The Browns have had enough heartbreaking losses this year not to feel sorry at all for the Panthers who gave them all they could handle yesterday.  Kicker John Kasay of the Panthers missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired (it hit the left goal post) giving the Browns a home win.  Jake Delhomme at times thought he was still playing with the Panthers yesterday, especially in the second half.  Delhomme completed 24 of 35 passes for 245 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (one of which was returned 37 yards for a TD by CB Captain Munnerlyn of the Panthers.  Peyton Hillis was incredible in this game for the Browns as he carried the ball 26 times for 131 yards (5.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he also caught 6 passes for 63 yards (10.5 avg).  Mike Bell pitched in with 14 yards rushing on 2 carries (7.0 ypc) yesterday in his best game so far  for the Browns.  WRs Mohamed Massaquoi (4 rec, 52 yards), Brian Robiskie (7 rec, 50 yards) and TE Ben Watson (4 rec, 40 yards) also had pretty decent games for the Browns yesterday.  The Browns finished up with 152 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 36 passes for 227 yards yesterday.

The defense was sloppy tackling against the running game yesterday and they let Jimmy Clausen hit some big passes late in this game.  CB Sheldon Brown (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed), safety Abram Elam (7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits), safety T.J. Ward (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and OLB Matt Roth (7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 3 QB hits) led the way for the Browns’ D yesterday.  Rookie CB Joe Haden pitched in with a interception in this game in his first NFL start.  The Panthers finished up with 151 yards rushing on 27 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 28 passes for 175 yards yesterday.  The Browns are now 4-7 on the year.

The Browns have lost two tough games in a row by a combined 50-40.  But they have really played well the last four weeks in which they are 2-2 as they have outscored the competition 104-81.  The Panthers are reeling as they have lost four games in a row by a combined score of 122-42!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Browns have the ball:  Jake Delhomme is going to start at QB in his game and he’s going to be sky high playing against his old team.  Even with that in mind, I see Peyton Hillis being the focal point of the offense both running the ball and catching passes out of the backfield.  The Panthers are allowing 128.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so Hillis should get his fair share of yards.  Delhomme is likely going to have time to throw the ball but he has to be careful as the Panthers have 11 interceptions this year.  I see this being the kind of game where the Browns take a shot or two deep to Mohamed Massaquoi.

When the Panthers have the ball:  I fully expect the Panthers to try to run the ball with Mike Goodson and Jonathan Stewart against a Browns’ D that is allowing 116.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  Panthers’ QBs have been sacked 30 times this season so look for the Browns to blitz more than usual to get into Jimmy Clausen’s head.  The Browns should slide safety help to Eric Wright’s side because I know the Panthers will be looking for him.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 27, PANTHERS 10

24-year old rookie QB Colt McCoy has a high ankle sprain which is going to cause him to miss a lot of time the rest of the year.   McCoy has played in 5 games for the Browns this year and he has completed 81 of 127 (63.8%) for 975 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also has carried the ball 20 times for 87 yards (4.4 ypc) with a TD run so far this year.  The Browns are going to turn to 35-year old Jake Delhomme as the starting QB this weekend against his old team (the Carolina Panthers).  Delhomme has played in 2 games for the Browns so far this year and he has completed 33 of 60 passes (55%) for 324 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs (48.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) so far this year.  Delhomme will need to step up this weekend if he wants to regain the starting job for a little while because Seneca Wallace is almost healthy.  This is a big blow to the Browns as the offense looked pretty good under Colt McCoy.

The Browns have signed 28-year old linebacker Eric Alexander.  Alexander played in 4 games earlier this season for the Jaguars and he had 3 tackles.  Alexander has now played in 48 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 51 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  Alexander was pretty much signed to replace LB Blakc Costanzo on special teams as he has been placed on I.R. with a groin injury.  Costanzo played in 10 games for the Browns this year and he had 7 tackles.  In two years with the Browns, Costanzo has played in 26 games in which he has made 21 tackles and he has forced 2 fumbles.  Alexander is capable of replacing Costanzo on special teams.

I have never seen a team by +5 in turnovers and lose a game which is exactly what the Browns did yesterday in Jacksonville.  Safety Abram Elam led the way for the Browns on D in this game with 6 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 1 interception and a fumble recovery (from David Garrard) that he returned 18 yards for a TD.  Fellow safety T.J. Ward also was all over the place in this game with 5 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Rookie QB Joe Haden (3 tackles, 3 passes defensed and a interception) and LB Chris Gocong (3 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries) also made some huge plays for the Browns in this game.  The Jaguars finished up with 145 yards on 28 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 25 passes for 226 yards. 

