Whilst this game wouldn’t receive much attention on the weekly highlight packages, a tightly-contested and physical AFC encounter was the reward for anyone who took the time to watch it. At stake: the chance for both teams to improve to 4-6 and keep their faint playoff hopes alive. It came down to the final play, but the Browns completed a goal line stand to win 14-10.
Unfortunately for the Browns, they’ve already been through the easiest part of their schedule, so the chances of them pulling themselves back into the race seem slim. Had Jacksonville won, they might have fancied their chances of catching the Texans with Matt Schaub out but, from now on, their focus should probably be on next season.
In a game as tight as this, every play counts. Having looked at every play, let’s see whose performances had the most impact:
Jacksonville – Three Performances of Note
Daaaryl!
Four days after we highlighted him in “Stories of the Season”, how did PFF’s third-ranked 4-3 outside linebacker Daryl Smith (-2.7) respond? With his worst game of the season by some margin! It was mostly in the running game where he struggled, with two uncharacteristic missed tackles contributing to his team worst -1.9 rating, although he also failed to record any pressure in nine pass rush attempts. Smith had one positively-graded play against the run, where he was unblocked and stopped a run for no gain, but otherwise struggled to avoid and get off blocks more than usual. Independent analysis will have to be undertaken to investigate whether there could be a “Stories of the Season” Curse to rival the Madden Curse.
Back to the Rack
Last week, our last-ranked guard, rookie Will Rackley (-5.9) looked to have turned the corner, as he posted a 0.0 grade, after having been -1.5 or worse in every other game. Unfortunately, he followed that performance up with his worst rating of the season. One series midway through the second quarter summed up his day, as he let Scott Paxson beat him on the outside to stuff a run on second down and then Ahtyba Rubin – who he struggled against all day – beat him to pressure Blaine Gabbert into an incompletion on third down. In all, Rackley gave up six pressures and was penalized once. The good news? David Diehl of the Giants was even worse this week and his –9.8 grade against the Eagles has lifted Rackley off the bottom of our rankings.
Mojo No Go?
Although his 87 rushing yards were well below his average for the season, Maurice Jones-Drew (+2.3) is still clearly the most dangerous component of the Jaguars offense, as evidenced by his driving touchdown run in the first half. Why, then, did the Jaguars choose to throw the ball twice from the 1-yard-line at the end of the game? Jones-Drew’s 1.8 yards per carry after contact were actually a season-low, but he still broke six tackles overall for an Elusive Rating of 42.3, good for fifth best in the league this week. He also caught all four passes thrown his way, for 31 yards, and didn’t give up any pressure as a pass blocker in another well-rounded performance.
Cleveland – Three Performances of Note
Haden Bad Day?
After a great start to the season, Joe Haden (-0.7) has fallen back slightly over the past few weeks. Although he had a negative grade here, he did just enough to force an incompletion on a pass intended for Jason Hill on the penultimate play of the game that went a long way towards clinching the Browns’ win. Haden was targeted ten times and did end up with a positive grade in coverage (+1.3) despite giving up more yards (73) than in any other game this year. His negative grade was mainly due to his two penalties, although he did give up a 19-yard pass play to Jarrett Dillard and a 28-yarder to Hill. Haden remains fifth in our cornerback ratings in terms of coverage grade, but his six penalties – tied for seventh in the league – have hurt his overall standing.
Ogbonnaya: He’s On Fire!
A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about Chris Ogbonnaya (+0.6) that “…after watching him the past two weeks there’s one thing he isn’t, and that’s a decent starter for an NFL team at RB.” All of a sudden, Ogbonnaya – who had 115 yards rushing and one touchdown – has started to look the part. It wasn’t the best performance you’ll ever see, but after a slow start – he only gained 16 yards on his first eight carries – he showed good burst and vision as the game went on, breaking a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter to reach the 100-yard threshold for the first time. He did give up a sack in pass protection and graded out negatively as a pass catcher, but at least he’s starting to prove that our initial assessment of him was premature.
In the Pink
Unlike his counterpart on the Jaguars, left guard Jason Pinkston (+1.4) actually does seem to have turned a bit of a corner. Pinkston had a negative grade in every game until last week but, on Sunday, posted his second consecutive solid performance. He pulled left to cut block Paul Posluszny on Ogbonnaya’s touchdown run and only gave up one pressure in pass protection – a season low. It’s good to see the Browns start to get some positive returns having persevered with the rookie even though he was struggling.
Game Notes
– It’s easy to tell who the rookie is between Gabbert (-1.8) and Colt McCoy (+3.6). McCoy was 5-for-7 on passes beyond 10 yards, whereas Gabbert was 5-for-17. Gabbert also completed just one of 13 passes when blitzed, regardless of whether any pressure was generated.
– Nobody on Jacksonville’s defense posted a higher overall grade than +0.2.
– The seven catches for Marcedes Lewis (+1.7) were three more than his season high, but the 2010 Pro Bowler still doesn’t have a touchdown, after having 10 last year.
PFF Game Ball
After such a tight struggle, you have to reward somebody on the defensive side of the ball and Ahtyba Rubin was a disruptive force for Cleveland, recording four pressures and two stops in a workmanlike 67 snaps.
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