BROWNS GET A WIN
Cleveland Browns running back Chris Ogbonnaya (25) leaves Jacksonville Jaguars DT Tyson Alualu (93) in the dust as he breaks a tackle during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s NFL game in Cleveland. Ogbonnaya rushed for 115 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown in the Browns’ 14-10 win over the Jaguars.
Goal-line stand secures victory over Jacksonville
By Tony Grossi
Cleveland Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND
Playing catastrophe-free football for the first time in a month, the Browns restored some faith in themselves Sunday by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 14-10. They did it with a goal-line defensive stand at the end when the Jaguars were denied on four plays inside the 5.
They did it with a redemptive touchdown drive in the fourth quarter by Colt McCoy after he threw an interception at the Jacksonville 3.
They did it with monster second-half rushing by Chris Ogbonnaya, who had 98 yards after halftime and 115 for the game.
They did it with a replay review that was fuzzy enough to cast doubt on whether a tipped pass should undo a Jacksonville pass interference in the end zone, which set up Ogbonnaya’s first career TD run from a yard out.
And, yes, they did it with a questionable decision by the Jaguars to put the ball in the hands of scatter-armed rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert on the final two plays from the 1 rather than give it to Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
“Our offensive coordinator calls the plays,” Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio said, throwing Dirk Koetter under the bus. “I can’t speak to his thinking.”
Gabbert, the league’s only starting quarterback completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes, had moved his team from his 29 to the Browns’ 5 after the two-minute warning.
On first down from the 2, Jones-Drew dived ahead for 1 yard. Del Rio used his third timeout with eight seconds left. A failed run there would have secured the loss. So Gabbert threw for Jason Hill in the right corner. Joe Haden was beat, but he closed and slapped at Hill’s hands to break it up.
“He walked off like it was a run play, then next thing you know he just pushed and went to the corner,” Haden said. “So I just chased him and wasn’t in good enough position to look back for the ball, so as soon as it touched his hands I made sure I hit his hands to knock it out.”
So it came down to one play from the 1 with three seconds left. A handoff to Jones-Drew was on the minds of most in the half-empty Cleveland Browns Stadium. Defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin said he was mindful of a keeper run by Gabbert. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was thinking a play-action pass.
Under center, Gabbert dropped back and looked again toward Hill in the right corner. His second read took him to Mike Thomas, his team’s leading receiver, crossing to the middle of the end zone. Thomas had a small edge on Jackson, covering the middle, but Gabbert’s throw sailed high and wide, slightly behind the receiver.
“I anticipated the route he was running, but it was tough route to cover because the guy works away from you,” Jackson said. “I saw his hands went up, my hands went up. I didn’t even see the ball.”
Jackson added, “About time some things swing in our favor.”
Like earlier in the fourth quarter, when Gabbert missed Hill wide open in the left corner of the end zone after Sheldon Brown slipped and fell at the line of scrimmage. Gabbert’s throw sailed out of the end zone. Jacksonville was forced to settle for a field goal.