Browns clip Bills on Monday Night Football

The Cleveland Browns had been besieged with media scrutiny over the past two weeks after running back Jamal Lewis questioned whether or not his teammates had “quit” during a 34-30 loss to Denver on November 6.  They couldn’t be accused of “quitting” on Monday Night Football as they went toe to toe with host Buffalo in a closely contested contest before pulling out a 29-27 win on a 56 yard Phil Dawson FG late in the game.

Cleveland took control from the outset, and early in the 2nd quarter enjoyed a 13-0 lead on two Dawson field goals and a Josh Cribbs two yard TD run.  Buffalo fought back before halftime thanks to a Trent Edwards TD pass to Marshawn Lynch and a Rian Lindell 26 yard FG to head to the locker room down by only three at 13-10. 

The two teams exchanged field goals in the third before a wild fourth quarter.  Cleveland was up by 10 early in the 4th at 23-13, but Buffalo regained the lead with just over two minutes to play at 27-26 on a 1 yard run by Trent Edwards.  Cleveland regained the lead with 1:39 to play at 29-27 on Dawson’s career best 56 yard kick, and the Browns sealed the victory when Lindell’s winning field goal attempt with: 38 seconds left sailed wide. 

Buffalo lost for the fourth time in five games after starting the season 4-0, and the frustration was evident in the Bills’ players postgame comments beginning with QB Edwards who threw three first half interceptions:

"It's frustrating right now. I don't really have any good answers. I'm frustrated with myself and the way I performed."

Having missed the potential game winning field goal, kicker Lindell was visibly shaken and even more upset than his quarterback:

"Yeah, you have to make it. It's ridiculous. I missed my line. You have to make those."

Buffalo coach Dick Jauron, no doubt sensing his player’s frustration, sounded like a concerned father:

"It's not where we want to be, obviously. It doesn't feel like a free-fall, at least not to me. I can tell you, being around them, they hurt."

The good news for the Bills is that they’ve got a golden opportunity to turn things around over the next few weeks thanks to a favorable scheduling spot.  They’ll travel to Kansas City to play the 1-9 Chiefs on Sunday before returning home to host the 3-7 49ers on 11/30.  Hated rivals Miami come to town on December 7th.

Cleveland improved to 4-6 with the win and will play at home on the next two Sundays, hosting Houston and Indianapolis.  That’ll be followed by a trip to Nashville to play the red hot Tennessee Titans on 12/7.