Of course The Third will play

Will he or won’t he play Sunday?

One of his teammates doesn’t think so. His father, however, does.

He thinks he will. So do the Browns, who are preparing to face him in his first visit to Cleveland Browns Stadium.

One way or the other, Robert Griffin III will show up at CBS when his Washington Redskins furnish the opposition. Whether it’s in uniform or street clothes remains to be seen.

The Third, the most talked about rookie quarterback in the National Football League despite the presence and success of Andrew Luck in Indianapolis, is nursing a sprained right knee, suffered in the club’s victory over Baltimore last Sunday.

He’s got a couple of important things on his side as he recuperates: youth and the ability to heal quickly. Even though the Redskins have not officially announced it, he’ll play. Officially, they say it’ll be a game-day decision.

Washington wide receiver Pierre Garcon said flatly earlier this week that The Third would not play. Robert Griffin II essentially said nonsense, he’s going to play. Does Daddy know something no one else knows?

Washington coach Mike Shanahan has a chance to make the playoffs – the Skins are just a game behind the division-leading New York Giants – and he’s not going to risk putting Kirk Cousins, another rookie, under center against a Cleveland defense that has played well most of the season.

All of which makes The Third’s appearance that much more intriguing. Chances are he will not be as mobile as in the club’s first 13 games. And it’s that mobility that has allowed him to become one of the most dangerous players in the NFL.

He has been directly responsible for 25 of the Skins’ 34 offensive touchdowns, 18 with his arm and seven with his feet. He has compiled 3,650 of the team’s 5,027 yards. That’s 72.6% of the offense. A staggering number, especially for a first-year player.

It’s extremely safe to say that as The Third goes, do so the Redskins, who enter the game 7-6 on the season, splitting their six road adventures.

The fact he is somewhat hobbled, although reports from practice indicate he feels well enough to play, is a bit of a break for the Browns, who do not possess the team speed needed to neutralize him when he is healthy.

But his unerring accuracy – he completes 66.4% of his throws – is what has set him apart from the other rookie quarterbacks. His touchdowns to interceptions ratio, 18-4, gives credence to the notion it didn’t take him long to assimilate to the pros.

But the Redskins are a lot more than The Third. Reminiscent of when he plucked running back Terrell Davis in the sixth round of the NFL college draft in 1995 while running the show in Denver, Shanahan grabbed little known running back Alfred Morris in the sixth round of this year’s draft.

Davis, of course, was the missing piece of the puzzle who helped John Elway win a couple of Super Bowls in Denver. Morris, from little Florida Atlantic, will make the race for rookie of the year interesting. He has rung up 1,235 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 13 games and more than justified Shanahan’s faith in playing him over some veterans.

When it comes to throwing the ball, The Third shows absolutely no favoritism. Five of his receivers have caught 24 or more passes. But when he looks to the end zone, his favorite target is Santana Moss with seven scores, followed by Garcon’s four.

The former Mount Union Purple Raider has been slowed this season by a torn toe ligament in his right foot, but his appearance on the field seems to be a lucky charm for the team. The Skins are 6-1 when Garcon is in the lineup.

The Redskins are more than just two hotshot rookies on offense. Although they’ve given up the fourth-most points (329) in the NFC, they are an extremely opportunistic bunch, averaging nearly two turnovers a game. Six of their 40 TDs have been delivered by the defense.

They have picked off opposing quarterbacks 15 times, returning three for touchdowns, recovered 10 fumbles and own a turnover ratio of +11. Given his propensity for throwing into coverage, Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden had better be extra careful against the Washington secondary.

Most teams nevertheless prefer to pass on that secondary, scoring 27 touchdowns and averaging 289 yards a game. And with the distinct improvement of the Cleveland passing game, that assault figures to continue Sunday.

Running against the Redskins defense will prove more difficult for the Browns, whose ground game has been stuck in neutral for the past few games. Trent Richardson has not shown the burst and quickness he displayed earlier this season, but facing an old Pensacola, Fla., friendly rival in Morris might wake him up.

The Redskins like to funnel the run toward the middle, where linebackers London Fletcher and Perry Riley have combined for 216 tackles. Outside backers Ryan Kerrigan and Rob Jackson have accounted for 10 of the team’s 23 sacks.

Oddsmakers see this one as the lowest scoring game in the league this week, setting 37 as the over/under. That’s not the way it’ll go.

The Third makes his CBS debut a smashing success with three scores, two through the air to Garcon and Josh Morgan. Weeden matches him with three passing TDs, but Morris is the difference maker with another 100-yard game and two touchdowns while Richardson struggles.

The teams will pass the 37 points by halftime en route to the highest scoring game of the season as the Redskins bring the Browns’ three-game winning streak crashing down. Make it:

Redskins 42, Browns 27

Monday leftovers

There comes a time in the rookie season of a National Football League quarterback when consistency becomes the determining factor in judging how well he is developing.

Let’s take the case of Browns rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, who has become maddeningly inconsistent in the last few games. We’re on the verge of game 14 and he is still making mistakes that jeopardize his team’s ability to win games.

For example, he was not officially charged with an interception in Sunday’s victory over Kansas City, but he threw a pair of easy picks right into the hands of Chiefs defensive backs Eric Berry and Tysyn Hartman. Both were dropped.

No harm, no foul, right? The Browns went on to score touchdowns following those near picks. But the no-harm, no-foul thinking is wrong. Ball possession is one of the most important ingredients in winning football. It’s quite simple. Own the football and the other team can’t score.

Weeden, who should have known better, was extremely fortunate against the poor Chiefs, who are suffering the kind of woebegone season that’s quite familiar to Browns fans. Do that against better teams and you pay a much stiffer price.

And the Browns play three pretty good defensive teams in the next three weeks. One would think by now that Weeden would have learned from his early-season rookie mistakes, which were almost expected in the first half of the season.

But it’s already game 14 and we’re still seeing the same mistakes. His coaches say those mistakes are correctable. The question is what is taking so long to make those corrections? Is he a slow learner? Is no one home from the neck up?

I’d like to think that a baker’s dozen games should be enough time to have a good idea what other teams are doing to try and stop him and render him ineffective.

There is absolutely no question Weeden has the arm to get it done in the NFL. He has shown it with some outstanding throws all season. Only problem is he might make the tough throws a few times a game and then make a bonehead play.

