FirstEnergy Stadium - Cleveland, OH
| Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns | |||||
| Dec 7, 2014 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Indianapolis Colts (8-5, 4-2 Away) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 25 |
| Cleveland Browns (7-6, 3-4 Home) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 297YDS, 3TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 16CAR, 86YDS
Receiving : D. Allen (IND) - 7REC, 65YDS
CLEVELAND - Today's game would have playoff implications, with the loser ending up on the outside looking in, but the media coverage would be overwhelmed by another story. With Brian Hoyer out after injuring his shoulder Johnny Manziel would get to start, and the Cleveland fans would go crazy.
Even with all of the attention on Manziel, the real story was the Browns defense. Mike Pettine nearly put on a master class, constantly frustrating the Colts and keeping Dwayne Allen at bay. Andrew Luck is already familiar with teams trying to stop Allen, the NFL's leading reciever, but today it really worked. Joe Haden, the Browns' celebrated CB, was particularly good today and starting things off with a 1st quarter INT.
Manziel would be a pain on the ground, but not much of a threat passing.
The Cleveland defense was able to clamp down on TY Hilton, Reggie Wayne, and Allen, but the Colts have more weapons up their sleeve. The Browns' defensive plans left Coby Fleener an opening to shine, and he burned man coverage for the Colts' first TD of the game.
Cleveland would answer back, but with Indianapolis driving it would be their defense that would step up. Justin Gilbert, the Browns' 1st round draft pick, would pick off Luck with less than 0:30 to go in the 2nd quarter and keep Cleveland in the game.
Thing really picked up in the second half when the Colts defensive issues reared it's ugly head. After gaining a measly 9 yards on 10 carries Isiah Crowell would rumble for 63 yards down to the 1. A short Manziel TD run later and Chuck Pagano became furious on the sidelines. A shouting match between Pagano and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky would ensue, but luckily a Wayne TD would tie the game again.
The Browns did not have an answer for Fleener at times.
The teams would swap TD passes again in the 4th, but this time the Colts would go for 2 and make it 22-21 to hold a slim lead. Manziel would lead a promising drive, but a 7 yard completion on 4th & 9 would give Indianapolis the ball back. The Browns defense would be solid again, stalling the Colts, but Adam Vinatieri would hit a 22 yard FG which would prove to be the final blow.
Now at 8-5, the Colts have passed Cleveland and host the Texans in week 15. Indianapolis controls it's destiny at this point, a victory over Houston would give them a leg up in the division and put them on track to a playoff spot.
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