Brandon Weeden Gets Buried By Giant Flag Before NFL Debut [Video]

Brandon Weeden was all set to start his first NFL game as quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, but, before he could take his first snap, the rookie was tackled by an unlikely opponent — a giant American flag.

The rookie had a tough first game, but it didn’t help to have an embarrassing mishap to start the game. As crews were running a giant American flag onto the field for the national anthem, Weeden wandered too close to the action and was knocked over as uniformed members of the military ran the flag to all corners of the field.

Brandon Weeden was engulfed in the flag and eventually had to be helped out. Weeden told ESPN:

“I was expecting to get a little warning. I was playing catch. I always stand on the 35- or 40-yard line. Next thing I know there’s about a 100-yard flag over the top of me. I sat on my hands and knees and kind of waited — me and one of the equipment managers. I looked at him and said, `this (stinks).’ “

Things didn’t get much better from there, Yahoo! Sports noted. Weedon was part of a trio of rookies starting for the Cleveland Browns along with running back Trent Richardson and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, and he looked every bit a rookie.

Brandon Weeden finished 12 for 35 for 118 yards and four interceptions. His 5.1 quarterback rating is the lowest in a season opener for any quarterback with at least 15 attempts since 1970, STATS LLC noted.

“I take a lot of pride in playing better than that and I put our team in some difficult situations,” Brandon Weeden said. “Our defense gave us every chance to win and offensively, myself included, took away from that. I’m down right now. I expect to play better than that.”