Brian Hoyer is pretty excited to have given the Browns a much needed win over the Steelers this past weekend
The Cleveland Browns exorcised a few demons in their surprising start to the 2014 season when they beat division rival Pittsburgh Steelers for just the fourth time since 2000. It wasn’t just that the Browns beat the Steelers on this particular Sunday that was so satisfying for fans though — it was how the Browns beat them.
A 31-10 rout marked this Browns team not just as a punchy squad here and there. It put the Browns in legitimate talks for a playoff run. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. For now, quarterback Brian Hoyer and the rest of the team are just happy to have finally beaten a hated rival.
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“It was very cool,” Hoyer said via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “To beat those guys that way feels good. The last time the Browns beat the Steelers, I was the backup quarterback for the Steelers. Knowing what the situation was playing Pittsburgh at home, I knew the crowd would be crazy. They did a great job. Even when it was 31-3, they stayed in it and they deserve it.”
The Browns trailed 3-0 after the first quarter, but Hoyer and the offense got rolling in the second quarter, posting three touchdowns in ten minutes of play to take a 21-3 lead to half time. The Browns never looked back after Hoyer found Jordan Cameron for a 51-yard touchdown pass in that stretch.
“He made some big throws,” said Browns coach Mike Pettine. “I thought the touchdown to Jordan was outstanding. I don’t know if you can throw a better ball there. He handled it well. Then he handled, once we got the lead, just the huddle. That’s sometimes a difficult thing because when we’ve had some success with the no-huddle and then to kind of slow it down and take the air out of it a little bit – he did a real good job as far as managing that, the calls and the play clock.”
With Jacksonville, Oakland, and Tampa Bay next on Cleveland’s schedule, don’t put it past the Browns to put together a little winning streak and make some noise in the wide-open AFC.
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