The Browns played a great game on defense to get their first win of the 2008 season.  Things were made a bit easier for the defense when it was learned that Carson Palmer would be sitting this game out with a sore right elbow.  Ryan Fitzpatrick got the start for the Bengals and the Browns were all over him all day long.  CBs Brandon McDonald (7 tackles), Eric Wright (7 tackles, interception) and Terry Cousin (6 tackles, interception) all were outstanding today against the Bengals.  Safety Michael Adams also made some huge plays in this game despite only netting 2 tackles as he recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.  The Bengals finished up this game with 69 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 35 passes for only 142 yards.

The Browns wanted to keep the ball on the ground in this football game and that’s exactly what they did.  Jamal Lewis led the way for the Browns with 79 yards on 25 carries (3.2 ypc) with a TD run.  Jerome Harrison (4 car, 20 yards) and Jason Wright (5 car, 18 yards) gave Lewis a break when he needed one earlier today.  Kellen Winslow was the leading receiver in this game with 5 receptions for 54 yards (10.8 avg) for the Browns.  QB Derek Anderson was semi-efficient completing 15 of 24 passes for 138 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  The Browns finished up this game with 134 yards rushing on 40 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 24 passes for 127 yards.  The Browns were ballhogs in this football game as they had possession of the ball for 34:02 of this game and that was a main reason that they won and improved their record to 1-3 on the season.

The Battle of Ohio has lost some of it’s luster this season as both the Bengals and Browns are both 0-3 on the season.  Still, this is a crucial game for both teams as they need to turn things around soon before the season is lost.  If the Browns’ coaches have been watching the game film of the Bengals’ defense (questionable) then they will no doubt want to run the football in this game.  The Bengals are allowing a stunning 174.3 yards rushing per game this season and Jamal Lewis has torched them many times in his career.  The Bengals only have 1 sack this season so Derek Anderson will likely have a lot of time to throw the football tomorrow so he has no excuses left.  If he starts this game poorly he will get yanked for 2nd year QB Brady Quinn.  The Browns should focus the passing game around TE Kellen Winslow seeing how Braylon Edwards hands appear to be made of concrete this season.

The Bengals will probably come out firing the football around the field as long as Carson Palmer’s elbow holds up.  The Browns don’t have much of a pass rush and they are starting two second year CBs who are on a learning curve.  Chad Johnson is barking that he’s feeling better and is ready to breakout but I’ll believe it when I see it.  T.J. Houshmandzadeh is back based on his great game of last week and he will likely give the Browns’ secondary fits tomorrow.  The Bengals feel that Chris Perry could have a big game against a Browns’ defense that is allowing 145.0 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry this season.

PREDICTION:  CINCINNATI BENGALS 31, CLEVELAND BROWNS 20

The Browns have lost starting left guard Eric Steinbach for the next 3-5 weeks with a separated shoulder.  Seth McKinney will start in his place.  This will hurt the Browns going forward as Steinbach and Joe Thomas built a wall on the backside of the Browns’ QB  last season.

The Cleveland Browns appear to be getting closer to removing Derek Anderson as the starting QB and replacing him with 2nd year man Brady Quinn.  Anderson has been awful as he completed 43 of 93 passes (46.2%) for 405 yards with 2 TD passes and 5 interceptions (43.5 QB Rating).  In Anderson’s defense he has been sacked 8 times this season and WR Braylon Edwards has forgotten how to catch a pass.  Still, the QB usually gets too much credit when the team loses and too little credit when they win.  The Chiefs recently called the Browns trying to trade for Brady Quinn but they were quickly rebuffed by the Browns.  The reason for that is that he might be starting very soon for the Browns and he has the tools to be a excellent NFL QB.

The Browns were solid in the first half as they were winning 10-7 at the half but then the roof caved in as Derek Anderson was pathetic the rest of the game.  Derek Anderson completed 14 of 37 passes for 125 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions (one of which was returned 32 yards for a TD by Ed Reed).  Jamal Lewis ran well but the Browns didn’t give him the ball enough.  He carried the ball 12 times for 56 yards (4.7 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg).  Backup RB Jerome Harrison only touched the ball 1 time as he caught a pass and ran 19 yards for a TD in the 2nd quarter.  Braylon Edwards led all receivers for the Browns in this game with 27 yards on 3 catches (9.0 avg).  The Browns finished up with 73 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 37 passes for 96 yards.

The defense was on the field for a stunning 37:48 in this football game and the Ravens were often working with very short fields in this game.  LB D’Qwell Jackson had a great game leading the way for the Browns’ defense with 14 tackles and a interception.  Fellow linebackers Andra Davis (10 tackles) and rookie Alex Hall (7 tackles, sack) both pitched in with solid efforts.  Safety Michael Adams and CB Brandon McDonald each picked off a pass from Joe Flacco.  The Ravens finished up with 151 yards rushing on 44 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 19 passes for 122 yards.  The Browns are now 0-3 on the season and it’s starting to look like last season was a HUGE fluke.

