This game should be a shootout as neither team has much of a defense.  The Texans are 0-5 on the road while the Browns are only 1-4 at home so something has to give in this game.  The Texans will likely come out running the football with Steve Slaton and Ahman Green against a Browns’ defense that is allowing 149.3 yards rushing and 4.7 ypc this season.  The Browns don’t have much of a pass rush so Sage Rosenfels could have a decent game as the Browns allow 219.0 yards passing per game.  Rosenfels has had a huge problem with turnovers and that’s not a good thing when playing against a Browns’ defense that has 13 pickoffs this season.

The Browns have scored 59 points in the last two games which were both started by Brady Quinn.  He will be starting against the Texans despite having a broken index finger on his throwing hand.  Look for the Browns to run the ball a lot in this football game as the Texans are allowing 132.5 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc.  Jamal Lewis and Jerome Harrison will likely both have big workloads tomorrow.  The Browns must keep DE Mario Williams away from Quinn to give him enough time to throw the football.  The Browns will likely keep the passing game to the short stuff as Quinn’s finger could hurt him on deep throws.  Still, opposing QBs have a 100.8 rating against the Texans so Quinn could have a good game even with a broken digit.

PREDICTION:  CLEVELAND BROWNS 27, HOUSTON TEXANS 24

This game might have saved the Browns’ season.  As Rian Lindell of the Bills set up for a 47-yard field goal with 43 seconds left in the game I had a bad feeling that the Browns were going to lose.  Then I jumped out of my seat just like Romeo Crennel when the kick went wide left.  Brady Quinn then kneeled down on the ball twice to seal this very impressive win.  Brady Quinn didn’t look as sharp as he did last week against the Broncos as he completed 14 of 36 passes for 185 yards.  He also carried the football 4 times for 18 yards (4.5 ypc).  Quinn did lead the game winning drive which set up a 56-yard missile of a field goal by Phil Dawson.  The Browns really need to find a way to get Jerome Harrison more involved in the offense.  He carried the football 3 times for 80 yards (26.7 ypc) including a 72-yard TD scamper.  He also caught 1 pass for 21 yards.  Jamal Lewis had his usual game rushing for 65 yards on 18 carries (3.6 ypc).  Josh Cribbs scored on a 2-yard TD run in the 2nd quarter for the Browns on his only carry of the game.  Braylon Edwards dropped some passes in this game but he still caught 8 passes for 104 yards (13.0 avg).  The Browns finished up this game with 161 yards rushing on 27 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 36 passes for 176 yards.

The defense couldn’t get off the football field as the Bills’ controlled the clock for 33:12 in this game.  D’Qwell Jackson (11 tackles) and Andra Davis (9 tackles, interception) both led the way for the Browns’ defense in this game.  The Bills finished up with 186 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 26 passes for 148 yards.  The Browns also picked off Trent Edwards 3 times in this game.  The Browns also had huge issues on kickoffs as rookie Leodis McKelvin returned 3 kickoffs for 185 yards (61.7 avg) including a 98-yarder for a TD.  The Browns had a lot of things go bad for them in this game but the most important thing is the scoreboard as they improve to 4-6 on the season.

The Cleveland Browns looked good in this game until the 4th quarter when they gave up 21 points and it cost them the game.  You can’t blame Brady Quinn for this loss as he was very solid completing 23 of 35 passes for 239 yards with 2 TD passes.  Jamal Lewis gave a workmanlike effort for the Browns as he carried the ball 19 times for 60 yards (3.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also pitched in with 2 catches for 24 yards (12.0 avg).  Jerome Harrison was outstanding in giving Lewis a break in this game as he carried the ball 5 times for 48 yards (9.6 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  Kellen Winslow was Quinn’s favorite target in his first NFL start as he caught 10 passes for 111 yards (11.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs, but, he had a costly fumble in the 4th quarter that contributed to the Broncos’ comeback.  The Browns finished up with 160 yards rushing on 29 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 35 passes for 239 yards.

The defense killed the Browns in this game as they allowed 123 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.4 ypc).  The Broncos also completed 24 of 42 passes for 441 yards in this game!  Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was the only Browns’ defender who really had a somewhat decent game as he finished with 11 tackles.

The Browns have decided to go with Brady Quinn as the new starting QB.  His first start was on Thursday and he looked really solid completing 23 of 35 passes for 239 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions (104.3 QB Rating).  He also scrambled 1 time for 3 yards.  Quinn might not have the arm strength of Anderson but he is a much more accurate passer.  Don’t look for Quinn to give Anderson his job back anytime soon.  Anderson was in the Pro Bowl just last season but he hasn’t played well in 2008.  To be fair, Browns’ receivers (Braylon Edwards in particular) have dropped a ton of passes that hit them in the hands.  Anderson played completed 121 of 243 passes (49.5%) for 1,454 yards with 9 TD passes and 7 interceptions (68.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 22 times for 50 yards (2.3 ypc) so far this season.  Anderson has now played three seasons for the Browns covering 29 games (26 starts) in which he has completed 485 of 887 passes (54.7%) for 6,034 yards with 43 TD passes and 34 interceptions (76.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 58 times for 167 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Anderson has a great arm but he needs to quit throwing the ball in areas that are too tight.  It’s too bad that he is the scapegoat for Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards’ mistakes.

The Browns have lost 33-year old veteran offensive lineman Ryan Tucker for the season due to recent knee surgery.  Tucker only played in one game for the Browns this season and he started it.  Tucker has now played seven seasons with the Browns covering 75 games (71 starts).  This will hurt the depth of the Browns’ offensive line going forward.