Former Red Cleveland Browns’ defense falls flat vs. Houston Texans player Adrián Beltré elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Former Red Sox shortstop Adrian BeltreThe Cleveland Browns defense collapsed against the Houston Texans.
The Browns quarterback sat quietly in the visitors’ locker room, playing to coordinator Jim Schwartz’ yearlong mantra of “effort, composure and meanness.” The Browns’ No. 1 defense played their worst game of the year in their biggest game of the year.
Cleveland’s vaunted passing offense, led by the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, was held to one quarterback run and no runs against Houston’s rookie. Cleveland’s stout middle allowed Houston’s receivers the freedom to make big plays, reminiscent of the mistakes that plagued the team last season. And Cleveland’s previously strong and accurate defenders continued to notice the actions of Houston’s ball carriers.
“We picked a bad day and had a bad day,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “It’s just sad.”
Did they do that? And it was. The upstart Texans advanced to the wild-card round on Saturday with a 45-14 victory over the Browns, a humiliating loss that could have been worse. A Houston tight end caught a fumble on downs early in the drive, and had Stroud not left a zone pass wide open in the second quarter, Texas would have had a chance to put up 60 points. . “We didn’t come,” the Pro Bowl cornerback said, “we should have come, but we didn’t.”
Entering the playoffs, the Browns looked like they had the ability to make a deep run. Cleveland’s defense has been a top priority in the postseason. The Browns shut down a top offense in October. He probably would have won the MVP in November. And in December, they advanced to the playoffs with a stunning performance.
But when it really mattered in January, Cleveland’s defense faltered. Stroud completed 16 of 21 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns before the game-tying interception early in the fourth quarter.
The Browns defense gave up 286 yards in the first half, including Brevin Jordan’s 76-yard catch an ind run. Photo: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire
Browns quarterback Joe Flacco’s string of six touchdowns ended any hope of another comeback in Cleveland. But Stroud primed the Browns defense long before that. The Texans’ 24 points in the first half were the most the Browns defense has given up this year. Houston’s 286 yards were the most yards allowed by Cleveland in the first half of the season. “They beat us up,” Dalvin Tomlinson said. “I never thought I’d say that. “We didn’t play football at our level.”
Houston found Cleveland’s weaknesses early and often. They isolated the 6-foot-2 Collins from Newsome for a 38-yard completion that set up their first field goal. The Texans later picked off rookie safety Ronnie Hickman, who failed to connect with Schultz on an easy 37-yard pass. Houston benefited from the offensive play of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoa, the only Cleveland player to do his best on both sides of the ball, making four tackles. In the first quarter, the Texans threw a fake to the right, bringing down Owusu-Koramoah and other Cleveland defenders. That opened up a reverse screen for Collins, who went on to score Houston’s first touchdown. On the first play of Houston’s next possession, Stroud punted. Instead of sticking with Brevin Jordan, who looked like he would block the play, Owusu-Koramoa went after Stroud with defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo. Stroud threw the ball to an open Jordan, and cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. caught it. They ran for a 76-yard field goal. The Texans took a 17-14 lead and never relinquished it. Well, make sure we don’t do anything. Or it doesn’t make us do anything.”
The Browns couldn’t do much against the youngest quarterback (22 years, 102 days) to win a playoff game in the Super Bowl era. The Browns didn’t carry their woes into the postseason and didn’t show up when it mattered most. “It’s really amazing,” Newsom said. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Adrian Beltre is currently a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Beltre, 44, received 95.1 percent of the vote in his first year on the Baseball Writers Association Hall of Fame ballot, well above the 75 percent required for induction. The third baseman played one of 21 major league seasons with the Red Sox after signing a one-year, $9 million contract with Boston in January 2010.
Beltre had one of the best seasons of his career in 2010, hitting a team-high .321 with the Red Sox and hitting career highs with 49 doubles, 28 home runs, 102 runs scored and 84 RBIs. runs. He finished ninth in American League MVP voting and signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the Texas Rangers in January 2011.
A four-time All-Star, he won five Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Slugger Awards. He ranks second all-time by a third baseman with 2,759 games, 9th (11,068 at bats), 11th (636 doubles), 15th (5,309 total bases, 1,151 extra-base hits ), 18th (3,166 hits), 125 RBI, and 477 home runs. It ranked 31st. – what the.
Beltre is also one of 12 players in history to have 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. Boston Red Sox’s Adrian Beltre hits a two-run double in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on June 18, 2010.
He played the last eight MLB seasons with the Rangers. He also played in the major leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and the Seattle Mariners (2005-2009).
Beltre is now the fifth Dominican player to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Red Sox legends Pedro Martinez (Class of 2015) and David Ortiz (Class of 2022). 2004 American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero (Class of 2018); and 10-time All-Star pitcher Juan Marichal (cl
ass of 1983).
