Shurmur was enjoying his first game in Cleveland as head coach. “It was very exciting.  Needless to say, I thought I could get a lot of sleep last night and I did get a decent night’s sleep.  Any first is exciting and to be a head coach in the NFL is very exciting.

The Cleveland Browns preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, August 13, was the highest rated program on WKYC-TV (NBC) since the NFL Wildcard games in January. The Browns game averaged a 19.1 Household Rating/35 share and a 19.4 rating/53.5 share in Men 25-54 from 7:30 – 10:45 p.m.

Other notes:

• The game was the highest rated program in the Cleveland market since Game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 12.
• The Browns game averaged 443,000 viewers (Persons 2+), an increase from the first preseason game of the 2010 season, which averaged 437,700.

*Please note a rating is a percent of total Cleveland TV homes and viewers.  A share is a percentage of total audience watching television at that time and watching the Browns game.   For example a 53.5 share of Men 25-54 means that 53.5% of Men 25-54 watching TV at that time were watching the Browns game.

Browns beat defending Super Bowl Packers

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

The Cleveland Browns beat the defending Super Bowl Champ Green Bay Packers 27-17 in the pre-season opener at Cleveland Stadium. Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass before swapping his helmet for a baseball cap in the first quarter.

One day after they were honored in a ceremony at the White House, the Packers began their quest for a second straight Lombardi Trophy. Rodgers and most of Green Bay's first-string offense played only two series in the first quarter, when both the Packers and Browns had long TD drives.

After establishing himself as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks with his performance against Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl, Rodgers was eager to get back under center following an off-season made longer by the lockout. He got off to a rough start, but finished 6 of 8 for 74 yards and threw a 21-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings.

In the preseason opener, Cleveland’s quarterback Colt McCoy was the better of the two QBs. McCoy, looking comfortable running first-year Browns coach Pat Shurmur's new West Coast offense, went 9-of-10 for 135 yards while playing three series.

McCoy threw a 27-yard TD pass to Josh Cribbs and led Cleveland on a second scoring drive capped by Peyton Hillis' 3-yard scoring burst.

The second-year quarterback was pinpoint accurate and in control. He completed all four passes as the Browns drove for their first score -- McCoy's pass to Cribbs, the dynamic return man whose role in Shurmur's offense is yet to be determined.

Cribbs streaked down the right sideline and hauled in McCoy's pass over cornerback Pat Lee, who started in place of veteran Charles Woodson. Packers coach Mike McCarthy decided to rest Woodson, a 14-year veteran who broke his collarbone in the first half of the Super Bowl.

McCoy's performance, with his only incompletion being a batted-down pass at the line, must be comforting to Shurmur. Earlier this week, Shurmur said he expected the match up with the vaunted Packers to reveal "we have a long way to go."

“I thought he was pretty sharp. He executed well. He was pretty efficient with his throws.  He worked us down the field twice. That’s the mark of a quarterback, getting you in the end zone,” said Shurmur.

Josh Cribbs who looked good in the game also liked McCoy’s performance. “I think it was a good day for the first offensive unit. McCoy looked really good out there and the line blocked pretty well. It was just like practice. We played hard and we got things done,” said Cribbs. 

Shurmur was enjoying his first game in Cleveland as head coach. “It was very exciting.  Needless to say, I thought I could get a lot of sleep last night and I did get a decent night’s sleep.  Any first is exciting and to be a head coach in the NFL is very exciting. I learned from Andy Reid a long time ago, it’s hard to win in this league. Even though this one doesn’t really go in the record books as a regular season victory, that feeling that you get when you win a game is something we all long for and try to search out.  That part feels good. When I watch the game operation and watch the players compete and somebody that’s teaching young men, to see them respond to some of the things we’ve been talking about. I thought it was good,” said Shurmur.

The Browns gave themselves some confidence by doing what they just did (winning). They moved the ball effectively up and down the field and even with the turnover, (interception) they moved the ball effectively with Seneca Wallace. The team did a great job coming out playing well after just two, two-and-a-half weeks into it and playing against the defending champions.

“Well, we are in training camp mode, but it’s just so happens that we play four games. Those days in training camp that are hot and you are in pads, if you don’t do them now you never get them back.  The idea for the players now is to come back and correct this game and we get back to the business of getting the Browns better. We will spend two or three days here, Browns vs. Browns, working on the fundamentals. As I mentioned when we get near the end of the week, we will start working on the Detroit Lions,” said Coach Shurmur.

The Browns other pre-season games include; Aug. 19: The Detroit Lions at the Browns, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 25: The Browns at the Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 1: The Browns at the Chicago Bears, 8 p.m.