26-year old RB Jerome Harrison and 26-year old kickoff return man Josh Cribbs both ran themselves into the record book against the Chiefs last Sunday.  Harrison rushed for 286 yards on 34 carries (8.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs against the Chiefs last week.  Harrison broke the Browns’ all-time record for rushing yards in a game which was set way back in 1961 by Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown who totaled 237 yards in a game that year.  Harrison finished with the third most yards rushing ever in a NFL game behind only Adrian Peterson and Jamal Lewis.  Harrison has now played in 12 games this season and he has carried the ball 122 times for 587 yards (4.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 32 passes for 200 yards (6.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Browns hope that Harrison finishes the year strong against the Raiders and Jaguars the next two weeks.  Josh Cribbs tied a NFL record and he set another won last Sunday.  He tied Ted Ginn Jr. of the Dolphins as the only players in NFL history to return two kickoffs over 100 yards for a TD in a NFL game.  Cribbs also set a new NFL record with 8 career TDs on kickoff returns.  Cribbs has played in 14 games for the Browns this season and he has returned 53 kickoffs for 1,475 yards (27.8 avg) with 3 TD returns.  He has now played in 75 games in his five years in the NFL and he has returned 262 kickoffs for 6,982 yards (26.6 avg) with 8 TD returns.  There is no reason to think that Cribbs might set a record that will never be broken if he continues to return kickoffs and stays healthy for a few more years.  That was probably the most exciting football game since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999.

This was one of the most exciting football games I have ever seen.  The Browns got super-human efforts from Jerome Harrison, Josh Cribbs and the offensive line today!  First off was Josh Cribbs who returned 2 kickoffs for TDs in this game (100, 103 yarders) to tie a NFL record.  He also broke the career record for TD kickoffs returns as he now has 8 in only his 5th year in the NFL.  But, Cribbs was upstaged by Jerome Harrison who carried the ball 34 times for 286 yards (8.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  Harrison rushed for the third most yards ever in a NFL game and he snapped Jim Brown’s franchise record which has stood since 1961 (237 yards).  The Browns decided to keep the football on the ground in this game as Brady Quinn was having issues throwing the ball once again.  He completed 10 of 17 passes for 66 yards with 2 INTs today.  Quinn did pitch in with 39 yards rushing on 4 carries (9.8 ypc) in this game.  Chris Jennings gave Harrison a break once in a while as he carried the ball 7 times for 18 yards (2.6 ypc).  Chansi Stuckey led the way in the passing game with 5 grabs for 41 yards (8.2 avg).  The Browns finished up with 417 total yards in this game (351 rushing, 66 passing) as they held onto the ball for 34:25 today.

The defense was pretty awful in this game for the Browns today but in the end the offense and special teams covered for them.  CB Eric Wright (8 tackles) and LB David Bowens (7 tackles) led the way for the Browns’ D today.  OLB Matt Roth had another solid game for the Browns with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit and a fumble recovery.  The Chiefs finished up with 491 total yards in this game (168 rushing, 323 passing).  The Browns are now 3-11 on the year as they now have a 2-game winning streak.

This is a game for diehards as both teams have to like their chances this weekend.  This is the kind of game that the Browns should be able to get the offense in high gear.  The Chiefs are allowing 148.1 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so the Browns should be able to get a lot of years on the ground with Chris Jennings, Josh Cribbs and Jerome Harrison.  The Browns won’t just rely on the running game tomorrow as the Chiefs are allowing 237.2 yards passing per game.  Brady Quinn should have time to throw the ball against a Chiefs’ D that only has 19 sacks this season. 

The Browns will likely see a heavy dose of Jamaal Charles tomorrow as he has been excellent since taking away the starting job from Larry Johnson.  The Browns are allowing 148.1 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry but they have tightened up against the run the last two weeks.  The Browns will need to attack QB Matt Cassel the way they did against Ben Roethlisberger last week as he has been sacked 41 times already this season.  He also tends to get careless with the football when he has a pass rush in his face. 

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 23, CHIEFS 17

The light bulb over Eric Mangini’s head finally popped on when he stated that he is considering making Cribbs a full-time RB.  That would be a smart move for the Browns who need a legit feature back.  Cribbs has carried the ball 42 times for 305 yards (7.3 ypc) this season and he has also caught 19 passes for 132 yards (6.9 avg) with a TD grab.  Cribbs can throw the ball on occasion as he has completed 1 of 3 passes for 18 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  The Browns better be careful that they don’t give Cribbs a workload that would cut into his special teams play as he excels there.  Cribbs has returned 47 kickoffs for 1,206 yards (25.7 avg) with a TD return and he has also returned 27 punts for 377 yards (14.0 avg) with a TD return.  All totaled this year, Cribbs has touched the ball 138 times for 2,038 total yards (14.8 avg) with 3 TDs.  He is averaging 156.8 all purpose yards per game this season as he is the best player on the football team without a doubt. 

