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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DENVER (AP) -- Shrugging off their mounting injuries, the Denver
Broncos are becoming proficient as Patchwork Orange.
|  | | Brian Griese threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns in Denver's 44-10 rout of Cleveland on Sunday. |
Even with a sore throwing shoulder and a battered backfield
behind him, Brian Griese was too much for the Cleveland Browns,
passing for 336 yards and three touchdowns -- all to Rod Smith -- in
a 44-10 romp on Sunday.
Griese, who has torn cartilage in his shoulder and doesn't
practice on Wednesdays to ease strain on the joint, broke a 3-3 tie
with back-to-back TD passes to Smith in the second quarter.
Deltha O'Neal's 62-yard kickoff return set up Mike Anderson's
26-yard scoring burst midway through the third quarter, making it
27-10. Griese then hit Smith on a 32-yard scoring pass on fourth
down with 4:48 left in the period, helping the Broncos end a rare
two-game losing streak at home.
The Broncos (4-3) were without starting running back Terrell
Davis and fullback Howard Griffith, who were sidelined with ankle
and knee injuries, respectively. Griffith's backup, Detron Smith,
was limited to special-teams duty because of a leg injury, and
Anderson's backup, KaRon Coleman, was inactive because of a
sprained foot.
Still, the Broncos generated 499 yards compared to 278 for the
Browns (2-5), who dropped their fourth straight game.
"We went into the game with just one fullback, two running
backs and three wide receivers," coach Mike Shanahan said,
explaining the Broncos' decision to go with a one-back offense
without a fullback and using four tight ends. "Detron was beat up
from last week. If he goes down, obviously you have nowhere to
go."
Griese said the Broncos "didn't have a fullback, basically, so
it was a new offense for us."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Before this game, the Browns thought they had a realistic chance to get into
the playoffs as a wild card.
But they didn't exactly play like a playoff team in this one.
Cleveland couldn't even slow down Denver's offense (499 yards overall). Brian Griese came up with another
impressive performance (300-plus yards, three touchdowns).
Meanwhile, the Browns had trouble generating any kind of offense of their
own.
Denver's defense has been maligned in recent weeks, but it came to play
in this game. The Broncos put pressure on Tim Couch, sacking him five times
and forcing three interceptions.
Broncos rookie running back Mike
Anderson topped 100 yards again, but the story for Denver was Griese -- now the AFC's
top-rated passer -- plus big receiving days for Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith.
Cleveland seemed to be a step behind in this game, both offensively and
defensively.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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The Browns' decision to stack the line of scrimmage and force
Denver to throw backfired.
"I think this is the most aggressive that anyone has tried to
play us defensively," Griese said, "and we had to make them
pay."
Griese, the AFC's top-rated passer, completed 19 of 34 passes
with no interceptions before leaving the game with a 34-10 lead
late in the third quarter. Smith finished with five receptions for
111 yards.
Cleveland's Tim Couch was 24-for-40 for 266 yards with one
touchdown. The Broncos sacked him five times and intercepted three
of his passes, one of which was returned 36 yards for a TD by
Denver safety Billy Jenkins.
"I thought when we scored to make it 20-10, we would make it a
little bit of a game," Cleveland coach Chris Palmer said. "Then
they had the return past midfield, and that was demoralizing.
Griese threw the ball well, they ran it when they had to and they
blitzed us heavily."
In the first half alone, Griese threw for 304 yards as Denver
had 364 total yards in taking a 20-3 halftime lead.
On the game's second play from scrimmage, Ed McCaffrey turned a
short pass into a 61-yard jaunt, setting up Jason Elam's 22-yard
field goal.
Couch hooked up with tight end Aaron Shea on a 37-yard pass play
later in the quarter, but two holding penalties set the Browns back
and Phil Dawson kicked a 45-yard field goal.
After Elam, who aggravated a lower-back injury last week and did
limited kicking in practice, was wide on a 45-yard field goal
attempt early in the second quarter, Denver scored on three
straight possessions.
Griese hit McCaffrey on a 36-yard pass, setting up his 22-yard
scoring toss to Smith with 8:47 left in the half.
Tight end Desmond Clark caught three passes for 41 yards, and
Griese hit Smith again on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 4:29 to go.
Travis Prentice's 16-yard run helped move the Browns past
midfield, but Couch was intercepted by Jenkins at the Denver 21
with 1:45 left in the half. Despite having no timeouts left, the
Broncos went 53 yards in nine plays for Elam's 45-yard field goal.
Cleveland went 80 yards with the second-half kickoff for its
only TD. Couch passed 37 yards to Dennis Northcutt, setting up his
3-yard scoring toss to Prentice to cut the deficit to 20-10. Denver
then countered with two scores.
Game
notes
On Saturday, the Broncos signed placekicker Scott Bentley
because of Jason Elam's lingering back problems. Bentley handled
kickoffs only, and Elam kicked 3-of-4 field goals. ... Cleveland
receiver David Patten left the game in the second quarter with a
bruised left shoulder. He returned but left again in the third
quarter with a sprained right big toe. Defensive tackle Darius
Holland strained his left quadriceps, and receiver Darrin
Chiaverini has a knee injury. ... Denver linebacker Glenn Cadrez
twisted his back in the third quarter. O'Neal sprained his right
shoulder in the second quarter, but returned. ... The Broncos had a
100-yard rusher (Anderson), two 100-yard receivers (Smith,
McCaffrey) and a 300-yard passer for the second time in their
history. It also happened Oct. 17, 1999, against Green Bay.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Cleveland Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
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