Rookie QB Colt McCoy took over the ball with 1:16 left in the game and no timeouts.  He drove the ball all the way down the field and took a shot to the end zone late in the game that bounced off the hands of Ben Watson and into the hands of safety Sean Considine to end the game.  McCoy finished up completing 17 of 28 passes for 241 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 39 yards (9.8 ypc) in this game.  Peyton Hillis had a hard time finding running room as the carried the ball 21 times for only 48 yards (2.3 ypc) but he also caught 6 passes for 95 yards (15.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  TE Evan Moore (3 rec, 69 yards) and WR Mohamed Massaquoi (4 rec, 51 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Browns yesterday.  The Browns finished up with 88 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 28 passes for 195 yards.  The Browns are now 3-7 on the season.

Both of these teams are back on the right track making this a big game for both teams.  The Browns are sitting on 499 franchise wins and they would like to get #500 this Sunday.  The Browns have won 2 of their last three games against the Saints, Patriots & Jets.  The Jaguars have won their last two games (Texans, Cowboys) but a combined score of 66-41.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns are going to feed the rock to Peyton Hillis against a Jags’ D that is allowing 114.9 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Jaguars are giving up 272.3 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 105.7 rating against them so look for the Browns to start to take the shackles off Colt McCoy this weekend.  The Jags don’t have much of a pass rush so McCoy is going to have a lot of time to throw the ball.  Ben Watson, Evan Moore, Mohamed Massaquoi and Peyton Hillis could have big games this Sunday in the passing game.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are likely going to try to be balanced this weekend against a improving Browns’ D.  The Browns are allowing 113.2 yards rushing per game but only 3.9 yards per carry so look for Maurice Jones-Drew to have to earn every yard he gets this Sunday.  The Browns will likely try to blitz David Garrard a lot this weekend to try to force him into making some mistakes.  WRs Mike Thomas, Mike Sims-Walker and TEs Marcedes Lewis and Zach Miller will be Garrard’s top targets this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 30, JAGUARS 27

39-year old head coach Eric Mangini and the Browns struggled to a 5-11 record during his first year on the job.  Club President Mike Holmgren was convinced after meeting Mangini in the off-season to give him another chance in 2010.  Holmgren had to be pissed about the clock management in last weekend’s loss to the Jets but the Browns have played outstanding football overall the last three weeks.  They are 2-1 against the Patriots, Saints and Jets the last three weeks but they are still only 3-6 overall this year.  The Browns are now 8-17 (32%) in Mangini’s second year on the job.  Hopefully the Browns finish strong so Mangini’s job isn’t an issue.

The Browns have signed 25-year old KR/PR Clifton Smith to return punts and kickoffs this weekend as Josh Cribbs is looking like he won’t be able to play.  Smith played in 2 games earlier this year for the Dolphins and he returned 2 punts for 9 yards (4.5 avg) and 3 kickoffs for 52 yards (17.3 avg).  Smith has played in 22 games in three years in the NFL and he has returned 48 punts for 565 yards (11.8 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has also returned 70 kickoffs for 1,946 yards (27.8 avg) with 1 TD return.  Smith has also carried the ball 12 times for 47 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg).  This was a excellent signing for the Browns as Smith has been to a Pro Bowl as a return man.  The Browns waived QB Brett Ratliff to make room on the roster for Smith.

The Browns have signed 28-year old cornerback Eric King.  King played in 4 games for the Lions last season and he had 7 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 56 games in his five years in the NFL and he has 70 tackles and 8 passes defensed.  With Sheldon Brown banged up the Browns had a need for another corner and that’s why they inked King.

The Browns have lost 31-year old linebacker Scott Fujita for a while with either a sprained MCL or PCL.  Fujita has played in 9 games for the Browns this year and he has 51 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles.  Fujita will be replaced in the starting lineup by 33-year old David Bowens.  Bowens has played in 8 games for the Browns this year and he has 11 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 2 interceptions which he returned for TDs against the Saints.  The Browns will miss Fujita who is one of the leaders of the defense so they hope Bowens will step up like he did against New Orleans.