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Following a week of talk about the struggles quarterback Brandon Weeden had in his first NFL start against the Philadelphia Eagles, the first-year signal-caller for the Cleveland Browns completed 26 of 37 attempts for 322 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

Weeden had completed just 12 of 35 attempts for 118 yards with four interceptions in the season-opening, 17-16 loss to the Eagles at Cleveland Browns Stadium. He eliminated the turnovers against Cincinnati and set a Browns rookie record for the most passing yards in a single game.

“I wish I had a dollar for every hour I put in this week,” Weeden said of his preparation for the game against the Bengals. “I busted my tail and really dissected what we do. I felt pretty confident out there. I think, for the most part, it was a lot better than last week, but there is still a sour taste. You’ve got to make a play here and there.

“Last week was not the way I wanted it to go. A true competitor, a guy that’s mentally tough, will come back and bounce back and correct the mistakes he made last week. For the most part, I think I did that. Like I said, I look back at a couple plays, just one play that goes our way and it could be the deciding factor. We’ll continue to get better. We took a step forward offensively. We need to find a way to get those Ws.”

After watching the game film and analyzing Weeden’s performance, second-year Browns coach Pat Shurmur saw development from the first game to the second.

“I watched a pretty good process Week One and I watched a really good process Week Two, so I’m looking for an out of sight process this week,” Shurmur said. “You have to take yourself through the paces and that’s where, sometimes, this becomes a tough league for guys because you have to do it over and over and over. I saw him make strides in how he prepared; I saw him throw the ball confidently; I saw him hit some checkdowns.”

One of the checkdowns Weeden completed turned into running back Trent Richardson’s first NFL receiving touchdown.

With just 20 seconds left in the third quarter, Weeden took a snap from center Alex Mack and checked the pass down to Richardson. Richardson caught the ball at the line of scrimmage, stutter-stepped away from a tackle at the 12-yard line, bulled over a defender at the five and then, spun at the two before getting across the goal line for his second NFL touchdown.

“He’s special; he’s a special player,” Weeden said. “He’s a difference-maker, and he showed that. We asked a lot of him, not only in the running game, but he caught some balls out of the backfield and did some things there. From my angle, it was one of the most explosive plays -- unbelievable plays -- that I’ve seen in a while. He played great. I was really excited about the way he played. It feels good; we’re getting there. We’re closer, but it would still feel a lot better if we could get a little W.”