24-year old RB Peyton Hillis is now the main man in the running game for the Cleveland Browns.  Hillis was acquired from the Broncos in the Brady Quinn job over the off-season and it’s proving to be a steal for the Browns so far.  Hillis is a battering ram at 6’2″, 250 pounds as he always seems to be moving forward.  Hillis has carried the ball 39 times for 220 yards (5.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year.  He is #9 in the NFL in rushing yards right now.  Hillis is also a good receiver out of the backfield as he has caught 14 passes for 86 yards (6.1 avg).  I look for the Browns to keep feeding the rock to Peyton Hillis.

The Browns certainly didn’t play like a 10.5 point underdog in Baltimore as they had a 17-14 lead with 14:54 left in the ballgame.  That’s when the roof caved in.  Seneca Wallace was pretty efficient throwing the ball for the Browns yesterday as he completed 18 of 24 passes for 141 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Peyton Hillis was the man for the Browns yesterday as he took the fight to the Ravens’ D.  He carried the ball 22 times for 144 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 36 yards (5.1 avg) in this game!  The Ravens weren’t kicking to Josh Cribbs much so the Browns got him the ball on offense.  He carried the ball 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 58 yards (11.6 avg) yesterday.  TE Ben Watson pitched in with 5 receptions for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with a TD grab.  The Browns finished up with 173 yards rushing on 29 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 24 passes for 131 yards in this game.

LB Eric Barton (9 tackles) and DE Robaire Smith (7 tackles) led the way for the Browns’ D yesterday.  The Ravens finished up with 109 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 32 passes for 256 yards.  The Browns are now 0-3 on the season.

The Browns have placed 26-year old inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson on the Injured Reserve List with a torn pectoral muscle.  Jackson played in 6 games for the Browns last season and he had 59 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 49 games in his four years with the Browns and he has 407 tackles, 11 passes defensed, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 4 interceptions.  The Browns will rely on Eric Barton, Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong to handle the middle of the D going forward.

The Browns have signed 29-year old WR Sam Aiken.  Aiken played in 14 games (7 starts) for the Patriots last year and he caught 20 passes for 326 yards (16.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 92 games (11 starts) in 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 47 passes for 677 yards (14.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  This was a good move for the Browns who need all the help they can get in the passing game.

The Browns have been competitive despite losing the first two games of the year.  But, they didn’t fare well against the Ravens last season who outscored them by a combined score of 50-3!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Browns have the ball:  The Ravens have only allowed 214 yards per game this season and 24 points overall so the Browns can’t afford to be turning the ball over in this game.  With Jerome Harrison likely to miss this game, Peyton Hillis and James Davis will likely get the bulk of the work in the running game for the Browns.  The Ravens are allowing 105.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so the Browns could have some success moving the ball on the ground.  Browns’ QBs have only been sacked one time this season and the Ravens don’t have any interceptions so it will be up to Seneca Wallace to find someone that can catch a ball this week.  I would bet on TE Ben Watson and WR Joshua Cribbs getting a lot of action in the passing game.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens will likely try to get Ray Rice going against the Browns.  The Ravens have been passing the ball a lot so far this season but it has not worked out too well.  The Browns are giving up 129.5 yards rushing per game this year but only 3.8 yards per carry so Rice will have to work for his yards.  The Browns must blitz Joe Flacco a lot when he drops back to throw as he already has 5 interceptions to only 1 TD pass so far this year.  But, Flacco completed 38 of 53 passes (71.7%) for 497 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs against the Browns last year. 

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 21, BROWNS 13

Starting QB Jake Delhomme has a high ankle sprain which will likely keep him out of action for multiple weeks.  Delhomme was injured in the season opener against the Bucs.  He completed 20 of 37 passes (54.1%) for 227 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (59.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 1 yard against the Bucs.  The Browns have turned to Seneca Wallace to start at QB.  He completed 16 of 31 passes (51.6%) for 229 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (73.2 QB Rating) in his first start last weekend against the Chiefs.  He also has carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards and he has caught 1 pass for 9 yards this year.  The Browns better hope that Wallace can stay healthy because rookie Colt McCoy is the backup and he looked overmatched in the pre-season.