Two of his biggest faults dovetail into each other. He holds onto the ball way too long. And he has a surprisingly slow release. He appears to wait for the receiver to make the break before releasing the ball instead of trusting him and throwing early.

Passing the football is all about timing and rhythm. It’s all about the quarterback setting up and getting in sync with his receivers as they run their routes. The longer the quarterback hangs onto the ball waiting for his receivers to make their breaks, the more likely something negative will take place.

Weeden, it appears, seeks to try and make the perfect throw every time, but hesitates when no one is open. His uncertainty as to what to do when in trouble is what gets him into more trouble.

He was sacked three times by the Chiefs and had time to throw on all three. Rather than stepping up into the pocket or taking off, he just stood there and allowed himself to be sacked. It’s almost as though he issues an invitation to come get me. His decision making on such plays needs a lot of work. The game doesn't seem to be slowing down for him.

And then there’s the alarming number of passes batted down by defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage. That shouldn’t be happening to a guy who is nearly 6-4. Pump faking a few times might solve that problem.

During the telecast of Sunday’s game, CBS analyst Steve Tasker, seemingly baffled by Weeden’s inconsistencies, said. “I can see a top-flight quarterback in there somewhere.”

Read between the lines and you infer there’s enough there to not slam the book shut on this guy. There are more than just a few glimpses that say he’s not that far from becoming a very good NFL quarterback.

But first, Weeden must concentrate on the mental aspect of the game. Understand the little things that go into making a solid quarterback. And one of the first is developing a consistency that gives your team the best chance to win,

The physical talents are there. He can still make the sweet throws. All he has to do to take that next step is show signs he is making an effort to minimize his mistakes. He clears that hurdle and there’s no telling how good he can be.

*          *          *

Have you noticed a difference in Greg Little this season? It might be a coincidence, but the wide receiver has made significant strides ever since the emergence of rookie Josh Gordon.

He seems to be catching just about everything thrown his way if it’s within reach of his hands. Last season, those hands seemed to be made of stone. Dropping easy passes was a common, almost weekly, occurrence that led fans to believe this guy might have been a draft mistake.

Perhaps it was the pressure of being the club’s No. 1 receiver that led to the drops. But that certainly is not the case this season and it appears to have caught the attention of the coaching staff, which is incorporating more plays for him in the game plan.

Now that Gordon seems comfortable with being the top guy and makes weekly contributions, Little has stepped up his game to the point where opposing teams can’t concentrate on just one receiver.

*          *          *

Chris Tabor has taken a lot of flak this season from critics, but the Browns’ special teams coach took a giant step toward redemption in the Chiefs game. The payoff was a happy alternative to what was originally planned.

With KC punter Craig Colquitt set to punt on the first play of the second quarter with the Browns down, 7-3, Tabor called for a punt block. Regular returner Joshua Cribbs dropped back to receive with Travis Benjamin head up with one of the gunners. At the last second, Benjamin raced back to receive and the much larger Cribbs sped up to the line of scrimmage, luring one of the gunners in to block.

The Browns didn’t get close to blocking the punt, but by reducing the Chiefs gunners by one half, it created more opportunities to block more effectively for the speedy and shifty Benjamin, who, despite being hit twice, sped 93 yards to score the touchdown credited with sparking the entire team.

*          *          *

Notebook: Nice to see coach Pat Shurmur and Brad Childress jazz up the offense for a change. The wildcat provided two nice runs for Cribbs; a pitch play to Little produced big yards; so did a double reverse to Benjamin. . . . The Browns stand at 34 sacks for the season, two more than last season’s total. They are on a pace for 42. Season high since the return is the 43 registered by Butch Davis’ first team in 2001. . . . The Browns are 5-3 with cornerback Joe Haden in the starting lineup. . . . Nice to see Montario Hardesty running freely and running very well. Nice change of pace when Trent Richardson needs a rest. Besides, he hits the holes faster than the rookie. . . . The Browns' plus-minus ratio stands at plus-8, the highest it's been since 2001. . . . In case you’re wondering, the last time the Browns won four games in a row was the 2009 season when Eric Mangini’s club captured its last four games. 

No fourth-quarter blues this time

Now be honest. The Browns’ 30-7 thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday wasn’t the shocker of the year. The Chiefs are just not that good. OK, they stink.

The final margin, however, provided a much-needed pleasant relief. How long has it been since Browns fans could relax and honestly enjoy the proceedings with more than a quarter left? Too long is the correct answer.

Kinda nice, though, wasn’t it? And downright strange at the same time since Browns fans are used to tight games in the fourth quarter that generate everything from angina to apoplexy.

It isn’t often the Browns are involved in a laugher on the right side of the score. The mystery in this one was removed early, but only after Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles gave Cleveland fans a scare by ripping off an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game.

Here we go again, some fans had to have said even before they could get comfortable. Twelve seconds into the game and the Browns were rocked back on their heels. There goes the two-game winning streak.

And when they couldn’t get into the end zone after reaching the Chiefs’ two-yard line late in the first quarter and had to settle for the first of Phil Dawson’s three field goals, a collective groan could be heard.

But the old saying held strong: It isn’t how you start a game; it’s how you finish. And with this young team gaining experience and slowly, but surely, learning how to close out games, that no longer is the case.

With 59 minutes plus left, this one was far from over. Little did fans know at the time that the Chiefs had shot their wad.  They sniffed Cleveland’s goal line just once after Charles’ spectacular opening shot and a second drive that ended with Ryan Succop’s short field-goal attempt blunted by the left upright.

After their strong start, the Chiefs’ next nine drives ended in seven punts, an interception and surrendering the ball on downs. They entered Cleveland territory only once in the second half, reaching the 16.

That’s how tough the Cleveland defense played all afternoon. After gaining 151 yards on their first two series, the Chiefs racked up just 159 more the rest of the game. Charles wound up with what proved to be 165 meaningless yards. A nice game and a crushing loss.

Cleveland’s offense once again left points on the field. The score could easily have reached 40 points. Brandon Weeden was at times brilliant, terrible and lucky. His rookie season continues to be fraught with inconsistency.

The final tally shows him with 17 completions in 30 attempts for 217 yards. It’s easy to be satisfied with his showing, especially after such a convincing victory. He  looked like a seasoned veteran on some of his throws to Josh Gordon and Greg Little, rapidly becoming his favorite targets.

