After praying, hoping and waiting for more than twelve months, fans of Cleveland Browns finally have a reason to smile. It was not in a sad kind of way you have to laugh since your life sucks but in a more genuine way where you truly get to experience happiness.
Cleveland Browns won their first game in more than a year, and they managed to beat the San Diego Chargers by 20-17 on Sunday. A late field goal attempt from Josh Lambo, the Chargers kicker, was blocked, and the Browns finally held on to victory. The team experienced their last win back in 13th December 2015.
Ever since then, they slowly turned themselves into the laughing stock of the entire league. This season they were 0-14, and they were mostly looking to join the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only team in the history of NFL to give rise to a 0-16 season.
When you include the games from last season, the winless streak came in 17 matches. Before Browns’ recent game, they were considered the 31st worst side in both defense and offense. They lost six games back to back by 13 points or more, and they tried five different quarterbacks.
From the looks of it, they were knee deep in a creek without any paddles. However, the fans need to keep in mind that one win doesn’t necessarily cure everything they have been suffering from, in the entire last season. That being said, it is the best thing to happen to them in the past 12 abysmal months. Moreover, it’s Christmas, so there’s a lot more room to celebrate.
In an amazing turn of events, in spite of copping nine sacks, they managed to win. The last we saw a team quarterback being pummeled horribly and still managing to win, was back in 1999 when the New England Patriots were outscored by the Miami Dolphins.
The win was a major drought break for the Browns, and it gave rise to a flood of reaction on the internet, and what’s more, the Chargers couldn’t believe it themselves. In the fourth quarter of the game, the Browns lost Robert Griffin III, their quarterback, when he suffered a concussion.
A one-yard touchdown pass was flipped to Antonio Gates by Philip Rivers, but the Chargers fell to 5-10. Isiah Crowell of Cleveland scored an eight-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and the second quarter, it took place again on a four-yard touchdown. All of that gave the Browns a good lead.
Field goals of 27 and 49 yards were added by Cody Parkey so as to boost Cleveland’s lead to 20-10 and the Brown defenders held strongly at the finish. In NFL action elsewhere, the New York Jets were trounced 3-41 by the Patriots and the latter clinched home-field advantage all throughout the playoffs.
Tom Brady, the superstar quarterback, delivered a superlative performance in the Gillette Stadium and completed 17/27 pass attempts for complete 214 yards. They tossed three touchdown passes and didn’t throw any interceptions. The first half saw all three of Brady’s TD passes and it ended with the Patriots on top with 27-0.
In contrast to that, Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Jets quarterback had a sad day, and he just completed 8 out of 21 pass attempts for 136 yards. Two interceptions were thrown, and the game ended with a 21.2 QB rating.