Browns flog Chiefs 41-34 as tacklers take early holiday

The game was blacked out on local TV but the Chiefs and Browns played the most exciting and frustrating game of the season at Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs closed out their home schedule this year with a 41-34 loss.

Cleveland and KC traded field goals and turnovers in the first quarter, then the Browns Joshua Cribbs set an NFL record returning the kick off 100 yards for his 7th career return for TD.  Cleveland’s Phil Dawson then hit a 30 yard field goal for a 10 point Browns lead.

KC’s offense then came alive with Matt Cassell connecting with Chris Chambers on back to back plays, the first for 39 yards, the second a 9 yard scoring pass to make it 13-10.  Cassel had possibly his best day of the season, 22 of 40 for 331, 2 TD’s and no interceptions.

Next possession, running back Jamaal Charles bolted 47 yards through the Browns defense to put KC on top 17-13.  Kansas City made it a 21 point explosion when a bad snap from center went into the end zone and Andy Studebaker recovered to make it 24-13.

But Joshua Cribbs was a one man offense for Cleveland in the first half.  He brought back his second kickoff of the half, 103 yards and now 8th in his career and it was 24-20 KC at half.  Cribbs has 269 return yards at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Jerome Harrison took over the game and put Cleveland back on top 27-24 with a 71 yard touchdown run on a counter play right up the middle.  Dropped passes killed the Chiefs and Cassel in the second half with five in the third quarter alone.

A fourth and one conversion on a 13 yard sneak by QB Brady Quinn and then an 8 yard TD run by Harrison and the Browns were back up by 10 at 34-24.  Harrison would finish with 286 yards on the ground, a record against the Chiefs, third best in NFL history and nearly his season total.

Ryan Succop hit a short field goal tying Jan Stenerud’s Chiefs rookie record of 21 and KC was within 7 with 8 minutes to go.  After a missed 52 yard field goal by Cleveland, Matt Cassel overcame more dropped passes to drive the team 58 yards in 8 plays.

Cassel hit Leonard Pope in the end zone but he dropped it, the 8th drop of the game.  But on 4th and 6 from the 12, Mark Bradley held on to a pass for a touchdown to tie the game at 34 with 2:20 to go.  But the Chiefs defense continued to look like Swiss cheese.

The Browns took just a minute twenty to score as Jerome Harrison covered the last 28 yards of a 70 yard drive to give Cleveland a 41-34 lead.  KC drove to the Browns 26 but Cassel’s final pass to the end zone fell incomplete. 

Harrison finished with 286 yards on 34 carries, just 10 yards short of the NFL record. Cribbs had two kickoff returns and 307 return yards.  Jamaal Charles had 25 carries 154 yards for KC.  There were big plays everywhere, but no one can tackle from KC.  It's embarrassing.