Browns suffer 20-14 defeat

Cleveland blew a 14-3 halftime lead against Jacksonville.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- For the thousands of Valley viewers who couldn't watch Sunday's Browns-Jaguars game on television, here's a quick synopsis from Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel.
"We played a good first half and we didn't play a good second half," Crennel said. "As a result, we lost the game.
"There's not much more to say about it."
Trailing 14-3 at halftime, Jacksonville scored 17 points in the third quarter and stuffed the Browns offense the rest of the way to win its fifth straight game, dropping Cleveland 20-14.
Still, the Browns loss wasn't as discouraging as last week's defeat to the Vikings, if only because of rookie quarterback Charlie Frye.
First start stats
Frye, who was replacing injured starter Trent Dilfer, completed 13-of-20 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL start.
"One thing I did feel good about was that I kept my composure," said Frye, the team's third-round draft pick out of Akron. "You have to learn something every day. I am going to take something from this game and hopefully it will help me in the future."
Of course, it wouldn't be the Browns if the silver lining didn't also have a dark cloud. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards, the team's first round pick, injured his knee with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and had to be helped off the field.
Awaiting test results
The team didn't know the extent of the injury but it didn't look good. Edwards landed awkwardly on the play and was in noticeable pain as he was carted into the locker room.
"He'll be missed if he can't play," Frye said.
Jaguars quarterback David Garrard filled in capably for injured starter Byron Leftwich, who will miss at least a month after breaking his ankle last week against Arizona. Garrard completed 11-of-20 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns but made the game's biggest play with his feet.
On a third-and-19 with 2:09 to go in the game, Garrard scrambled for 28 yards to the Browns' 37-yard line, allowing the Jaguars to run out the clock.
"The run at the end was big," said Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. "It looked like we were going to have to punt and play defense and then David took off and iced the game."
Dropped passes
Garrard could have had two more touchdown passes but wide receiver Ernest Wilford dropped catchable balls in the end zone in the first and third quarters, keeping the Browns in the game.
Frye hooked up with Edwards for both of his touchdown passes in the first half. The first one came early in the second quarter when the Jaguars jumped offsides on defense, giving Frye a free play. Frye rolled right and lofted a pass to Edwards, who came down with the ball despite triple coverage from defensive backs Deon Grant, Rashean Mathis and Deke Cooper.
"I knew where [Edwards] would be and I know what his vertical jump is," Frye said, smiling.
Droughns over 1,000 yards
The second came on a 17-yard pass with 44 seconds remaining in the first half, giving the Browns a 14-3 lead. One play earlier, running back Reuben Droughns became the first Browns running back since 1985 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
"I think there's a time and place to express frustration and anger, which I did early in the halftime," Del Rio said. "The coaches made adjustments and the players rallied with purpose and determination and played much better."
One of the adjustments was to put more pressure on Frye. He was sacked on three straight pass attempts (stretching over two series) midway through the third quarter as the Jaguars brought the blitz and did a good job covering his hot reads.
Frye threw for 180 yards in the first half, but was just 5-of-9 for 46 yards in the second half. Perhaps wanting to avoid a quarterback controversy, Crennel downplayed Frye's performance and hinted that if Dilfer's knee injury improves, Dilfer would get the start next Sunday against the Bengals.
"In the first half he did good and in the second half he struggled," Crennel said of Frye. "He's a rookie and he made some rookie mistakes. That's what rookies do; they look good on one play and the next play they're not so good."
scalzo@vindy.com