But he missed wide-open receivers at times, maddeningly took three sacks by holding on to the ball too long and got real lucky when Chiefs defensive backs Eric Berry and Tysyn Hartman dropped easy interceptions. Had they been made, the Browns would have scored 14 fewer points.

Luck, it has been said, is the residue of hard work. And there is no question the Browns clearly outworked the Chiefs. There is also no question they have more overall talent.

In the National Football League, the great equalizer is the talent quotient. If your talent is better than their talent, chances that you’ll win rise dramatically. The Browns more than proved that Sunday against Kansas City.

The Chiefs can claim that Dwayne Bowe, their top receiver, missed most of the game with a rib injury and that Charles played most of the game with bruised ribs and was relatively ineffective.

But even they had to realize that even if Charles and Bowe had been anywhere near 100%, there’s still no way they would have come even close to the Browns, who spent almost the entire second half in Kansas City territory.

The Browns’ defense, growing in stature by the game, stuffed all but one of the Chiefs’ 11 third-down attempts. Kansas City quarterback Brady Quinn, coming off a club-record performance last week, looked more like the Brady Quinn who quarterbacked the Browns a few years ago.

The Browns stacked the box and forced Quinn to throw, but even then he did not oblige. He threw just 21 passes and completed 10 for a pedestrian 159 yards. And the improving Cleveland pass rush got to him for five sacks.

Not even the most frustrating part of the afternoon was going to stop the Browns on this day. Their inability to get into the end zone after rookie safety Tashaun Gipson picked off Quinn and returned it to the KC 13 on the Chiefs’ first possession of the second half proved disappointing.

An 11-yard pass to Gordon moved the ball to the two. On third and goal, the Browns had two touchdowns on consecutive plays nullified by penalties. Ben Watson was flagged for an illegal shift on his TD pass and Trent Richardson, who scored on a pair of one-yard runs, was denied a third TD when he was called for pass interference on his TD.

Throw in Travis Benjamin’s club-record 93-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter, kick starting the Cleveland offense, and you have the closest thing to a complete game by all three units.

With three hurdles left on the schedule, the Browns now have a legitimate shot at finishing with a respectable record. Unfortunately, those three hurdles are against the Washington Redskins in the home finale next Sunday and trips to Denver and Pittsburgh.

It’s safe to say the outcome of those games will go a long way in determining whether Pat Shurmur will be gainfully employed next season in Cleveland. The Browns win at least two of those games and it would be difficult to disinvite him back for the 2013 season.

A three-game win streak? Why not?

OK, Browns fans, try this on for size.

The Browns put a two-game winning streak on the line Sunday against one of the worst teams in the National Football League. The possibility of a three-game winning streak boggles the mind. Heady stuff.

Think you can handle it?

When the season began with five straight losses and six of their first seven, no one in his right mind would believe the Browns would win three of the next five games. They weren’t pretty, but looks don’t count in the standings.

When you’re a Browns fan, a win is a win no matter how it is achieved, no matter how ugly it might be. It still winds up in the column on the left.

And now they have a chance to cobble together a three-game winning streak against the awful Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. In theory, it should be a walkover.

That’s how well the Browns have played the last month of so, especially the defense, which has rapidly shown signs of becoming one of the most competitive units in the NFL. The run defense, once the Achilles’ heel on that side of the ball, now forces opposing teams to beat them another way.

The Chiefs roll in on the heels of only their second victory of the season, an emotion-filled 27-21 triumph over the Carolina Panthers the day after Chiefs linebacker Javon Belcher killed his girlfriend and committed suicide. It snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Romeo Crennel makes his first Cleveland appearance as the head man for the Chiefs and remembers the last time the Chiefs paid a visit to CBS. The former Cleveland head coach, who helmed the Browns for four mostly forgettable seasons, was KC’s defensive coordinator early in the 2010 season when the Chiefs eked out a 16-14 victory.

 “I’ve been back there before, so it’s old hat,” Crennel told the Kansas City media earlier this week, recalling the victory. “Winning is winning. Winning as an assistant, winning as a head coach, winning is winning. And when you win, you feel good. And when you lose, you don’t feel good. I don’t care what position you’re coaching.”

Typical Romeo. Bromide after bromide. He’ll never change.

This time, he brings along some familiar faces. Five former Browns dot the Chiefs’ roster: Quarterback Brady Quinn, running back Peyton Hillis, safeties Abram Elam and Travis Daniels and defensive tackle Shaun Smith. The coaching staff includes former Browns coaches Brian Daboll, Maurice Carthon and Anthony Pleasant.

Quinn, who supplanted Matt Cassel after the Chiefs’ miserable start, is coming off a single-game franchise record performance against the Panthers when he completed 19 of 23 passes for 206 yards and a couple of scores. Overall, he has just the two TD passes and four interceptions in four games.

Hillis, who arrived in Kansas City with great fanfare, has been a huge disappointment with just 193 yards and one touchdown. But he says he’s looking forward to returning to the city that helped place him on the national map.

“I’m approaching it like every other week,” he said. “It’ll be fun to go back to Cleveland to play, seeing some of my friends on the team and being around those fans because they’re great.”

It’s interesting sometimes how players wind up on the same team. Take Quinn and Hillis for example. The Browns traded Quinn to the Denver Broncos in March 2010 for Hillis. Now here they are on the same team.

The Chiefs started off the season scoring 88 points in their first four games before playing offense like the Browns used to. In the next seven games, they put only 73 points on the scoreboard before exploding last Sunday. On the season, only the Arizona Cardinals have scored fewer points (two) than the Chiefs’ 188.

The Chiefs have averaged 338 yards a game on offense, but have surrendered nearly 350 a game on defense. The key to shutting down the Chiefs offense is slowing down Jamaal Charles, who has run for 1,055 yards but only three touchdowns, and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

Strangely, they have run 113 more plays than the opposition (that’s 9.4 a game) and have a nearly four-minute edge in time of possession and yet they have scored just 15 offensive touchdowns all season. By contrast, the defense has allowed 37 scores.

Where the Chiefs have been hurt is in ball control, or lack of same. One of the main reasons for their poor record is a turnover ratio of minus 21.

