Barclay explodes in Berlin loss

06.11.2007

The Berlin Thunder might not have had the season Chris Barclay and his teammates had hoped, but as of late the Browns running back is putting on a show that his coaches and teammates back in Cleveland have to be noticing.

Barclay marked his second consecutive 100-yard rushing performance, running for 174 yards on 15 carries during a 24-17 loss to the Rhein Fire during Week 9 of NFL Europa action.

Nearly half of Barclay's rushes (seven, in fact) went for gains of 14 yards or more, including a 44-yard scamper during the first quarter. He also caught 1 pass for 19 yards and returned 3 kicks for 51 yards.

On the season, Barclay is second in NFL Europa with 668 yards on 127 carries, adding 20 receptions for 146 yards. He also leads the league with 701 kick return yards on 30 attempts. He's tops in the league in all-purpose yards.

You can vote Barclay, along with each of the other Browns in Europe to the All-NFL Europa team by clicking here.

Also during the Berlin loss, Browns receiver Steve Sanders led all Thunder receivers with 4 catches for 67 yards, bringing his season totals to 13 receptions for 222 yards.

Meanwhile in other NFL Europa action, for the first time in league history the regular season will head into its final week without either of the two World Bowl berths having been locked up.

After a 36-31 victory for Hamburg over Frankfurt during Week 9, the pair of teams plus Cologne will each head into Week 10 with a 6-3 record and a shot at a spot in the league championship game.

During the loss, Browns punter Kyle Basler punted twice for 96 yards. On the year, he has punted 26 times for 1,091 yards.

Cologne kept pace with Hamburg in the form of a 31-13 win over Amsterdam over the weekend.

During the victory, Browns linebacker Clifton Smith started for the Centurions, marking 1 tackle, bringing his season total to 39. He also has recorded 3 interceptions.

In the loss, Browns defensive lineman Alvin Smith marked 4 tackles for Amsterdam. He now has made 22 tackles on the season.

The spots in World Bowl XV will fall squarely on two games to be played Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT. Clifton Smith's Centurions will travel to face Basler's Frankfurt Galaxy. The winner is guaranteed a berth in the league championship.

Hamburg will travel to Rhein. A win there would lock up a spot in the World Bowl for the Sea Devils.

Meanwhile, Berlin will close out its season with a trip to Amsterdam on Friday at 2 p.m. EDT.

The Cologne-Frankfurt game can be seen live on NFL Network, while the Hamburg-Rhein contest will be shown on tape delay at midnight Sunday. The Berlin-Amsterdam matchup will air on tape delay at 10 a.m. Saturday.