Cleveland Edges Baltimore in OT

by Behbigben15

Well, since CBS was being stupid again, and refuses to air the Steelers/Jets game (the Steelers effin lost in OT, anyway), I had to settle with the CLE/BAL game today, which actually ended up being a pretty exciting game with a wacky finish, and the WAS/DAL game on FOX (noone likes you Joe Buck), which was also an exciting game as Dallas improved to 9-1. So, I wrote a recap of the CLE/BAL game, which I wrote DURING, not after the game.

Cleveland Edges Baltimore in OT

Baltimore once again struggles with Turnovers, as they are manhandled by their Division Rival Cleveland Browns earlier today. Before today, there was just one team who had more giveaways than Baltimore (Houston). The 4-6 Ravens fell to the 6-4 Cleveland Browns in a game that had a lopsided first-half with a close, bazarre ending.

Baltimore had a horrific first half, gaining just 38 Total Yards, and 2 FD's. Kyle Boller started for the banged up McNair, and was pressured all day be the Browns front seven, and by a few of the DB's, as well. Boller had just 1.3 yards per pass, and RB, Willis McGahee, averaged 3 yards per carry. Cleveland held the ball for two-thirds of the first half, and forced 3 TO's on the Ravens (2 fumbles, 1 INT). But, despite all of this, Baltimore trailed by just 6 at the half. Cleveland just could not capitalize off the Ravens' turnovers despite dominating in just about every category. What killed Cleveland in the first half was the penalties, Cleveland had 7 first-half penalties for 55 yards, compared to just 1 Baltimore penalty for 15 yards. The lone TD for Baltimore was on Derek Anderson's INT. Ray Lewis picked it off, and ran it back 35 yards for a TD to cut the Browns lead down to three halfway through the second QTR. Later in the QTR, with :29 left in the half, Baltimore faced a 4th and 10 from the Cleveland 34, and Baltimore decided to go for it, but Boller threw an incomplete pass intended for Devard Darling, and they went into the half down 6.

First-half stats:

Total Yards: CLE- 231, BAL- 38

Passing Yards: CLE- 151, BAL- 14

Pass Attempts: CLE- 21, BAL- 11

Yards/Pass: CLE- 7.2, BAL: 1.3

Rushing Yards: CLE- 80, BAL- 24

Rush Attempts: CLE- 21, BAL- 8

Yards/Rush: CLE- 3.8, BAL- 3.0

First Downs: CLE- 11, BAL- 2

3rd Down- CLE- 4/10, BAL- 0/5

Turnovers: CLE- 2, BAL- 3

Possession: CLE- 21:31, BAL- 8:29

Penalties: CLE- 7 (55 Yards), BAL- 1 (15 Yards)

Sacks: CLE- 2, BAL- 3

Kyle Boller came out in the second half on fire, as he lead Baltimore on a 75-yard scoring drive on 8 plays. Willis McGahee capped it off with a 2-yard run (his 5th of the season). And, with Matt Stover's XP, Baltimore took their first lead of the game, 14-13. Cleveland's first possession was unsuccessful, and Punter Dave Zastudil (a former Raven), punted it 32-yards to pin the Ravens inside their own 5-yard line. Where, Cleveland forces a 3 & out, and after a Sam Koch 32-yard punt, and a 26-yard return by returner Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland was in very good field position at the Ravens 11-yard line. Cleveland scored on 4 plays, after Derek Anderson jumps over the pile for a 1-yard TD run, and Cleveland re-took the lead, 20-14.

It looked like Baltimore was going to take the lead back, again, but then Boller was picked off by Safety Brodney Pool, who returned it 100-yards for a TD. Cleveland had a 27-14 lead at the end of the 3rd QTR. But, Baltimore scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth QTR, after Matt Stover made a 34-yard FG with 12 minutes left in the game to make it a 27-17 game. And, Baltimore's D toughened up, and stopped the Brown's offense on their next drive, and Stover made another FG (41-yarder), to make it a 27-20 game. And, once again, Baltimore stopped the Browns offense, who struggled in the second half for the second consecutive week. Boller lead yet another scoring drive, as he lead them 81 yards on just 4 plays which ate up 1:41. The drive was capped when Boller threw a 27-yard bomb to wideout Devard Darling, which tied the game up at 27 with 3 minutes remaining. Here is a fast fact about Darling: he had just 2 catches this season coming into the game, and that TD was his first career TD catch, and he is in his 4th season in the NFL. Okay, back to the game. Baltimore stopped Anderson, and the Browns offense for the third consecutive possession, and forced them to punt. So, with under 2 minutes remaining, Boller led Baltimore to their 3rd consecutive scoring drive (10 plays, 49 yards, in 1:23), which was capped by a 47-yard FG by Stover, which appeared to be the game-winner. BUT, it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings. And, it wasn't, Josh Cribbs, returned the Stover kickoff just past the CLE 40-yard line, and a few plays later, Phil Dawson attempted a potential game-tying 51-yard FG, which was VERY controversial. It hit off the left pos,t and then the inside of the crossbar, and bounced out as time expired. It was originally ruled NO GOOD, but the referee reviewed the play, and it was ruled

That was the wackiest end to a game I have possibly EVER seen.

So, regulation ended in a 30-30 tie, so, the Ravens players had to come back out of the lockerrom for OT. Cleveland got the ball first, and took no time driving dowfield. And, on a 3rd & 10 play, Anderson hooked up with Winslow for a 18-yard FD play to the BAL 30. two plays later, Cleveland got another first down after an Eric Wright 7-yard run. And, after 2 Jamal Lewis runs, a CLE timeout, Cleveland's Kicker, Phil Dawson, attempted a 33-yard FG which split the uprights for a Cleveland win in one of the wackiest endings i've have ever seen. Cleveland improves to 6-4, as Baltimore falls to 4-6. Cleveland prevents a second-consecutive second-half fall after losing to Pittsburgh 31-28 last week after having a 21-9 first-half lead.