Sloppy conditions, play drown Browns

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Jake Delhomme passed the rain test. The one in snow will come later.

Making his home debut in Cleveland’s unpredictable lakefront weather, Delhomme was accurate and efficient playing in a steady first-half downpour, throwing one touchdown pass in the Browns’ 19-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Saturday night.

Delhomme tossed a 9-yard TD pass to tight end Benjamin Watson, who made a one-handed grab at the back of the end zone in the second quarter. Delhomme finished 12 of 16 for 127 yards before he was replaced in the second half by Seneca Wallace, who connected for a 15-yard TD with Joshua Cribbs to give Cleveland a 17-13 lead in the third.

Josh Brown’s fourth field goal, a 28-yarder with 3:33 left, won it for St. Louis (1-1).

Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford had his second straight shaky outing. The No. 1 overall draft pick, Bradford, expected to start for this season, went 6 of 14 for 24 yards coming off the bench behind A.J. Feeley. Bradford wasn’t sacked after being dropped behind the line four times last week.

Feeley sustained a thumb injury, but threw a TD pass before leaving.

St. Louis running back Steven Jackson had four carries for 20 yards in his first game since undergoing back surgery in April.

The Browns (1-1) signed Delhomme as a free agent in March to settle their messy quarterback situation. And to this point, the 35-year-old veteran appears to be the perfect man for the job. In his first two exhibition games, Delhomme is 18 of 23 for 193 yards with no interceptions — an impressive QB rating of 116.1.

Delhomme was missing one of his main targets as starting wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi didn’t dress because of a strained hamstring sustained last week in Green Bay. Massaquoi only practiced once all week, and the Browns said he would have played if it was a regular-season game.

Delhomme threw primarily short passes, but he moved the ball up and down the field, something Cleveland struggled to do last season when Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson took turns as the starter.

It didn’t start well for Delhomme, who fumbled and recovered the game’s first snap. But he collected himself and showed poise and precision in tough, wet conditions. His TD pass was initially ruled incomplete, but coach Eric Mangini challenged the call and it was overturned by replay.

The Rams (0-2) managed 178 total yards, one week after gaining only 150 in a loss to Minnesota. But they got their first look at Jackson, their dreadlocked star who powered up the middle for 11 yards on his first touch. St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo is being cautious with his top player, who spent part of his offseason diving with sharks off the South African coast.

Feeley was visibly hurt, but stayed in the game after injuring his thumb and threw a 9-yard TD pass to tight end Daniel Fells on St. Louis’ opening drive to make it 7-0.

On a third-down play, Feeley was hit by blitzing Browns linebacker Chris Gocong. Feeley may have banged his thumb on Gocong’s helmet. He grabbed his right hand and appeared ready to leave the field, but stuck it out and threw a 9-yard TD pass to tight end Daniel Fells, giving the Rams a 7-0 lead.

Feeley was examined by trainers on the sideline and taken to the locker room for evaluation.

Bradford came in on the Rams’ next series after a turnover, but moved the team only nine yards in six plays as the Rams had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Josh Brown, who also made kicks of 39 and 21.

Browns rookie QB Colt McCoy didn’t complete a pass during his two, three-and-out series in the fourth.