Cleveland Browns Field Damaged By Vandalism

FirstEnergy Stadium – According to Fox 8, someone scaled the fence at the Browns stadium, hopped into a golf cart, and proceeded to drive around the team’s field. Tire marks defaced half of the playing field, but it seems the damage was only superficial.

The Browns released a statement to FOX 8 ensuring that the damage to the field will be repaired by Sunday and will not affect the game between the Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: “We are aware of the incident that occurred early Tuesday morning at FirstEnergy Stadium and has provided the Cleveland Division of Police with all relevant information. Based on our internal evaluation, there was some superficial damage to the playing field that our grounds maintenance team is currently working to repair. We take great pride in the strong reviews and reputation of our stadium’s playing surface, have been in touch with the NFL on the matter, and are confident after repair our field will be ready for Sunday’s game vs. the Tampa Buccaneers.”

The Buccaneers are on a two-game winning streak after finally getting their feet back on the ground at home against the Los Angeles Rams three weeks ago and then; running all over the Seattle Seahawks in Munich Germany just two weeks ago. The Bucs come out of the Bye Week 5-5 and will face a 3-7 Cleveland Browns who feature one of the best runningbacks in the league in Nick Chubb. The Pewter Pirate’s run defense will face one of their toughest tasks this season in stopping Chubb, who is closing in on 1,000- yards and has 11 touchdowns.

Tampa has the league’s 7th-ranked run defense going up against the league’s 5th-ranked rushing offense, so the battle will need to be won in the trenches. With the return of Akeim Hicks, the Bucs’ run defense could be back on track and quickly move up in the rankings from the top 7 to the top 5. Following the contest in Cleveland, the Bucs will return home to face the New Orleans Saints, who hover toward the bottom of the division.