Anderson Shines, Stafford Struggles In Browns 27-10 Win Over Lions

NFL News - August 24th, 2009 - Written by Bruce

Derek Anderson did his best to show new head coach Eric Mangini why he should be the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback this season. Anderson played well for the Browns leading them to a 27-10 win over the Detroit Lions. He out performed Brady Quinn who struggled to get anything going when he entered the game in the second quarter. The two are in the midst of battling for the Browns' starting quarterback position for the season opener. Anderson finished the game 8-13 for 130 yards and one interception. He led Cleveland to their first offensive touchdown in seven games. Quinn got off to a rough start when he was sacked on his very first play of the game. He finished the game only 3 of 5 for 29 yards. Joshua Cribbs added an 84 yard punt return for a touchdown for the Browns, while rookie running back James Davis added an 81 yard touchdown run of his own.

The Browns quarterback competition was not the only news to come out of Saturday's game against the Lions. In his first start for the Lions, first overall draft pick Matthew Stafford had a rough day which started with him throwing an interception on Detroit's first play. Stafford rolled out to his right trying to connect with WR Adam Jennings, but he never saw cornerback Eric Wright who stepped in front of the pass to make the interception. Stafford finished the game a disappointing 5 of 13 for 34 yards with the one interception. He is currently battling with Daunte Culpepper for the No. 1 quarterback position to start the season. Culpepper looked good completing 10 of his 16 passes for 86 yards. Detroit's only touchdown came in the third quarter when Drew Stanton completed a 20 yard touchdown pass to Carson Butler. The story was though was Matthew Stafford, who was unable to generate any points in the six drives which he led. The Lions rookie will be hoping to put this performance behind him, as he tries to win the starting quarterback job coming into the season.

After getting only five snaps in the team's first preseason game, Derek Anderson made the most of his opportunity when he got the chance to start against the Lions. He looked good in the pocket, showing off his strong arm connecting on some big completions. His only miscue in the game was a last second interception as the first half came to an end. Coming into Saturday's game, it looked as if Brady Quinn had a slight edge over Anderson for the starting job. With Anderson's solid play and Quinn's inability to generate any offense, the race may be even tighter now heading into the final few preseason games. Detroit's Matthew Stafford struggled with his accuracy, throwing behind some receivers while overthrowing others. Whether Stafford takes over as the Lions' starter before the season or not, Detroit is hopeful that they have found their franchise quarterback.

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