Cleveland Browns quarterback Jason Campbell (17) passes the ball in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. Cleveland won 24-18. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns second veteran quarterback formerly behind Brandon Weeden is Jason Campbell, and he’s been even more impressive than Brian Hoyer was in his first two starts. Hoyer was 2-0 and Campbell 1-1, but Campbell put up his numbers against better defenses. Campbell looked pretty good against the league’s top-ranked pass defense in the Kansas City Chiefs, and he looked great in yesterday’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He has yet to throw an interception this season and is clearly better than Weeden. He’s more poised and simply has better arm talent than Weeden. Hoyer gave the Browns organization hope earlier this season, and Campbell has restored that hope.
According to CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora, Jason Campbell hopes that he can play following this week’s bye after suffering a rib injury yesterday, as the Browns face the rival Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. It’s going to be a tough matchup for Campbell and the Browns, but he’s been up to the task over the past two weeks. His completion percentage is safely above 60%, and it’s been a joy watching Campbell get another opportunity to start in this league.
He had two successful stints with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders earlier in his career, and his season-ending injury with the Raiders hurt both his career and the Raiders, until the Raiders decided to cut their losses on the ill-fated Carson Palmer acquisition and then wisely picked upside-filled QB Terrelle Pryor as the starter.
Anyway, Campbell’s injury occurred after Baltimore Ravens monstrous defensive lineman Haloti Ngata fell on top of Campbell, and it was simply a case of bad luck. Campbell showed a lot of toughness by playing through the pain, because that rib injury was no small stinger. He should be fine going forward, and I don’t anticipate him missing any games. He was able to play well through the pain, and the Browns aren’t about to go back to Weeden any time soon.
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