PHILADELPHIA – Carson Wentz had 278 yards passing and two touchdowns in a stellar NFL debut and the Philadelphia Eagles beat Robert Griffin III and the Browns 29-10 Sunday.
The Browns honored the memory of 9/11 and Ohio’s fallen service members by carrying a flags from the Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorials in Sunbury. The flag was carried by nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas, who is highly involved in the Browns’ military appreciation efforts and embarked on a weeklong visit to U.S. troops at military bases throughout Southwest Asia as part of the NFL-USO program during the 2010 offseason. Established in 2005, the Ohio Fallen heroes Memorial honors 284 Ohioans killed in the war on terrorism.
Promoted from Number 3 quarterback to starter just eight days ago, the second overall pick from North Dakota State looked like a franchise player. Wentz played mistake-free football despite missing the last three preseason games with injured ribs. He finished 22 of 37 with a 101.0 passer rating.
A new quarterback (Griffin) and new coach (Hue Jackson) couldn’t help the Browns (0-1) avoid losing their opener for the 12th straight season. Griffin finished 12 of 26 for 190 yards and one interception.
The Browns finally got going in the second quarter. Terrelle Pryor made a leaping catch for a 44-yard gain to Philadelphia’s 9. After a pass interference call against Malcolm Jenkins negated a stop on third down, Isaiah Crowell ran in from the 2 to cut it to 10-7.