On paper, the Browns should destroy the Chiefs on both sides of the ball. Kansas City has picked off opposing quarterbacks just seven times and sacked the quarterback just 21 times, 16 of those sacks belonging to linebacker Justin Houston (10) and defensive end Tamba Hali.

The confidence with which they are playing definitely works in the Browns’ favor. The Chiefs right now are vying with Jacksonville for the No.1 pick in next April’s college draft.

That said, some might think of this game as a trap game for the Browns, who sometimes have a tendency to underachieve against lesser teams. Will that be the case Sunday? Will Crennel’s little win streak in Cleveland continue?

Of course not. But it won’t be a runaway. In fact, it could be very close, low scoring and ugly. Make it:

Browns 17, Chiefs 13

Monday leftovers

They were called The Triplets down in Dallas. Capital T, capital T.

They arrived in consecutive years beginning in 1988 and proceeded to resurrect football in Big D after a five-year drought.

First, there was Michael Irvin, a big receiver out of Miami of Florida who played on Tom Landry’s last team in Dallas. A year later, UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman brought his big arm to the Cowboys. And then along came the missing piece of the offensive puzzle, running back Emmitt Smith out of Florida.

Aikman provided the leadership with his savvy approach to quarterbacking; Irvin became known as The Playmaker with his ability to come through in the clutch time and again; and Smith was the slashing running back who proved the perfect complement to his teammates.

Together, they rode the Cowboys to the playoffs eight times in nine seasons, three of them winding up in Super Bowl victories. They were the three-headed straw that stirred the Cowboys’ offensive drink. As Aikman, Smith and Irvin went, so went the Cowboys. And all three wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

So what does that have to do with the Browns? Right now, nothing, but there are glimpses of another set of Triplets, capital T, looming on the Cleveland horizon.

Call it far fetched, but think about it. Brandon Weeden has an Aikman kind of arm, Josh Gordon has surprisingly proved a playmaker very early in his professional career and Richardson’s running style is reminiscent of Smith.

Aikman finished 1-15 in his rookie season even with Irvin as his favorite target. It wasn’t until Smith came along in 1990 that the Cowboys began to make a move.

The Browns’ Triplets have arrived as the same time. All three rookies have taken baby steps as they learn what the National Football League is all about. Those steps are about to become larger as they grow more confident in their abilities.

We saw a large dose of that in Sunday’s victory over the Oakland Raiders. Weeden threw for a career-high 364 yards; Gordon caught six passes (in seven targets) for 116 yards and a touchdown; and Richardson racked up 72 very tough yards and a score.

If the Browns are looking for players who lead by example, they should look no further than these three. You can see the growth as they become more comfortable in transitioning to the professional way of playing the game. If anything, they’re going to get better.

It took the Dallas Triplets a few years before they became a force that lifted the Cowboys to championship heights. In Cleveland, that very well could happen sooner rather than later because they jumped onto the same page at the same time.

It is entirely possible, based on what we’ve seen thus far, all the Cleveland Triplets need to ascend to heights enjoyed by the Dallas Triplets is an offensive line that allows them to do what they do best.

That would mean whoever the club’s general manager is next season must upgrade the interior of the offensive line, most notably the two guard spots because what they have now is not working.

There are those who might argue that Weeden should not be factored into this equation because of his age. At 29, limited career longevity could be a mitigating factor.

Well, the Cowboys appeared in five Super Bowls in the 1970s with a quarterback from Cincinnati by the name of Roger Staubach. When he made his NFL debut with the Cowboys in 1969, he was 27 years old. Didn’t seem to bother him.

Now I’m not trying to compare a Hall of Fame quarterback with Weeden. That’s idiotic. All I’m saying is that age might not be that much of a factor if you use Staubach as an example.

The next year or two should provide some offensive fireworks if what we’ve seen thus far is any indication. Remember, they are still taking baby steps. Once the game begins to slow down for them, then we’ll get a chance to enjoy these Triplets.

*          *          *

Pat Shurmur has received a lot of criticism here for his coaching on game day, so it’s only fair to praise the Cleveland coach for a couple of gutsy calls he made in the Oakland victory.

It took a lot of nerve to send his offense back out after they failed to pick up a first down on a third-and-a-foot at the Oakland 45-yard line with about five minutes left in regulation and clinging to a 13-10 lead. He could have punted and pinned the Raiders deep in their territory. That would have been the passive thing to do.

The Browns were in the middle of what turned out to a 14-play, 94-yard drive that sealed the victory and Shurmur had a command decision to make. Fortunately, he went completely out of character and ordered another sneak. This time, the offensive line obliged and created a three-yard hole for Weeden to sneak through.

In the second quarter, Shurmur faced a similar situation. Faced with a fourth-and-2 at the Oakland 42, he surprised everyone and disdained the punt. Weeden proceeded to connect with Richardson in the left flat on a checkdown and the running back picked up 21 yards. It led to the second of Phil Dawson’s two field goals.

*          *          *

So what’s with the Cleveland run defense? All of a sudden, it’s becoming a force. Three straight games limiting the opposition to less than 100 yards rushing. What gives?

Having good health certainly helps. Right now, no one along the defensive line is in sick bay. All of which means defensive coordinator Dick Jauron can liberally substitute to keep all his guys up front fresh.

Everyone is contributing on a series-by-series basis. All are making it that much easier for the linebackers to remain clean and be in a position to make plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.

*          *          *

The Cleveland offense was so productive against Oakland, although the final score doesn’t reflect it, Reggie Hodges punted just twice. In nine drives, the Browns, who compiled 475 total yards, had only one three and out. The other eight drives averaged 59 yards.

All of which had a positive impact on the defense, which was awarded ample time to recover on the bench before having to face Carson Palmer and his arm. The Oakland quarterback threw a staggering 54 passes, but for only 351 yards. Weeden threw for his 364 yards with only 36 passes.

