In Week 9 the Cleveland Browns returned home to host the Buffalo Bills. Now I love the Bills and everything they have to offer, and on previous Madden games they were always my go to team in franchise modes. However, this is Knock Hards and I am only allowed to love one team during this season, and that’s obviously the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns started the game on offense, and ended up attempting a 52 yard field goal on the first drive. There was no wind, and the kick accuracy was spot on, however kicker Austin Seibert did not get enough power on it and the ball ended up hitting the crossbar of the field goal post. All that hard work for nothing, thanks Austin.
After the missed field goal, both teams were struggling to get their offense going. Both teams threw an interception, and the Browns ended up finding their rhythm in the second quarter. Cleveland went into half time leading by a score of 14-3.
The rest of the game was all about running back Nick Chubb and the Browns defense. At first Chubb struggled to gain yards, but even while he struggled he managed to roll into the end zone for a touchdown.
Chubb eventually found the end zone two more times finishing the game with 105 yards and 3 touchdowns. His success was much needed, since Kareem Hunt’s departure. This performance proved to Browns fans everywhere that he is the go to man in the back field.
As for the other side of things, I’m not sure if the Bills offense struggled or if the Browns defense was that good. The Browns defense held the Bills offense to a total of 58 rushing yards, very impressive compared to previous games this season. In addition to shutting down the Bills rushing game, the Browns defense forced 3 turnovers during the game (2 INTs, 1 Fumble).
Week 9 was a dominant week for the Browns defense, and as General Manager I’d say the final score was 28-3. However the official box score says 28-9, I got ripped off IMO. I believe I got ripped off because the Bills did not actually score a touchdown, but the play was reviewed and over turned giving them 6 petty points.
You can clearly see the receiver did not have full control of the ball in the end zone. When he pulls the ball in, he is wrapped up before the goal line and even ends up a few yards short of the goal line after being tackled. Every NFL game has some sort of drama, and I think the refs just wanted some Buffalo fans to be happy about this call.
The Browns were able to overcome this phantom touchdown, and now are on a 2 game winning streak heading into Week 10 (Now 4-5). Next week’s match up will be an interesting one as the Browns battle AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-7) and Kareem Hunt.
thoughtsfromthebench.com 