Joshua Cribbs will sleep well tonight.
Eric Mangini will probably sleep a little better than he
did a week ago, too.
With the do-it-all Cribbs doing a little bit of
everything, the Browns jumped all over the Lions early Saturday night. It wasn't
all smooth sailing from there, but the Browns were much better than they were
last week and much better than the Lions for most of the night in what became a
27-10 victory.
The Browns opened the game with a seven-play, 74-yard
scoring drive and got their first points of the preseason when Jamal Lewis
scored from 4 yards out to cap the opening drive. James Davis took off an
81-yard touchdown sprint late in the third quarter to complete the scoring.
Cribbs finished with 135 all-purpose yards. That doesn't
include his 95-yard, game-opening kick return that was called back by penalty.
And all of those came in the first quarter.
"You obviously appreciate what he can do," Mangini said.
"Those are huge momentum plays."
It was 20-0 after that first quarter. The Lions didn't
get a first down until almost 12 minutes had elapsed and didn't score until the
final play of the first half when a William James interception off a deflection
set up Swayze Harris' 51-yard field goal.
The Browns still had more penalties (11 for 85 yards)
than Mangini wished to see, and the turnover was the only reason the Lions were
able to get on the first-half scoreboard. But the coach saw progress.
"It was nice to get the win, and it was nice to see the
potential we have if these guys are able to play good, solid, disciplined and
complementary football," Mangini said. "We left some plays out there, and those
things have to be corrected."
Derek Anderson started and went 6-of-9 for 119 yards in
the first quarter including completions of 39 yards to Braylon Edwards, 24 yards
to Mohamed Massaquoi and 20 to Cribbs. He finished 8-of-13 for 130 yards and was
intercepted by William James in the closing seconds of the first half on a pass
that went off Davis' hands and led to the field goal that provided the Lions'
first points.
"There are a couple throws I wish I had back," Anderson
said. "I have to give J.D. a better ball there.
"Overall I thought things went well. I got in a little
rhythm and we got a little sweat going out there. Guys caught the ball well. I
felt good."
Davis woke the Browns from a third-quarter lull when he
found a little room off left tackle, made two Lions miss and took off up the
sideline for a first professional score he won't forget.
"I was just looking for flags," Davis said. "When the
guys came down and celebrated, I figured there weren't any. It was a good way to
keep things going."
Both teams are now 1-1 in the preseason.
Eric Wright intercepted Matthew Stafford on the Lions'
first play from scrimmage and returned it to the 5-yard line, but the Browns
started from the 20 after Wright was penalized for excessive celebration and
ended up settling for a Phil Dawson field goal.
Brady Quinn went 3-of-5 for 29 yards in the second
quarter. Lewis finished with 23 yards on 7 carries.
Davis led all rushers with 12 carries for 116 yards.
It was an encouraging night for the Browns' defense as
well. The Lions got only 113 yards of total offense in the first half and went
3-of-9 on third down during that time.
For the game, the Browns outrushed the Lions, 194-102,
and won the total yardage battle, 348-288.
"I liked what I saw from the run defense," Mangini said.
"They had some plays where I thought they piled up more yardage than they should
have but if we play team defense I think we can cut those down."