The games between these teams have a lot of meaning to the fans of Cleveland who are still bitter about Baltimore stealing their team.  The Browns made the fans happy sweeping the Ravens last season by a combined score of 60-43.  For the Browns to beat the Ravens again they need WR Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow to have huge games.  That will be easier said than done as the Ravens had little trouble shutting down Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the season opener.  The Browns must pass the ball early meaning that Derek Anderson must protect the football against a very aggressive defense.  If Anderson is effective that will open up some running lanes for Jamal Lewis who is also off to a slow start this season.

The Ravens will keep the ball on the ground with Willis McGahee, Le’Ron McClain and rookie Ray Rice against a Browns’ defense that is allowing 142.0 yards rushing per game and 4.6 ypc.  The Browns’ defense has also been pretty awful against the pass (242.0 yards per game) but the Ravens’ won’t likely take the training wheels off of rookie QB Joe Flacco in this game. 

PREDICTION:  CLEVELAND BROWNS 17, BALTIMORE RAVENS 13

The Browns have lost starting DE Robaire Smith for the season due to a ruptured Achilles Tendon.  He started both games for the Browns this season and he had 5 tackles.  Smith started all 16 games for the Browns last season and he made 56 tackles, had 4 sacks and he defensed 2 passes.  Robaire Smith is a good run defender for an end so he will be missed.  Shaun Smith will enter the starting lineup either at end or nose tackle.  Smith has played in both games for the Browns this season and he has made 6 tackles and he has a sack.  Smith played in 15 games (11 starts) for the Browns last season and he made 62 tackles, had 2 sacks and he defensed 3 passes.  The Browns’ defensive line depth takes a hit with Shaun Smith moving into the starting lineup but the starting lineup shouldn’t suffer much.

Questionable coaching and terrible offense doomed the Browns last night.  Romeo Crennel’s time management was some of the worst in recent memory as he tried to come into Herman Edwards’ class of ineptness screwing up at the end of the first half and the end of the game.  Derek Anderson completed 18 of 32 passes for 166 yards with 2 pickoffs in this game.  Jamal Lewis got his work in but that was about it for him.  Lewis carried the ball 19 times for 38 yards (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 28 yards (9.3 avg).  Kellen Winslow was one of the only players on offense that looked like he wanted to beat the Steelers as he caught 7 passes for 55 yards (7.5 avg).  Braylon Edwards had another game of dropping the football at will as he caught 3 passes for 32 yards (10.7 avg).  The Browns finished up with only 53 yards rushing on 25 carries (2.1 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 32 passes for 155 yards.

The Browns’ Defense played good enough to win last night.  Safety Michael Adams (8 tackles) and DE Corey Williams (8 tackles, 1/2 sack) led the way for the defense last night.  But, NT Shaun Rogers was inspired as he made 6 tackles and had a sack.  He pummeled Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker on a lot of plays last night.  The Steelers finished up with 117 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 19 passes for 164 yards.  The Browns are now 0-2 on the season and Romeo Crennel is now 0-7 against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers have owned the Browns lately winning 9 in a row against them and outscoring them 65-35 in the two games last season.  The Steelers will run the ball with Willie Parker (138 yards rushing, 3 TDs) against a Browns’ defense that allowed 167 yards rushing (5.4 ypc) last week against the Cowboys.  It will be up to NT Shaun Rogers and the linebackers to deal with Parker in the running game.  Look for the Steelers to run a lot of play action off of the running game if it’s established with Roethlisberger looking deep to Santonio Holmes.  The Steelers will also put a lot of pressure on the safeties of the Browns using Hines Ward and Heath Miller on the short stuff.

The Cleveland Browns have to get back to what worked last season and that was running the football and throwing it downfield.  Jamal Lewis ran well last week but the Browns fell behind too quickly to get him involved in the offense.  They likely won’t let that happen again tomorrow.  The Browns will likely use quick drops against the Steelers who had 5 sacks last week against the Texans.  With that in mind TE Kellen Winslow should be the Browns’ top target in the passing game.  Braylon Edwards had the worst game of his NFL career last week as he dropped twice as many passes as he caught.  He will be looking to redeem himself tomorrow night.

PREDICTION:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 30, CLEVELAND BROWNS 20

The Browns have lost starting strong safety Sean Jones for the next several weeks due to arthroscopic right knee surgery.  This is a gigantic loss for the Browns’ defense as Michael Adams will likely replace him in the starting lineup and he’s nowhere near as much of a playmaker as Jones is.  Jones had 6 tackles in the first Browns game this season against the Cowboys.  In 4 years for the Browns, Jones has played in 49 games and he has made 236 tackles, has defensed 26 passes, has 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he has 10 interceptions.  This was another bad break for the Browns at the start of the season.  It appears that starting free safety Brodney Pool will return for this game after missing the season opener due to a concussion.