*          *          *

Notebook: Did anyone notice the Browns committed only two penalties against the Raiders? Tight end Ben Watson was called for a hold during the first series of the second half and Buster Skrine was flagged for fair catch interference early in the fourth quarter. That’s it. No false starts, no offsides, no pass interference. Nothing. Distinct improvement. . . . Joshua Cribbs must learn that when he fields a kickoff nine yards deep in the end zone, he must take a knee. He put his team in a hole on the kickoff following the Oakland touchdown that made it 13-10 by trying to come out. He made it to the nine-yard line. Cribbs is no longer the threat he used to be. . . . Greg Little is starting to become the wide receiver the Browns thought they drafted. He’s catching just about everything thrown his way. And he’s throwing some nice blocks. . . . Kudos to Sheldon Brown on a solid game. It seemed as though Palmer picked on the veteran cornerback all afternoon and he responded with (officially) four pass breakups, although it seemed more like 10. . . . Nice to see the Browns run some clearing patterns for their receivers. The Oakland secondary looked confused all afternoon.

Driving it home

It was the drive the Browns have been waiting for all season. The drive that eventually could define what this team is all about.

All season long, we have witnessed the Browns gagging away victories because of poor play in the fourth quarter. When big plays were needed, they went unfounded. On both sides of the ball.

But Sunday in Oakland, they took one rather prodigious step toward turning a corner that separates bad teams from average teams, average teams from good teams and good teams from great teams.

The ability to win games in the fourth quarter is an art that has escaped this team for way too long. Not on this Sunday, though.

Nursing a 13-10 lead but allowing the Raiders to inch their way back into the game on a 64-yard scoring play, the Browns were in a familiar spot after Sheldon Brown choked off an Oakland bid to take the lead with an interception midway through the fourth quarter.

The theft left the Browns pinned back at the six-yard line with 9:31 left in regulation. In the past, such a recipe meant only one thing. This was not going to end well.

A 12-game losing streak on the road was on the line for the Browns. Trips back home after games on the road have been quiet. Too quiet. Lots of thoughts on what could have been became commonplace. Those journeys back home became studies in introspection.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to prove something to themselves. The emotional high they enjoyed after knocking off Pittsburgh a week ago was long gone. Time to end that nasty road streak. Time to muscle up and win this game.

And that’s exactly what they did, marching 94 drama-filled yards in 14 plays that consumed six minutes and four seconds, doubling the Raiders (20-10) and putting the game out of reach.

The Browns needed to choke off the Raiders’ momentum. They needed to prove to themselves they could take charge of a game when it was absolutely necessary to do so. They needed to feel good about themselves. Finally.

The game-sealing drive rendered meaningless a time-consuming, prevent-defense-causing, here-take-it touchdown by the Raiders that only made the final close.

“Probably a defining drive of the season,” said Brown, who played his strongest game of the season. “We had an opportunity to see the character of that offense.”

Not a defining drive. The defining drive.

We won’t know how defining until the season is completed, of course, but we should get a pretty good idea the next time the Browns are in a game-winning or game-icing situation in the next four Sundays.

What this one did was tell members of the offense, whose fourth-quarter struggles are heavily responsible for at least three losses, that maybe, just maybe, they have discovered the clue on how to win games – or at least put them away – down the stretch.

This drive also added another chapter in the Brandon Weeden book of growing up quickly as a National Football League quarterback. With their backs scraping their goal line and the Raiders owning the momentum battle, Weeden shrugged off some first-half problems and went to work.

The long drive was littered with dramatic plays, not the least of which was an 11-yard completion to Josh Gordon on a third-and-3 at the Oakland 13. Without it, the Browns would have had to punt.

Then Weeden, who threw for a season-high 364 yards, played pitch and catch with tight ends Jordan Cameron and Ben Watson that ate up 59 of the 94 yards. But it was a gutsy call by coach Pat Shurmur that sent a message to the offense that this fourth-quarter nonsense was going to stop.

Third and less than a yard at the Oakland 45 and the Raiders had just stuffed Weeden on a sneak. The Browns called their final timeout of the game. Why? Another dumb move by Shurmur? Not this time. This time, it was the correct move. This team needed a kick in the hind flanks. Shurmur provided it.

Same play, Weeden called in the huddle. This time, the Browns went with a quick count on fourth down and the offensive line, which allowed penetration on the previous play, blew the Oakland defensive line three yards off the ball. Message received. And carried out.

That hurdle cleared, the Browns ratcheted up the toughness. On the very next play, Weeden found Cameron along the sideline at the Oakland 40, but the young tight end broke a tackle and turned what would have been a short gainer into a 23-yard play down to the Raiders’ 19. At a time when the Browns needed a big play, Cameron came through.

And then the Browns got something they rarely get in the fourth quarter – a break. On a third-and-one at the Oakland 10, Raiders defensive tackle Desmond Bryant, who earlier partially blocked a Phil Dawson field-goal attempt, entered the neutral zone before the snap and gifted the Browns with a  first and goal at the five.

Two plays later, Trent Richardson barreled into the end zone for the 10-point lead and the Browns knew this one was over. They knew the monkey was off their backs. They knew this was another of those types of growing pains that feel good.

The good growing pains have been too infrequent the last several seasons. But this was one was clearly a confidence builder. And for at least the next few days, the Browns can rightfully believe this just might be the beginning of something good.

This is a very young team, one that has slowly, almost painfully, learned the hard way the difference between winning and losing. They’re beginning to see that hard work does have its rewards.

So now, one streak ends and another begins. When the Kansas City Chiefs arrive at Cleveland Browns Stadium next Sunday, the Browns, who matched last season’s victory total with the Oakland triumph, will try to make it three in a row.

Three victories in a row and the Cleveland Browns in the same sentence. Let that roll off your tongues. Sounds different, doesn’t it?

At one point, that would have been considered an oxymoron. Not anymore. 

Just win, baby

The Browns have played five games on the road this season and been underdogs in each one. Lost every one of them, too. In fact, they have lost a club-record 12 straight away from home

But when the betting lines came out earlier this week, the Browns found themselves in an unfamiliar position: favorites.

That’s right, the smart Las Vegas money says if you put your money down on the Browns against the Raiders Sunday in Oakland, you have to spot the home team a point. Stunning, I know.

A game in the Oakland Coliseum, where the Raiders used to be nearly invincible and the Browns, of all teams, enter as the favorite? Yep. That’s how bad the Raiders, who sport the same 3-8 record as the Browns, have fallen.

Home teams usually get three points for home-field advantage. But oddsmakers are not buying the Raiders, even in front of the famed Black Hole fans.

Black Hole fans used to be extremely hard on visiting teams. The rowdy behavior of fans in sections 104-5-6-7 in the Coliseum makes the their counterparts in Cleveland’s Dawg Pound look tame by comparison.

