on back-to-back possessions off of an extended drive and a Derek Anderson interception.
A Cleveland fumble on their first possession of the second quarter set up another Chicago field goal and the teams appeared to be headed to another exchange of empty series before a roughing the passer call on Kamerion Wimbley sparked another drive and Chicago's first touchdown of the game.
The third quarter started off well for the Browns as Chicago muffed a punt after a three and out series, setting up the Browns at the Chicago 30. After four Jamal Lewis rushes got the team to the 1, Derek Anderson scampered in the break the shutout only to see Phil Dawson's extra point attempt blocked. Both defenses went back to work until another Cleveland fumble set the Bears up in Cleveland territory, setting up another touchdown.
After a second interception off of Anderson was returned for a touchdown, the Browns completed their comedy of errors by making the move back to Brady Quinn for one final three and out series and a 30-6 loss to the struggling Bears.
The Good: The Browns defense tried desperately to keep the team in the game. Their much-maligned secondary surrendered only 225 yards to Jay Cutler, intercepting him once and keeping him from throwing a touchdown pass for the first time this season while the defense that failed to register a sack the previous week against the suspect Green Bay offensive line sacked Cutler a season-high four times.
The Bad: Five turnovers: 2 interceptions and a fumble for Derek Anderson and fumbles by Steve Heiden and Mohamed Massaquoi all helped to short-circuit the efforts of a defensive unit that was on the field for 21 more plays than their counterparts and 15 minutes longer - essentially forcing them to play their own quarter of football. For any legitimate team, this would have to constitute "The Ugly", but...
The Ugly: Already the lowest=rated QB in the league, Derek Anderson turned in the worst performance of his career: 6/17 for 76 yards and 2 interceptions for a dismal 10.5 QB rating before getting pulled.
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