25-year old outside linebacker Marcus Benard is really playing well this year for the Browns.  Benard has 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed in his first two game for the Browns this year.  The Browns are likely going to turn Benard loose after the QB whenever he’s on the field.  Benard has now played in 8 games in his career with the Browns and he has 18 tackles, 6 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  This was quite a find for the Browns who signed Benard as a undrafted rookie last year out of tiny Jackson State.

The Cleveland Browns have placed 23-year old inside linebacker Kaluka Maiava on the Injured Reserve List with a leg injury which ends his 2010 season with the Browns.  Maiava played in the Browns first two games but he only had one tackle.  He has now played in 18 games in his career with the Browns and he has 46 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  His loss will hurt the depth of the Browns’ inside linebacker corps.

The Browns didn’t appear to make any adjustments at halftime and it doomed them again in this game. It also didn’t help that Seneca Wallace tossed a pick six (interception returned for a TD) and Jerome Harrison lost a fumble that set up a Chiefs’ field goal. The offense set up 10 points for the Chiefs just like they did in last week’s loss to the Bucs.  Phil Dawson also missed a chip shot field goal which came back to haunt the Browns in the end.  Seneca Wallace completed 16 of 31 passes for 229 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards against the Chiefs.  Jerome Harrison had a pretty poor game as he carried the ball 16 times for 33 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 35 yards (11.7 avg).  Peyton Hillis had a solid game though as he carried the ball 8 times for 35 yards (4.4 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg) yesterday.  Josh Cribbs caught 3 passes for 74 yards (24.7 avg) with a 65-yard TD grab in this game to lead the way for the Browns in the passing game.  TE Ben Watson added 4 grabs for 62 yards (15.5 avg) in this game.  The Browns rushed for 73 yards on 26 carries (2.8 ypc) and they completed 16 of 31 passes for 226 yards yesterday.

The Browns played hard defensively again yesterday as they essentially only gave up two field goals.  Safety T.J. Ward led the way for the Browns on D with 11 tackles including a couple vicious hits.  OLB Matt Roth also brought his A-game with 7 tackles and a pass defensed.  NT Ahtyba Rubin (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and CB Sheldon Brown (2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also had decent games for the Browns.  The Chiefs finished up with 140 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.6 ypc) and they completed 16 of 28 passes for 172 yards.  The Browns are now 0-2 on the season.

The Browns beat the Chiefs 41-34 last season in one of the most exciting football games in the entire NFL.  The Browns will likely be going with Seneca Wallace at QB in this game but that won’t likely change the offense much.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns will likely try to pound the ball on the ground against the Chiefs.  Last year Jerome Harrison carried the ball 34 times for 286 yards (8.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs so in my mind he should get the bulk of the carries.  If they run a shared plan with Peyton Hillis this week I will be upset.  With Seneca Wallace playing at QB this week I see more rollouts and throws to the TEs.  Ben Watson and Evan Moore could get a lot of work in against the Chiefs.  Also, look for the Browns to run some crazy trick plays when Josh Cribbs and Seneca Wallace are on the field together.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs blitzed the Browns for 491 yards of offense in last year’s meeting.  The most important thing the Browns have to do in this game is to limit Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas on punt and kickoff returns as they set up the Chiefs’ offfense with a lot of short fields.  After that, they need to focus on stopping Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones who rushed for 131 yards between them last week.  Charles carried the ball 25 times for 154 yards (6.2 ypc) with a TD run last year against the Browns.  Matt Cassel threw for 331 yards and had 2 TD passes against the Browns last year but he only had 68 last week.  Look for the Browns to try to force Cassel to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 31, CHIEFS 28