CINCINNATI – The Browns are wearing their browns jerseys and looking for redemption this afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium.
They blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Eagles last week in a 17-16 opening loss. The Bengals are also 0-1 after a 44-13 loss at Baltimore on Monday night.
Rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden had a 5.1 rating after going 12-for-35 for 118 yards with four interceptions. He’s looking for his first NFL touchdown, including the preseason.
Rookie running back Trent Richardson, the No. 3 pick in the draft, rushed 19 times for 39 yards, a 2.1 average, a month after arthroscopic knee surgery. He looked sharper in practice during the week and the coaches expect a lot of improvement today.
Running back Brandon Jackson is a surprise inactive today for the Browns. He replaced Richardson as the third-down back last week. Chris Ogbonnaya took Jackson’s place on the active 46-man roster.
The team also announced second-year cornerback Buster Skrine will start in place of Sheldon Brown. Dimitri Patterson replaces top cornerback Joe Haden (suspension) on the other side.
Brown injured his neck in the first quarter last week and left the game. He practiced fully this week and has played in 161 straight games.
Linebacker Scott Fujita will start at strongside linebacker after missing Week 1. His three-game suspension for his alleged role in the Saints’ bounty scandal was temporarily lifted Sept. 7 but he wasn’t activated for the opener.
Fujita replaces undrafted rookie L.J. Fort.
The other Browns inactives are: receiver Jordan Norwood, safety/special teamer Bubba Ventrone (hand), linebacker James-Michael Johnson (ribs/oblique), offensive lineman Oniel Cousins, linebacker Tank Carder and quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.
The Bengals will be without defensive end Carlos Dunlap, who is recovering from a knee injury. Dunlap is a strong pass rusher.
Also inactive for Cincinnati: cornerbacks Jason Allen and Dre Kirkpatrick, running back Bernard Scott, tight ends Donald Lee and Richard Quinn and receiver Ryan Whalen.
** Browns coach Pat Shurmur is looking for his first AFC North victory. He was 0-6 last year.
** Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, in his second season, has struggled in his last 10 games: 191-338 (56.5 percent) for 2,180 yards, eight touchdowns, 10 interceptions and three lost fumbles. The Bengals are 3-7. The stats were compiled by Rotoworld’s Evan Silva.
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