The garishly dressed fans in those sections project the pirate image the Raiders like to have attached to their name, but they haven’t had much about which to get excited for the last couple of seasons. The Raiders were 3-5 at home last season and are just 2-3 this season. So much for home field advantage.

But these are the Cleveland Browns, the National Football League’s version of road kill. Not even the Raiders can mess this one up. Or can they?

Let’s take a closer look at this team, at one time a member of the NFL’s power elite. It hasn’t been exactly smooth sailing in Dennis Allen’s first season as head coach. In fact, it has been near disaster. And most of the finger pointing is at the defense.

In their 11 games, the Raiders have given up fewer than 22 points in a game only once, They have surrendered 169 points in the last four games, all losses, a 42.25-point average. On the season, they have allowed a league-worst 356 points, or 32.4 points a game.

That they have won three games is a testament to a decent offense led by quarterback Carson Palmer. In order to win games, the Raiders literally have to outscore opposing teams because the defense isn’t shutting down anyone.

And the situation didn’t get any better this week with the defense after third-year middle linebacker Rolando McClain reportedly mouthed off to his head coach and was told he was not wanted at practice. Unless a truce is reached, McClain, the club’s fourth-leading tackler, will be MIA against the Browns. (Update: McClain has been suspended for two games.)

The Oakland defense yields 379 yards a game (131 on the ground), has sacked opposing quarterbacks an NFL-low 13 times this season (the Browns have 28) and picked off just six passes, another league low (the Browns have 13).

It sure looks as though the inconsistent Cleveland offense might finally have some fun this week. That, of course, is if offensive coordinator Brad Childress and coach Pat Shurmur don’t give the sieve-like Oakland defense any respect. That’s not a given.

There is one factor, however, that might mess up whatever plans Childress and Shurmur have. The weather forecast for Sunday in Oakland calls for torrential rain and winds of about 25 miles an hour. But the Browns are used to playing in such conditions.

The entertained the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 28 in a steady game-long rain at Cleveland Browns Stadium with wind gusts up to 40 miles an hour. Those conditions dictated scaling back the passing game and concentrating on the run game. The result was a 7-6 Cleveland victory. That was the game where Chargers wide receiver Robert Meachem dropped a sure touchdown pass in the third quarter.

If the meteorologists are correct, one would think it favors the Browns because the Raiders, who average just 88 yards a game on the ground, rely heavily on the passing of Palmer and receiving of Denarius Moore and tight end Brandon Myers. That tandem has been on the receiving end of half of Palmer’s 18 touchdown passes.

What balances the scales for the Raiders, though, is the return of running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson, both of whom suffered high ankle sprains in a loss to Tampa Bay and missed the last four games.

McFadden, when healthy, is one of the NFL’s most dangerous runners. But the Browns’ run defense has been the most pleasant surprise this season. It has allowed just 112 yards on the ground the last two games.

With defensive tackles Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin finally healthy and contributing, word is getting around that running on the Browns this season is not as easy as it’s been the last several seasons. They have limited opposing teams to just 118.4 yards a game on the ground this season, compared to 147.4 a game a year ago.

If the weather forecast is correct, it figures to be a battle of the running games with Trent Richardson and McFadden dueling in the rain. Palmer, who sports a 9-3 career record against the Browns with 25 touchdown passes, and Brandon Weeden will spend most of the afternoon handing off. Trench warfare should dominate the afternoon.

Kicking could very well determine the winner of this one. Phil Dawson has been perfect this season for the Browns, while Oakland thunderfoot Sebastian Janikowski has missed just once, a 64-yarder against Jacksonville. And both men have proven deadly from 50-plus yards.

One last look at the stats reveals the Raiders have allowed 156 points in their five home games this season. That’s 32 points a game. No reason to think the Browns can’t match that and smash that losing streak to smithereens at the same time. The streak ends at 12. Make it:

Browns 32, Raiders 17

Weather permitting.

Make Babin a Brown

This one falls under the category “what do they have to lose?”

The Philadelphia Eagles Tuesday placed defensive end Jason Babin on waivers. And wouldn’t he look nice in a Cleveland Browns uniform.

There is no question the Browns need help at defensive end when it comes to making sure opposing quarterbacks feel as uncomfortable as possible when they drop back to pass.

There is also no question the team is much stronger at defensive tackle with the return to health of Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin. But the flanks need plenty of help. And that’s where Babin would be a perfect fit.

Outside of Jabaal Sheard, the Browns have no one who can apply pressure from the outside. The second-year man has had to deal with double teams all season. Put Babin on the right side and those double teams disappear.

OK, the Browns are tied for 11^th in sacks in the National Football League with 27, but they have been distributed among 16 players. Four players – D’Qwell Jackson, Juqua Parker, Frostee Rucker and Sheard – lead the team with three.

With a weapon like Babin opposite Sheard, the Browns would have two players capable of registering double digits in dropping quarterbacks. Just another weapon for defensive coordinator Dick Jauron to have fun with.

Sure, the Browns are just 3-8 this season. So why do they need someone like Babin right now? He’s 32 years old, in his eighth NFL season and arguably past his peak. And he’s got only 5½ sacks this season, which, by the way, led the Eagles before his release.

So why go after him? Well, first of all, 5½ is 2½ better than anyone on the Browns. Second of all, he had 18 sacks last season with the Eagles and 12½ the season before with the Tennessee Titans. He didn’t ring up those numbers by accident. The man knows how to rush the quarterback.

At 6-3, 265 pounds, he is the prototypical defensive end in the 4-3 scheme. He would be the perfect complement to Sheard and relegate Parker and Rucker to strictly running situations.

Whoever claims Babin will be on the hook for $1.64 million for the rest of this season. The surprising move by the Eagles looks like a salary dump. It creates $3.7 million in cap space for them next season.

Babin also has three years and $16.65 million left on his original five-year contract. That money is not guaranteed. He’d be a cheap pickup.

The Browns need a personality on both sides of the ball, but defense is all about attitude and the addition of Babin would go a long way in developing the kind of attitude and swagger this team needs to become more than just fodder on a weekly basis.

Even if he’s around for just two or three seasons, it would be worth it to bring in someone like him to help establish the culture they’re looking for.

