The Cleveland Browns may need umbrellas and boots to survive their next practice.
After a sloppy performance in the pouring rain, coach Eric Mangini intends to soak his players so they stop letting the ball slip away.
"We're going to turn the sprinklers on or dunk the ball in water," a disappointed Mangini said after Cleveland made five turnovers in a 19-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Saturday night during a steady downpour that didn't stop until the game ended.
Jake Delhomme overcame two early fumbles and was accurate and efficient throwing one touchdown pass in the soggy lakefront stadium.
Delhomme tossed a 6-yard TD pass to tight end Benjamin Watson, who made a one-handed grab at the back of the end zone in the second quarter. Delhomme finished 12 of 16 for 127 yards before he was replaced in the second half by Seneca Wallace, who connected for a 15-yard TD with Joshua Cribbs to give Cleveland a 17-13 lead in the third.
Josh Brown's fourth field goal, a 28-yarder with 3:33 left, won it for St. Louis (1-1).
Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford had his second straight shaky outing. The No. 1 overall draft pick, Bradford, expected to start for this season, went 6 of 14 for 24 yards coming off the bench behind A.J. Feeley. Bradford wasn't sacked after being dropped behind the line four times last week.
Feeley sustained a thumb injury, but threw a TD pass before leaving.
St. Louis running back Steven Jackson had four carries for 20 yards in his first game since undergoing back surgery in April.
Delhomme was missing one of his main targets as starting wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi didn't dress because of a strained hamstring sustained last week in Green Bay. Massaquoi only practiced once all week, and the Browns said he would have played if it was a regular-season game.
Delhomme threw primarily short passes, but moved the ball up and down the field, something Cleveland struggled to do last season when Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson took turns as the starter.
It didn't start well for Delhomme, who fumbled and recovered the game's first snap. But he collected himself and showed poise and precision in tough, wet conditions. His TD pass was initially ruled incomplete, but Mangini challenged the call and it was overturned by replay.
The Rams managed 178 total yards, one week after gaining only 150 in a loss to Minnesota. But they got their first look at Jackson, their dreadlocked star who powered up the middle for 11 yards on his first touch.
Browns rookie QB Colt McCoy didn't complete a pass during his two, three-and-out series in the fourth.
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