When the Cleveland Browns dominated the Patriots last Sunday, a modest stat line and an outstanding performance by Peyton Hillis overshadowed what was a very good game from Colt McCoy. After leading the Browns to a 4th quarter comeback that the Browns should have won on Sunday, McCoy should get plenty of credit this week.
I think we can officially say McCoy became a man today. His first four NFL starts have been against the Steelers, Saints, Patriots, and Jets. He’s won two of them and should have won a third. Peyton Manning would be pleased with that result. The Browns have played excellent team football over that stretch and Eric Mangini has out-coached the opposition for the most part. On Sunday, it was McCoy’s composure down the stretch that put Cleveland in a position to win.
With his team trailing 20-13 and staring one of the toughest defenses in the NFL in his face, McCoy ran the two-minute drill to perfection and capped a terrific drive off with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi to send the game to overtime.
Cleveland’s defense came out and forced a punt right away in OT and McCoy was again able to lead an impressive drive that should have given the Browns a shot at a game-winning field goal. After making a big play on third down to get past the sticks and just about into field goal range, Chansi Stuckey coughed the ball up fighting for extra yardage near the sideline. The Jets recovered the fumble and drove down the field, but Nick Folk missed a 47-yard field goal to keep the Browns alive.
After a back-and-forth affair throughout the entire overtime period, it looked like we may have ended up with our first tie of 2010. The Browns were forced to punt the ball to the Jets from their own end zone, giving New York good field position with only 24 seconds remaining. A defensive breakdown for Cleveland resulted in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to Santonio Holmes and the Jets won the game.
Hats off to Sanchez and the Jets for grinding out the win, but McCoy should get plenty of credit for growing up during this game. If not for the Stuckey fumble, the Browns would be one of the hottest teams in football.