If Jimmy Haslam III and Joe Banner want to create a winning atmosphere, they’ve got to go out and get guys who know how to win and be successful. And Babin, with his Philadelphia connection, is one of those guys.

Banner knows Babin, So do Tom Heckert Jr. and Pat Shurmur. They know what he can do. They know he can be a valuable contributor to the Browns’ cause.

So what do they have to lose by going after him? Absolutely nothing.

Monday leftovers

While writing Sunday’s piece about the Browns victory over Pittsburgh, it occurred to me more than a few times that the Steelers tried mightily to give away the victory.

Rather than make it the crux of the piece, I figured this was a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers for goodness sakes. How often do the Browns beat the Steelers?

Leave it alone, I told myself. Let the fans enjoy this one. What difference does it make how they won the game?

They won.

And then I read something early Monday that made me think again on the matter. Yahoo Sports pro football guru Mike Silver wrote it in his Morning Rush column. Way down at the bottom, in a category entitled Things I Can’t Comprehend, he wrote the following about the Browns-Steelers game:

(I Can’t Comprehend) How the Cleveland Browns could force eight turnovers – including one fumble from each of the team’s four running backs – and still have to sweat out a 20-14 victory . . . The outcome might have been reversed had a dubious down-by-contact call not negated a late Trent Richardson fumble (which Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin, out of timeouts, was powerless to challenge). “Eight (expletive) turnovers and we won by only six at home,” said one frustrated Cleveland offensive starter. Added a defensive starter: “We should have scored 50 points.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized my initial reaction was closer to the correct reaction.  So . . .

On second thought . . .

The Browns could have – and should have – won this one by a much larger margin instead of putting their fans though another fourth-quarter nightmare.

How? This is where the Browns started their drives following a Pittsburgh turnover and the end result of that drive. You be the judge.

First quarter, 11:38 left, the Browns start at their 44 following a Rashard Mendenhall fumble and score on a Phil Dawson 29-yard field goal.

Second quarter, 13:41 left, the Browns start at the Pittsburgh 10 following an Isaac Redman fumble and score three plays later on a five-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron.

Second quarter, 3:12 left, the Browns start at the Pittsburgh 34 following a Jonathan Dwyer fumble, go three and out and punt.

Third quarter, 7:05 left, the Browns start at the Pittsburgh 32 following an interception and Richardson scores on a 15-yard run up the middle on the third play.

Fourth quarter, 11:59 left, the Browns start at their 26 following an interception and punt six plays later.

Fourth quarter, 3:00 left, the Browns start at their 19 following an interception and punt after another three and out.

Fourth quarter, 2:25 left, the Browns start at the Pittsburgh 40 following a Chris Rainey fumble and rack up another three and out.

The eighth turnover was inconsequential because it occurred on the last play of the game when the Steelers were locked in desperation mode.

The Browns left many points on the field because of timid play calling by Pat Shurmur. It was almost as though the Cleveland coach was afraid his rookie quarterback would make a critical mistake against the savvy Pittsburgh defense.

The Steelers’ defense had to be angry at the offense because they were back on the field before they could cool off. And the Cleveland defense, which outshone the Pittsburgh defense, had to be angry at the offense for not putting more points on the board.

The Browns started five of their 15 drives in Pittsburgh territory, and three others that began from around their 40, and came away with just 17 points. Eight drives within 60 yards of the Pittsburgh goal line and a paltry 17 points.

Seven of their last eight possessions ended in a punt by Reggie Hodges, who had 10 on the afternoon. Their longest drive was 44 yards and took 10 plays, taking 5:34 off the clock. Twelve of their 15 possessions lasted less than three minutes.

The way Shurmur called the game, especially in the fourth quarter after Brandon Weeden suffered a possible concussion late in the quarter, how could anyone come away not thinking he was coaching not to lose?

Coaching defensively is coaching passively. And that will lose you more games in the National Football League than it’ll win you.

Such conservatism has cost Shurmur in other games this season. In this one, he was awfully lucky Ben Roethlisberger was in street clothes on the Pittsburgh sideline.

*          *          *

Has anyone noticed how slow Richardson is to the hole? His initial burst needs more burst. Perhaps that’s why the hole isn’t there when he arrives at what at one time was an opening.

Too many times this season we have seen Richardson just duck his head into a pile of bodies and try to muscle his way through. Players on opposing teams say the rookie is hard to bring down, but it sure would be nice to see him avoid tacklers rather than trying to go through them.

It’s hard to say whether he sees other holes rather than the prescribed one since he rarely bounces plays outside. Watching him try hard on a weekly basis is painful. In the last two games, he has run the ball 57 times for 180 yards. That’s 3.16 yards a tote. That also is unacceptable. With that many carries, he should be around 230.

*          *          *

Loved the reason the Browns gave for cancelling their Inflatable White Flag promotion for the Steelers game.

“After further and careful consideration, we felt it was in the best interests of everyone involved that we not have a giveaway item at (Sunday’s) game,” team spokesman Neil Gulkis said. “It is something that was intended for fun for out fans and something they could rally around and we regret that some didn’t perceive it that way.”

That’s right. Blame someone else for hooking up with a gimmick that represents the international symbol for surrender. Just admit it was a mistake and move on. Don’t blame others. Look in the mirror for the blame.

The “some who didn’t perceive it that way” most likely were some of the team’s players. Said linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, “I’m not a fan of the white flags. It’s just not a message that I like and I’m sure a lot of the other guys don’t approve of.”

*          *          *

What in the world happened to the Browns penalty discipline? Ten penalties for 90 yards in the Pittsburgh game? Five holding penalties on the offensive line? What’s going on here?

Offensive line coach George Warhop has some explaining to do. That is totally unacceptable. It kills any momentum a team is trying to generate. Where is the discipline?

*          *          *

Notebook: The Browns were lucky the Steelers were out of timeouts and couldn’t challenge Richardson’s fumble right before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. The ball definitely was out, but the whistle blew the play dead. A replay would have given the ball to the Steelers. . . . Correction (since made) in Sunday’s gamer: The Steelers averaged nearly 140 (not 160) yards a game rushing in the last five games before the Browns loss. . . . Will Dawson ever miss a field goal this season? He’s perfect on 21 attempts, including five of 50 yards or more. . . . So long to Mike Holmgren, whose legacy as the Browns’ president is a 12-31 record. He’s a Hall of Fame coach who stepped way out of his league when he said yes to Randy Lerner. Suffice it to say he won’t be missed.

