Davone Bess caught two of the touchdowns with Gary Barnidge grabbing the other.
The Browns improve to 4-5 entering the bye week and will return against the Bengals in Cincinnati....
Brownie Bits
1) Jason Campbell played most of the game with injured ribs after Haloti Ngata fell on Campbell shoving the football into his ribs.
Campbell missed three plays in which Brandon Weeden was booed loudly by Cleveland fans,but returned on the next drive.
Campbell's courage had been doubted by some in the media for not seeming to want to play when Brian Hoyer was inserted into the lineup.
Considering the ribs on this day,the doubts must be non-existent now...
2) Greg Little had a mixed day,but showed his physical ability with a seven catch day for 122 yards.
Little didn't drop a ball in a refreshing twist and was a beast in running with the football after the catch.
This is the type of play that shows the talent of Greg Little when the concentration is there and we even saw some toughness from Little,who injured a shoulder,but still attempted to come back in the game in crunch time...
3) Little still had his down points in being called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
The first was for taking a loose Raven helmet and flinging towards the sidelines.
That was deserved,but a later taunting penalty,while undoubtedly guilty seemed a bit light with the Baltimore guy jawing as well.
Either way,Little still needs to calm down and play the game..
4) I was critical of Davone Bess here last week and he deserved it,but I'll praise him today.
Bess finished with two scores,but the first one was a great catch through two Ravens pulling and stripping the ball.
That Bess is what I expected to see when the Browns traded for him with Miami.
5) Give credit to Rob Chudzinski for going for it on fourth and goal from the one in the first quarter,
One could not blame Chudzinski for taking the easy three early on,but the gutsy call was to play to win and he did so.
I would have liked that call even if it failed because they threw the football!
6) The Browns are going to be one dimensional for the rest of the season.
Willis McGahee looks like a spent comet to me and Chris Ogbonnaya is rarely used except as a pass catcher.
The Browns could have made this game far easier with any semblance of a 4th quarter running game...
7) Ray Horton's defense gets some kudos too.
Horton is never afraid of sending heat after the passer and blitz after blitz hounded Joe Flacco on this day. Five sacks from five different players says that.
I'll say it again,I was dubious of changing defensive schemes-it seems to have being the right move with Horton....
8) That didn't mean that there weren't breakdowns.
A coverage problem near the end of the half led to a long pass play to Torrey Smith and allowed the Ravens to score near the end of the half to keep them in the game.
Another drive made Marlon Brown look like a star.
The secondary play has improved,but there still are coverage issues...
9) I didn't like a pooch punt instead of a 52 yard field goal try.
Sometimes teams outsmart themselves and if you are going to punt-I'd rather have the guy getting paid for it do the kicking...
10) The run defense continues to be stout,Baltimore rushed for just 55 yards and averaged under three yards a carry.
Ray "Spit Take" Rice accounted for just 17 yards on 11 carries.
11) I asked this question on Facebook and here is my opinion.
What would the Browns record be if they had started either Jason Campbell or Brian Hoyer in the four games started by Brandon Weeden?
The Browns lost all four games,but I think they would have beaten the Ravens in Baltimore (14-6) and I think they would not have had an offensive breakdown against Detroit in a game they led at the half 17-7 in a loss at home(31-17).
Miami and Green Bay would have won anyway in my opinion,but move those two games in the W/L column and the Browns are 6-3 tied for first....
12) Finally,does this mean the Browns are in the playoff chase? Not really.
Despite being 4-5 and being ahead of both Baltimore and Pittsburgh,they are still two games behind the Bengals.
A wild card isn't likely as 1 team from the AFC West is a likely lock,so the Browns will have to win the division.
Ironically,A Baltimore win over the Bengals next week would go a long way towards helping the Browns.
The rematch in Cincinnati for the Browns is a must win to have any chance at all...
I will try to be back later with a look at another Devils lackluster performance.
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