Your Cleveland Browns lost yet another game in a ridiculous way, falling to the Baltimore Ravens 33-27 on a last-play blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. It was an embarrassing way to lose a game, but was definitely nothing different then what Browns fans have seen since 1999. Another similar occurrence was quarterback Josh McCown getting hurt, forcing a backup quarterback — , this time Austin Davis — to come on. However, Davis actually played pretty well in his short stint versus the Ravens on Monday night. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He did a lot of positive things for the offense, earning him the start next week versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

So in this week’s film room, we take a look at the performance of quarterback Austin Davis in the Browns tough loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

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Ball Placement

Austin Davis may have been most impressive in his ball placement on his passes. He threw accurately to his target, allowing the receiver to have the ability to run after the catch. Here is an example of his ball placement.

Austin Davis’ six-yard completion to receiver Brian Hartline may have not been a huge gain, but the play shows his excellent ball placement. Davis quickly makes the read on the pass and throws a dart right at the hands of Hartline. His accuracy and quick decision-making allows Hartline to catch the ball in stride. It also allows him to look up, avoid the oncoming tackler, and gain a few additional yards. If the pass was off target, the tackler could have creamed Hartline because he would have not been able to look up in time. It also could have just gone simply incomplete. His good ball placement was on display in a most of his passes on Monday.

Decision-Making

Austin Davis’s decision-making was two-fold. He made quick decisions, allowing the Ravens pass rush to be less effective. But on the negative end, Davis was a little too dangerous on a few throws he made. Let’s first take a look at his quick decision-making.

This play was successful based on Davis’ quick decision-making. It was a pick play where tight end Gary Barnidge ran straight up the field, while receiver Brian Hartline ran an in route underneath Barnidge. This opened the area for Hartline to catch the ball with space. But Davis needed to make a quick decision and not wait because the corner in coverage was closing quickly. Davis did just that, allowing Hartline to catch the ball without any harassment from the coverage. He threw quickly and on time. It was a good play call that was run very well by Austin Davis, Brian Hartline, and Gary Barnidge.

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On the negative side of Davis’ decision-making, he threw a couple questionable throws where the target was not open and bad things could have happened. Here is an example of this negative side of his decision-making.

On this play, Davis throws a very dangerous pass to Hartline that is almost picked by Ravens corner Lardarius Webb. Hartline runs a short in route, but is jammed at the top of the route by Webb, so he is not open to make a catch. But Davis forces the throw to Hartline and is almost intercepted by Webb. The throw was too early and a little too far ahead of Hartline. Davis did not need to rush that throw to a receiver who was clearly not open. He tried to force something that was just not there.

Pocket Presence

Austin Davis’ pocket presence was solid in his limited time on Monday. He took one sack in the game, but that resulted from a breakdown in coverage and not Davis’ fault. For the most part, Davis recognized the pass rush and dealt with it accordingly. Here is an example of his solid pocket presence.

This was the play of the game for Austin Davis, showcasing his ball placement and especially his pocket presence. In this play, Davis feels the rush from the outside pass rusher closing in on his right. He deals with it perfectly. Davis moves up in the pocket, while still keeping his eyes down field. This allowed him to find Benjamin open deep and throw a perfect ball right in stride. Davis did not panic with the pass rush. He just stepped up and threw a perfect ball to Benjamin.

Highlight(s) of the Game

The highlights of the game were receiver Travis Benjamin and tight end Gary Barnidge. Benjamin caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, while Barnidge had seven receptions for 91 yards. Both of these players have been the lone bright spots for the rough season through which the team has suffered. The game on Monday night was more of the same for these two. The duo made big catches and big gains, helping move an offense that had no sign of a running game. Benjamin and Barnidge have been the safety nets of the Browns quarterbacks this season.

Lowlight of the Game

The lowlight of the game was the Browns special teams. To say the Browns special teams were bad on Monday night would be an understatement. The unit gave up a punt return for a touchdown and allowed the game-winning touchdown when the Ravens blocked a field goal on the final play and returned it all the way for a touchdown. The special teams allowed the same amount of touchdowns as the defense did in the game. They single-handedly lost the game for the Browns.