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CLEVELAND -- Brian Hoyer threw the game-clinching touchdown pass, turned and sprinted up the field as more than 70,000 fans roared. Cheap Jerseys From China . It was the same way he used to do it in his backyard as a boy, pretending to lead his beloved Browns to victory. On Sunday, he became a hometown hero for real. Hoyer, the local kid who grew up dreaming of one day being Clevelands quarterback, threw two touchdown passes in his first start at home to lead the revived Browns to a 17-6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Hoyer tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Chris Ogbonnaya with 4:54 left to give the Browns (2-2) an 11-point lead before Cleveland turned it over to its vastly improved defence to put the Bengals (2-2) away. Before the ball even dropped into Ogbonnayas hands, Hoyer took off running toward Clevelands helmet logo at the 50-yard-line with his index finger extended in the air. Once he neared mid-field, Hoyer stopped and pumped his fist in celebration as he did years ago after throwing a TD while playing with his brother and friends behind his familys home in North Olmsted, Ohio. "Its awesome," Hoyer. "Its cool to play in front of the hometown crowd in this stadium, where I grew up 15 minutes away from and obviously its a good day because the Tribe is winning, too." Not long after the Browns knocked off one of their division rivals, the Indians clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2007. Suddenly, Clevelands beleaguered sports teams are winning. In his second start in place of injured Brandon Weeden, Hoyer finished 25 of 38 for 269 yards and no interceptions. He threw a 2-yard TD pass in the first half to tight end Jordan Cameron, who had 10 catches for 91 yards. But for the second week in a row, he came through in the clutch. Last week, Hoyer threw a 7-yard TD pass to Cameron with 51 seconds left as the Browns rallied to stun the Minnesota Vikings. "Certainly hes been the spark that I had hoped for and has led us to two games -- winning two games," said first-year coach Rob Chudzinski, who also spent his childhood pulling for the Browns. The Bengals (2-2) couldnt get anything going on offence and quarterback Andy Dalton was intercepted by Buster Skrine with 3:43 left, ending any chance of a Cincinnati comeback. Cleveland limited the Bengals to 63 yards rushing and cornerback Joe Haden contained wide receiver A.J. Green. "We didnt make enough plays," said Dalton, who finished 23 of 42 for 206 yards. "I didnt play well enough. I expect better out of the offence. To not score a touchdown, weve got too good of players and too good of a team not to do that. We have all the ability in the world on this team and we didnt get it done." Hoyer began the season as Clevelands No. 3 quarterback. But after Weeden sprained his right thumb, Chudzinski tabbed Hoyer as his starter. Last week, Hoyer threw three touchdowns and three picks in the win at Minnesota. And although Weeden began throwing this week, hes not well enough to play. Now, he could be relegated to watching Hoyer for the rest of the season. Chudzinski would not commit to Hoyer starting on Thursday against Buffalo, but it would be stunning for there to be any other choice. "Im still going to go through the same process," Chudzinski said. "Were going to go in and evaluate the tape. I thought he (Hoyer) did a great job, particularly managing some of the things early. I think guys settled in, he settled in, made some great decisions and throws and made big plays." Clinging to a 10-6 lead, Hoyer drove the Browns 91 yards in 12 plays for the clinching score. Hoyer showed gorgeous touch on a 31-yard pass to Cameron to put the Browns at the Cincinnati 24. Willis McGahee, who promised a "dramatic" improvement in Clevelands running game this week, carried three times to the 1 and Hoyer took it from there, throwing his TD to Ogbonnaya. Even before Ogbonnaya crossed the goal line, Hoyer was overcome with emotion. "I was just telling Obie, by the time you caught it, I was at the 40," Hoyer said, smiling. "Its just good because you know youre capping off that long drive with a touchdown and thats what you need to win games." The Bengals were out of rhythm from the start on both sides of the ball. Cincinnati was missing two starters in its secondary -- cornerback Leon Hall and safety Reggie Nelson -- because of injury and the Bengals offence sputtered for all 60 minutes. Mike Nugents two field goals were all the Bengals could muster against Clevelands swarming defence. Green had seven catches for 51 mostly meaningless yards as Haden blanketed him all afternoon. It was a discouraging loss for the Bengals, who overcame four turnovers last week to beat Green Bay and wasted a chance to take early control in the AFC North. "It wasnt lack of effort," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Today we didnt play well enough to win. Its part of what weve got to do. Weve got to keep growing and win." NOTES: Hoyer is the first Browns quarterback to win his first two starts since Mark Rypien in 1994. ... Pro Bowl LT Joe Thomas made his 100th straight start, extending his consecutive snaps streak to 6,125, the NFLs longest active streak. Thomas has not missed an offensive play since he was drafted third overall in 2007. ... Browns K Billy Cundiff made a 51-yarder after missing from 37 and 49. He missed most of the week with a quadriceps injury. ... Camerons 30 receptions through four games are the most for a tight end in Browns history. ... Browns rookie LB Barkevious Mingo started in place of injured Jabaal Sheard and recorded his third sack in three games. Cheap Jerseys . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the unfortunate injury of Eric Bledsoe, the growth of Gordon Hayward, the future of LaMarcus Aldridge, David Lees rebounding ability and the suspension of Andre Miller. 1. ERIC BLEDSOE (Suns): What a shame. Another injury to a very good player. Hes played terrific ball for his team this year and the idea of playing two point guards together along with Goran Dragic worked out beautifully for their team. Tough road ahead for this squad without him. Hes the guy that sets the tone defensively for them and his toughness was impressive. The move to Phoenix was a perfect landing spot for him. Hopefully, he gets back sooner rather than later and in good health. 2. GORDON HAYWARD (Jazz): Did you see him the other night vs. OKC? Awesome. 37 pts, 11 rebounds and seven assists. A young player whose game and confidence has grown and, considering that he decided not to accept Utahs contract offer in the off season, it will be a very interesting and fruitful negotiation for him with his current employer and hell have lots of interest in the open market. 3. LA MARCUS ALDRIDGE (Blazers): His team has had a great run so far this season at 28-9 and now, for the first time, hes given indications that hed consider signing an extension to stay in Portland after expressing his frustration with playing there this past summer. What a diifference winning makes. Wholesale Jerseys. The addition of Robin Lopez has taken lots of interior heat off him and being surrounded by terrific 3-point shooting and a wonderful young lead guard in Damian Lillard has a way of opening your eyes to the fact that the grass isnt always greener. Awesome fan base and a market with a nice tradition. Good place to consider staying. 4. DAVID LEE (Warriors): This guy gets hammered a lot for his sketchy defence, and I understand it sometimes, but this guy can score and board effectively. Look at what hes done in the last 12 games while his team went 11-1. 22 points and 10 rebounds a night is impressive and Id say most teams could handle that from their power forward. Is he perfect? Far from it, yet hes better than most. I still think he contributes more to the winning than being the cause of the struggles. 5. ANDRE MILLER (Nuggets): Ive always been a huge fan of his game and quiet leadership. Hes been a very good pro and, in my opinion, could still start for a bunch of teams in the league. Unfortunate situation right now with his suspension in Denver. I like head coach Brian Shaw a whole lot and its a shame that it looks like hell be parting ways with the team at some point. If Im a team in need of a guy who will make all the smart plays and give you solid D as well, Im in the market for him, thats for sure. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
