Young Browns make plays

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cleveland Browns were already without defensive back Joe Haden, who was inactive for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys due to an oblique injury, when cornerback Buster Skrine suffered a concussion while combining on a hit with strong safety T.J. Ward on tight end Kevin Ogletree with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.

With Skrine then out of the game, which Cleveland lost, 23-20, the Browns called upon Johnson Bademosi to fill in at cornerback and help defend Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Bademosi finished the game with three defensive tackles, one stop on special teams and a pass breakup on a key third-down play in overtime. Fellow rookie defensive back Trevin Wade registered four total tackles, including three solo stops, and one pass breakup.

“I’m proud of them,” cornerback Sheldon Brown said. “I think they did an excellent job. They went out and fought their tails off. That third-down play Johnson broke up at the end, that’s not an easy play. It’s very hard and I’m very proud of him. I’m proud of Trevin. He was on key all day today, on point. They’ll just build on this experience.”

Having practiced with Bademosi and Wade since the team started minicamp sessions back in the spring, Ward was comfortable with them coming into the lineup and making plays.

“They’re all competitors,” Ward said. “I wouldn’t even worry. When Bad came in, I wasn’t worried about him giving anything up because I see how he works in practice. Buster got the start. I wasn’t even worried about T-Wade.

“They all battled. They’re all smart. They know what they’re doing, so we just get ready to rock with who we’ve got out there. I think we played pretty well for the most part. We gave up some plays and some penalties, but even when Bad came in when Buster went down, he held his own. He made a crucial play on third down, so that proves the kind of depth we have.”

Even with the distractions that come with playing in front of 81,936 fans and underneath the world’s largest high-definition television that stretches from one 20-yard line to the other at Cowboys Stadium, the rookies were able to help hold the Cowboys to a field goal at the end of regulation, which forced an overtime session.

Their play left an impression, not only on their defensive teammates, but also, the most tenured Brown in kicker Phil Dawson.

“I saw a young group come of age and handle a lot of adversity well,” Dawson said. “That’s been what they’ve been doing all season long. I’ve been really impressed with these young guys. They just keep plugging away and improving and handling things. Today was kind of a new environment and situation and I thought they handled it great.”