In a season full of "signature" wins, Sunday's whiteout shutout may have been the most encouraging of all. The Browns blanked the Bills in a blizzard, freezing them out of the playoffs while icing their sixth straight road win.
With plenty to play for in the furious snow and winds, the home team played virtually error-free football. No turnovers. Just two penalties (though both were drive-killers that nullified third-down conversions).
The defense played its best game yet. It don't get much better than bagel thick with cream cheese. They ceded yards in the last drive to make the finale a little bit too interesting, but a nice read by Chaun Thompson, assisted by a gang of tacklers, punctuated the victory on fourth down.
The last-ranked defense, helped by the elements, a rookie QB, and some dropped passes, was admirably aggressive against the run, five times nailing the Bills back for a loss. Andra Davis was in on most of those. The veteran linebacker, whose play had fallen considerably since 2003, when he was the team's Player of the Year, was outstanding. He twice pressured QB Trent Edwards into third-down incompletions.
When was the last time Davis was such a factor? Was it September of 2005, with 19 tackles, 12 solo, against the Packers? November of 2003, with four sacks and 11 solo tackles at Kansas City? Maybe he's slowed down a step and the bad footing eliminated this disadvantage. Maybe the defenders around him are better and Davis seems downright average, if that, by comparison. Maybe both. But it's clear that he played his most consequential game yesterday, using a veteran's savvy to put himself in the right place at the right time.
Another Brown of long-standing, Phil Dawson, was also crucial in the touchdown-free affair. A kick from any distance was an iffy proposition on that flurrious field. To nail one each way -- a right hook from 35 and a backup ball beyond belief from 49 yards out -- further solidifies his legend in an already unforgettable season. He's rapidly moving up the list of the greatest Browns ever to put foot into football.
Most satisfying of all was witnessing the Browns imposing their will in the running game. With DA, Braylon, and Kellen, Jamal Lewis has the skill players around him that he never had in Baltimore. And now that he's here, the Browns have the power runner they've missed since Mumbles thought Tommy Vardell worthy of the ninth-overall pick in 1992.
No Browns offense in recent memory would have been able to take the ball at their own three yard line with a fourth-quarter lead and run it exclusively for three straight first downs, evaporating their opponents' timeouts and more than four minutes from the clock.
When your QB is two-of-six passing in the second half and you still pitch a shutout, that's an outstanding team effort.
A few other key plays of note:
- Whereas the Bills had some crucial late drops, the Browns were able to turn an early drop into a 25-yard gain that set up their first score. DA bought some time and hit Braylon with a fastball down the middle, which bounced back to Joe Jurevicius, who darted into the open field.
- On Buffalo's next possession, they drove deep into Browns territory. On third-and-12, Chaun Thompson lined up across from the center and played the spy. Good coverage downfield and controlled pressure from the fleet linebacker spoiled the play. The Bills, not daring a 41-yard field goal, tried and failed on fourth down.
- On the free kick following the safety, Josh Cribbs showed good awareness of the rules by letting the ball bounce out of bounds, setting the Browns up at midfield (wherever that was).
- Braylon, as we've come to expect, had some excellent catches, including two on the second field goal drive.
- Dave Zastudil's 56-yard punt to the one yard line was mighty helpful, though he later slipped on his plant foot and was lucky to get off a seven yarder. He's had better seasons statistically, but unlike so many recent seasons the Browns haven't needed to consider punting a major aspect of their game.
While the Browns didn't get the help they needed to make this win their springboard to the playoffs, it will remain fondly remembered by this and countless other Browns backers for ages. Old school football tends to dig such a trench, right into the marrow of a Midwestern football fanatic.
The upside is that the Browns can clinch a playoff berth as they did in 1980, by beating an inferior Bengal team in Cincinnati. And if the Steelers, losers of two straight, drop either of their next two games, both on the road, Cleveland could win the division and host a playoff game in January.
The weather, we know now, is just one of many forceful factors that Cleveland can bring to bear.