One thing that has been made abundantly clear this season is that the Browns have a significantly better chance of winning games when someone other than Brandon Weeden is their quarterback.
So it was a hold your breath moment in the first half on Sunday when Jason Campbell was forced out of the game following a hit by Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata. Weeden came in for a couple of plays, but Campbell returned on the next drive and steered the Browns to a 24-18 victory that included three touchdown passes and some pain in his ribs.
“I kept telling [the team] to just give me time because my ribs were really bothering and hurting me,” Campbell said, via ESPN.com. “It was bothering me on a couple of throws. I really wanted to cut it loose and it was kind of grabbing me. I couldn’t really get what I wanted to put on the ball as far as speed and accuracy sometimes. But this league is all about pressing on.”
Campbell had x-rays after the game and said he did not think that he broke any ribs, although there was no official announcement of the test results on Sunday. If Campbell’s right, there shouldn’t be much chance that the Browns will have to turn back to Weeden because even very sore ribs will have two weeks to heal up before the Browns return to the field.