Earlier this season the Cleveland Browns were winning in part because Brian Hoyer did a fantastic job protecting the football. The Brownswon in spite of the quarterback on Sunday.
"It's great to win but I'm really disappointed in myself,'' said Hoyer, per The Plain Dealer. "I feel like I let the team down even though we won. That's not how I play. Obviously it's great to get a win and be 7-4, but I have to do a better job."
Hoyer threw three picks, including two in the final five minutes of the game on passes forced to Josh Gordon -- who was targeted 16 times in his return from suspension.
Thanks in part to some terrible clock management by the Atlanta Falcons, the Browns were given new life.
"At that point I felt like I had let my whole team down and I wanted to go do something," said Hoyer. "I didn't know what it was going to be. But we made enough plays to win and it's a crazy game."
Hoyer drove the Browns down the field in 44 seconds to set up the game-winning field goal. Hoyer completed four of six attempts (including a spike) for 61 yards on the drive.
"You can have the worst day of your life and finish it off and win,'' he said. "But I'm just so disappointed in myself because that's not how I play. I don't throw dumb interceptions. It really pisses me off that that's what happened."
It's hard not to love Hoyer's self-criticism. That's what a team wants to hear from its starting quarterback.
For a franchise that far too often has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, earning a win in a game they deserved to lose is a fresh feeling.
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