27-year old OLB/DE Matt Roth has really stepped up since the Browns claimed him off waivers from the Dolphins.  Roth has played in 3 games for the Browns this year and he has made 17 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he has 1.5 sacks.  If he continues to play strong the rest of the way there is no reason to think that he won’t win a starting job for 2010.

At first glance the trade of Braylon Edwards to the Jets seemed to favor them quite a bit.  But, Edwards is having the same types of problems with the Jets (dropping balls) that he had with the Browns.  Edwards has played in 9 games for the Jets now and he has caught 26 passes for 403 yards (15.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Chansi Stuckey got off to a slow start for the Browns due to injury but he has been solid when healthy.  He has played in 8 games for the Browns so far this season and he has caught 13 passes for 154 yards (11.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 6 yards (3.0 ypc).  He projects to be a solid #3 WR for the Browns next season and the rest of this year.  25-year old linebacker Jason Trusnik has been a huge surprise for the Browns since coming over from the Jets.  Initially Trusnik was only supposed to play on special teams but he is now starting due to a rash of injuries in the Browns’ linebacker unit.  He has played in 9 games for the Browns this season and he has 41 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Browns not only got Stuckey and Trusnik for Edwards but they also got a third and fifth round pick in next April’s Draft which will make this trade look even better for them if they pick the right players.

The Browns wanted the game more than the Steelers did last night in one of the most surprising games of the year.  Brady Quinn had a off night for the Browns as he only completed 6 of 19 passes for 90 yards in the Winter Wonderland called Cleveland Browns Stadium last night.  Joshua Cribbs was the star of this game for the Browns as he carried the ball 8 times for 87 yards (10.9 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  That wasn’t all he did as he returned 2 kickoffs for 43 yards (21.5 avg) and 2 punts for 61 yards (30.5 avg).  So that means that Cribbs touched the football 13 times for 200 total all-purpose yards meaning that he averaged 15.4 yards every time he touched the football last night!  Chris Jennings also had a big game for the Browns with 73 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Jerome Harrison only rushed for 9 yards on 7 carries (1.3 ypc) but he added 2 catches for 10 yards (5.0 avg).  The Browns finished up with 255 total yards on offense (171 rushing, 84 passing) in this game.

The Browns won this game on the defensive side of the football with a superhuman team effort resulting in 8 sacks of Ben Roethlisberger.  Eric Wright led the way for the Browns on D in this game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  DE Corey Williams had by far his best game ever for the Browns as he finished up with 5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.  DE Brian Schaefering finally got a chance to show what he could do for the Browns and he responded with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 QB hits and 1.5 sacks.  Linebacker David Bowens also had a huge game with 5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 2 QB hits.  Bowens also deflected a pass on the Steelers’ last play of the game last night.  LB/DE Marcus Benard also had a solid game with 3 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed.  The Steelers finished up with only 216 total yards on offense (75 rushing, 141 passing) in this game.  The Browns are now 2-11 on the year.

The Cleveland Browns have lost 25 of their last 28 games against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  That means that the fans and players should be hungry tonight against a team that is fighting for their playoff lives.  The Browns must not wait until the 4th quarter for the offense to play their best like last week against the Chargers.  The Steelers are only allowing 77.8 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry this season so Jerome Harrison and Chris Jennings better tighten up the chinstrap.  The Browns should just come out throwing the ball against a Steelers’ secondary that is injury ravaged and they are allowing 219.6 yards passing per game.  The Browns could essentially use their short passing game in place of a running game tonight if need be.

The Browns need to go all out to stop the Steelers’ running game as they are averaging 116.8 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  Because of the weather that is the likely road the Steelers are going to try to walk tonight.  Still, Ben Roethlisberger has a strong enough arm to cut through the cold air in Cleveland tonight so they must be ready for WRs Santonio Holmes and Mike Wallace down the field as Hines Ward is unlikely to play much if at all tonight due to a hamstring problem.  With the weather being awful tonight the Browns must really be aware of wherever TE Heath Miller is on the field as he is having a big year for the Steelers.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 17, BROWNS 14

The Browns are taking a look at the youngsters on the roster the rest of the year but most of the reason for that is the rash of injuries that have infected the team.  It was nice to see Brian Robiskie, Evan Moore and Jerome Harrison get a lot of P.T. last week and lo and behold the Browns put 23 points on the scoreboard.  That will be tougher to achieve tonight against the Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium because the weather is expected to be nasty.  Still, it will be interesting to see how the young players of the Browns respond to the challenge in front of them tonight.  They will be branded heroes if they can pull a big upset tonight and essentially end the Steelers’ season.

The Cowboys have signed 27-year old DE Derreck Robinson.  Robinson has not played in the NFL since the 2007 season so he could be rusty.  He has played in 23 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 21 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he has 1.5 sacks.  Robinson is currently listed as the #4 DE for the Browns so he could get some playing time against the Steelers tomorrow.