It’s very scary to be a Browns quarterback right now
There’s a reason a sling, bandages and a football jersey make a good Halloween costume for fans who want to dress as a Cleveland Browns quarterback.
Injuries at the sport’s most important position have crippled the Browns this season, and the trend continued when quarterback Cody Kessler was knocked out of their 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
Fellow rookie Kevin Hogan filled in at quarterback for the Browns after Kessler suffered a concussion in the second quarter.
Hogan, who spent the first five weeks of the season on the practice squad, became the sixth Browns player to appear at quarterback this season, including wide receiver Terrelle Pryor.
“Quarterbacks only have so many hits in them,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “It’s unfortunate. On we go.”
According to Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time a team in a non-strike year has had six players throw a pass in the first seven games since Tampa Bay in 1976. The Buccaneers went 0-14 that year, and the Browns remain on a pathetic path of their own.
They are 0-7 for the first time since they began the 1999 season with the same record. They were an expansion team then and finished 2-14, the worst record in franchise history.
The Browns have lost their past 10 games and 17 of the past 18 dating to the 2015 season. They haven’t won since Dec. 13.
Dolphins
Apparently all Miami needed to do this season was give the ball to running back Jay Ajayi and get out of the way. Ajayi, a 2015 fifthround pick from Boise State, rushed for a career-best 214 yards against visiting Buffalo to lead the resurgent Dolphins to a 28-25 victory. Ajayi, who had a then career-best 204 yards rushing against the Steelers last week in a 30-15 victory, became only the fourth player in NFL history to rush for 200 or more yards in consecutive games. Ajayi joins O.J. Simpson (1973 and 1976), Earl Campbell (1980) and Ricky Williams (2002) on that select list.
Vikings
Carson Wentz outplayed Sam Bradford as Philadelphia beat visiting Minnesota, 21-10, handing the Vikings their first loss of the season. The rested Vikings hardly looked like an unbeaten team after having a bye. “I thought we played embarrassing in two phases,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “I’m very disappointed in the performance.”
Jaguars
Jacksonville dropped a third game in a row at EverBank Field and added even more speculation about the future of coach Gus Bradley. The Jaguars fell to 14-40 in Bradley’s four seasons, and the latest loss was filled with poor execution and a lack of discipline down the stretch. The Jaguars finished with 13 penalties for 122 yards and had two players ejected. “Fans don’t want to see that, you guys don’t want to see that and we don’t want to be a part of it.” veteran linebacker Paul Posluszny said after the loss.
Colts
Kicker Adam Vinatieri made two field goals against Tennessee extending his streak without a miss to 43 for an NFL record. He tied former Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt (42 made between 2002 and 2004) with a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter. Vinatieri broke the record with a 33-yarder in the third quarter.
Jets
Ryan Fitzpatrick thought his New York career was probably over. He lost his starting job to Geno Smith after a disastrous start to the season. And there was no reason to think Fitzpatrick, 33, would get it back. But Sunday, Smith was injured and it was Fitzpatrick who helped his team to its first win in more than a month.
Chiefs
Coach Andy Reid coached his 300th game Sunday. Most of those were over his 14 seasons in Philadelphia, where he was 140-102-1. He now is 3621 in his fourth season in Kansas City.