Forget about the final score, the Pro Bowl players wearing street clothes and the lackluster atmosphere  Thursday evening at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
None of that truly mattered — or will matter going forward.
The most pressing issue for the Browns on this night was having Brady Quinn perform at a high level against one of the NFL’s better defensive teams.
Mission accomplished.
Quinn led Cleveland on two scoring drives in his one quarter of work, carving up Chicago with well-thrown passes and smart decisions in building a 10-0 lead.
The Browns went on to lose the game 16-10 and completed their first winless preseason in 36 years, but that was secondary to how well the former Notre Dame golden boy played.
“Our offense was more efficient tonight,” said Quinn, who completed
7 of 9 throws for 65 yards and a passer rating of 96.8. “We started in a good rhythm and never stopped. The line did a great job run-blocking and everyone was able to make plays because of them.
“Heading into the season, hopefully having a couple of good drives like this will set the tone.”
Cleveland amassed 138 yards of offense during Quinn’s brief outing, converting them into a 26-yard Phil Dawson field goal and a 1-yard Jerome Harrison TD run.
Both drives started within the Browns’ 30 and lasted 11 plays.
“(Brady) played much better tonight and looked more like a quarterback that you would expect a quarterback to look like,” Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel said. “He managed his team, drove them down for two scores, and was eager and wanted to play some more, but I told him he was going to sit with me.”
The fine and brief outing was exactly what the Browns needed with starting quarterback Derek Anderson unavailable due to a concussion. Quinn was effective and virtually untouched by Chicago’s defense.
Though there is no reason to believe “D.A.” won’t be under center against Dallas on Sept. 7, the nature of his injury is cause for some concern. With the NFL implementing much tougher standards for concussed players to return to action, the odds of Anderson missing some time this season are exponentially higher.
That is why Quinn’s solid work against Chicago was vital to the club’s psyche. If Anderson gets dinged up in a regular-season game, Cleveland has to have a viable second option.
It also must have a backup who behaves like a starter leading into games, even when there is little chance he will actually get into one.
Quinn believes he fits both job descriptions, but his shaky game in Detroit last week caused some football insiders to wonder if it was true. The second-year signal caller, however, never lost faith in himself after struggling in his first NFL start.
“I’m always confident in my abilities, especially with the great supporting cast here,” said Quinn, who finished the preseason with a team-best 84.6 rating and completed 41 of 62 passes for 428 yards. “You have to go into every game prepared to play, and I’ve known that for a long time.”
Proving those aren’t just empty words, he added: “I watched Dallas over the summer, as well as a few other teams we play early on (in the regular season), just to have some knowledge of them. You never know what’s going to happen, so you’d better take care of everything that you can control.”
Quinn provided a textbook example of that Thursday, which gives Crennel one less concern about his team today. And goodness knows, there are plenty of things for the coach to be concerned about with the Cowboys visiting in just nine days.
“I thought the first-team guys played well, but I’m glad it’s over,” Crennel said. “We just had too many injuries during the preseason and now we have to see if we can get these guys back because Dallas is coming to town.”
Contact Brian Dulik at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
    

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