CLEVELAND – The play never had a chance, and either did the Browns quarterback.
Browns quarterback Cody Kessler went back to pass deep in his own territory, and Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower came bearing down on him, slamming into the rookie quarterback.
The play ended up in resulting in a New England safety, not that would likely have mattered in the Pats 20-point win over the Browns, but the it also knocked out Kessler, already the third Browns QB to go down this season with an injury.
The young QB was looking good when he was knocked out, going 5-for-8 for 62 yards, and he had thrown a touchdown pass to Andrew Hawkins to at the time tie the game at seven.
Sadly though, his day ended way too soon due to a play that coach Hue Jackson took responsibility for.
“It is not on the players. It is on me,” Jackson said after the 33-13 loss about that specific play.
“I would not have called it. That is it. Don’t call the play. They had the right defense on at the right time. They won that battle.”
Noe only did New England win that battle, it also led to yet another injury to a Browns quarterback. X-rays came back negative which was good news, but Kessler did leave the game with with chest and rib injuries.
It could have been worse.
“When I landed, I heard something weird and I thought it was my shoulder at first so I didn’t want to move, but luckily, it is not my shoulder,” Kessler said after the game.
Kessler, showing that toughness that has endured him to Browns fans just three games into his career, wanted to come back into the game, but trainers thought better of the situation.
“I wanted to, I tried, but there is a point where you have to be smart,” Kessler said.
“It hurt. I hate leaving guys like that. I hate coming out. It hurt me as a person. It is unfortunate, but that is just the game.”
Charlie Whitehurst came in for Kessler, but did little damage to the Patriots defense, and scored a lone garbage time touchdown for the Browns, who fell to 0-5 with the loss.
The only NFL team without a win at this point.
For Kessler, he’s hoping that he’ll be ready to try to take the field next Sunday in Tennessee against a Titans team that beat the Dolphins on the road by 13 Sunday.
He’s not a guy that likes to watch, and you can be he’ll do whatever he can to get on the field next week until told otherwise.
“We were moving the ball well and the play calling was great,” Kessler said of Sunday.
“We were getting really in a good rhythm, and that is just from the last few weeks, too. I just continue to get more and more comfortable with the more playing time I get. Like I said, it is just unfortunate, and it hurt me to come out.”
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