Wide receiver Josh Gordon got thrown back into the fire in his first game back from a 10-game suspension on Sunday afternoon and there were ups and downs for him and quarterback Brian Hoyer on the way to a 26-24 victory over the Falcons.
On the down side were a pair of fourth quarter interceptions, one of which came in the end zone, that came when Hoyer was targeting Gordon and a few other missed connections that made it clear that these two have only worked together for a few days in the last few months. The good came on eight catches for 120 yards that helped set up a few of the Cleveland scores over the course of the afternoon.
“I think it we just had to knock the rust off and that’s all it was,’' Gordon said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It’s kind of crazy to knock the rust off in the middle of a game, especially a big game like this. That’s not what we were hoping for, but I think we’re exactly where we need to be. Moving forward, we’re going to get better.”
Whatever rust Gordon had wasn’t easy to find while watching him play. He played a full role, didn’t look out of sync with the offense and was the same physical presence he was while lighting up the league last season.
The Browns threw Gordon’s way 16 times overall and you’d expect the hit rate to improve the more that Hoyer and Gordon get to work together in the coming weeks. That would make for a major boost to a team that saw another key defensive player -- safety Tashaun Gipson -- hurt on Sunday as they try to navigate their way to the postseason.