A win is a win is a win

The Pittsburgh Steelers played like the Cleveland Browns Sunday and suffered the same fate the Browns have against Pittsburgh way too many times since 1999.

The Steelers played Santa Claus a month early at Cleveland Browns Stadium Sunday, coughing up the football eight times, committing nine penalties and generally playing Cleveland Browns football.

Taking nothing away from the Browns, who played a stunningly aggressive (for them) brand of defense all afternoon, but the 20-14 Cleveland victory might have been different if Ben Roethlisberger had been the Pittsburgh quarterback.

We’ll never know, of course, but when it comes to the Steelers, a victory is a victory no matter how you achieve it. It’s only the fifth time in the last 28 games that the Browns have left the field on the plus side of the score.

All Big Ben could do was watch helplessly from the sideline as the Cleveland defense relentlessly outslugged the Pittsburgh offense all afternoon in what can legitimately be called the team’s best defensive effort of the season. The trenches belonged solely to the Browns, time and again beating the Steelers off the ball.

It was no accident that the Browns achieved the trifecta plus two on the afternoon. Four Pittsburgh running backs, eight fumbles, five lost. No matter whom Steelers coach Mike Tomlin tried, ball security was a lost art. The Browns converted three of Pittsburgh's eight turnovers into 17 of their points.

Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman and Chris Rainey all tried to run and hold on to the ball at the same time. And failed.

As it turned out, Dick Jauron’s aggressive approach – smack them in the mouth before they smack you in the mouth – was the perfect antidote to whatever the Steelers had in mind on offense.

Sure, Charlie Batch quarterbacked the Steelers, but he has beaten the Browns before and the Pittsburgh running game has averaged nearly 140 yards a game for the last five games. But the Browns shut that down in a hurry by stacking the box, forcing Batch to throw.

Of course he’s no Roethlisberger, a playmaker who rarely misses open receivers and is brilliant at extending plays with his feet. Batch, slower than ever at 37, can do neither. And he showed it Sunday with three interceptions.

Does Roethlisberger’s absence cheapen this victory? Absolutely not. This was well earned. It was extremely ugly, but well earned.

It looked real ugly early, though, when Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons intercepted Brandon Weeden on a deflected pass on the fourth play of the game and romped 53 yards with the pick 6. Boy, does this look familiar, moaned at least a few Browns fans.

And when Rainey bounced off the pile at the goal line and raced into the end zone with a second remaining in the first half to give the Steelers a 14-13 lead, it provided another here-we-go-again moment. Sheldon Brown’s mugging of Plaxico Burress in the end zone set it up.

Each club relentlessly hurled bombs of self-destruction with alarming consistency all afternoon. Bad penalties at inopportune times had Pat Shurmur and Tomlin shaking their heads in disbelief at the ineptitude.

The Browns were three of 16 on third down; the Steelers were one of nine. The Browns committed 10 penalties for 90 yards; the Steelers were flagged nine times for 68 yards. Throw in several others that were declined and we’re looking at 200 in penalty yardage.

Good teams don’t play the game in reverse. Backward march is not their mantra. It seemed as though referee Ron Winter’s crew reached for their flags on just about every third play.

But still with all this, the Browns, bless their hearts, couldn’t help by making it exciting down the stretch. How many times have we seen them enter the fourth quarter with a lead, only to somehow find a way to blow it and lose? Answer: too many.

Browns fans have come to expect fourth-quarter letdowns, fourth-quarter trauma and ultimately fourth-quarter losses. They can’t help themselves. It’s in their DNA.

That moment, strange as it might seem, never occurred against the Steelers. That, in large part, was because Roethlisberger was a sideline spectator. That 20-14 lead entering the final quarter never seemed safer. The only way it would have been jeopardized is if Big Ben had gone to the locker room and suited up.

The Steelers’ first drive of the fourth quarter began at the Cleveland 46 and wound up in a Billy Winn interception after Mike Wallace bobbled Batch’s pass and Joe Haden knocked it into the air for Winn to grab.

So far, so good.

Next drive, a quick three and out. What’s going on here? There’s got to be a how-are-they-going-to-lose moment somewhere. After all, these are the Steelers and those Terrible Towels always seem to work their magic.

Third drive begins at the Pittsburgh 15 and ends with a Haden pick on a deep throw to Wallace that was underthrown. Still three minutes to go in the game and the Steelers have all their timeouts.

But wait a minute. Here comes Colt McCoy in at quarterback because Weeden’s helmet and Joe Thomas’ knee collided on the last play of the last series. A healthy McCoy is a lot better than a woozy Weeden.

Three Trent Richardson runs – talk about conservative football, but it worked – and three Pittsburgh timeouts later, the Browns punt and the Steelers begin the drive at their 26 with just one timeout (the two-minute warning) left. Plenty of time to reach for another nail to drive into the hearts of Browns fans.

But it’s Charlie Batch, not Big Ben, under center for the Steelers. No need to worry. Not on this afternoon. Some fans just knew there was no way the Steelers would somehow pull this one out because it wasn’t meant to happen.

And sure enough, Rainey cooperated on the very first play by belching up the football after Haden spun him around and T. J. Ward and D’Qwell Jackson sandwiched him, defensive tackle Phil Taylor gathering in the spoils with 2:25 left.

Time to breathe. Relax. This one actually is going to wind up in the win column. You can smile now.

You remember what it’s like after a Steelers victory, don’t you? First time since Dec. 10, 2009.

As it turned out, a pair of Phil Dawson field goals and touchdowns by Richardson on a perfectly executed 15-yard draw play in the third quarter and Jordan Cameron on a terrific five-yard throw by Weeden against a stingy Pittsburgh defense in the second quarter proved just enough to win.

The Cleveland defense was even stingier, limiting Pittsburgh running backs to just 49 yards rushing. In 16 series, the Steelers ran a meager 55 plays.

The Browns sacked Batch only once, mostly because the Steelers employed quick developing plays, but forced him to throw before he wanted on several other occasions.

If nothing else, the Browns proved to themselves that hard work, determination and perseverance can translate into winning a game.

Now let’s see if they can do it two weeks in a row next Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, an eminently beatable team.