CLEVELAND - No one in the Browns' locker room dared say that the lengthy quarterback competition proved detrimental to the offense in a 34-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday.
Brady Quinn was awarded the job last week, giving him only one week to work full time with the first-team offense. There were times when the passing game was out of sync, particularly on deep routes by receiver Braylon Edwards.
Quinn consistently said during training camp that not knowing whether Derek Anderson or he would be the starter wasn't a problem. He wavered a bit on that opinion after the loss to the Vikings.
"It can be a tough deal at times, but I think our team did a great job of handling it," Quinn said. "We came into this week, and all throughout camp, with the competition at quarterback and really all across the board."
Edwards placed blame on the entire offense, which generated just 268 yards. Quinn was 21-of-35 for 205 yards and one touchdown.
"Nobody really played well on offense," said Edwards, who had one reception for 12 yards. "We're all in the same boat. We'll assess the film and figure out what we did right and what we did wrong and try to get better on Wednesday."
The offense used plenty of shifts and motion to try to keep the Vikings' defense guessing. The Vikings countered by putting plenty of pressure on Quinn, who was sacked five times.
"There were some things we did well in the first half in terms of recognizing the coverage they were in, getting into our run checks," coach Eric Mangini said. "In the second half the primary job of the quarterback is protecting the football. We can't turn the ball over twice, and that's something we have to continue to improve on."
Quinn threw an interception and lost a fumble when the ball slipped from his right hand while trying to throw on the run.
- TOUGH CALL: Referee John Parry was faced with an unusual challenge in the second quarter when Cedric Griffin was called for pass interference on a deep pass from Quinn to Edwards. Edwards was forced out of bounds at the Vikings' 6, then came back inbounds to make the catch in the end zone.
The call on the field was a touchdown, but Parry changed the ruling because Edwards didn't have both feet back inbounds before catching the ball.
- NEEDED HELP: Vikings running back Adrian Peterson received an IV at halftime. Peterson was cut on his chin in the first half and lost blood, which made him weak.
"I came out feeling light-headed, not feeling too good, kind of weak," Peterson said. "Everyone else was on point, had a good tempo, and I wasn't in sync with my guys. I was able to come out in the second half and get in sync and take care of business. I gagged myself to get everything out of my stomach. After the IV, I recharged and was ready to go to work."
- FAILED CHANCE: On the first play following the interference call on Griffin, Jamal Lewis rushed for 3 yards to the 2. Joshua Cribbs lined up in the shotgun formation on the next two plays and rushed for 2 yards and then minus-1, setting up a Phil Dawson field goal.
"I was in there to disguise and Josh is a good runner," Lewis said. "We probably thought that we could get them on that and they would go with me. I think it was a good play call. It just wasn't the right time."
- CLIMBING THE CHART: Dawson reached the 900-point mark of his career with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter. Lou Groza has the most points in team history with 1,349.
- IN THE CENTER: As expected, rookie Alex Mack started at center. Mack, selected in the first round of the draft, contended with Hank Fraley throughout training camp.
- 'A' OKAY: Lewis remained on the ground for a couple of minutes after taking a hard shoulder hit by Griffin in the first half. Lewis ran off the field without help and was back on the field two plays later.
- READY TO GO: Rookie running back James Davis was involved in a car accident while on the way to the Browns' practice facility Saturday. He wasn't hurt and played in the game.
"Most of that stuff I'll let coach Mangini talk about," Davis said. "I just want to concentrate on the game. We have Denver next week."
- INACTIVES: Sidelined for the Browns were quarterback Brett Ratliff, defensive backs Marquis Floyd and DeAngelo Smith; running backs Jerome Harrison and Cedric Peerman; offensive lineman Rex Hadnot; tight end Martin Rucker and linebacker Leon Williams.
The Vikings sat down quarterback Sage Rosenfels; receivers Jaymar Johnson and Greg Lewis; cornerback Asher Allen; safety Jamarca Sanford; linebacker Eric Henderson; center Kory Lichtensteiger and defensive tackle Fred Evans.