Written by Thomas Moore

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The Cleveland Browns return home on Sunday to face the Kansas City Chiefs and look for their first winning streak of more than two games since 2009.

Following wins against Pittsburgh and Oakland, the Browns are looking to continue a turnaround that has seen them go 4-3 after starting the year at 0-5.

It’s appropriate that this game is being played during the holiday season, as the Chiefs are bringing the ghosts of Cleveland Browns past with them to the stadium. With Romeo Crennel, Brian Daboll and Maurice Carthon on the sidelines, and Brady Quinn and Peyton Hillis (maybe) on the field, it will be a cornucopia of memories for everyone involved, we’re sure.

The Opposition

Kansas City’s record: 2-10
Offensive rank: 21st overall/29th passing/5th rushing
Defensive rank: 16th overall/9th passing/26th rushing
All-time record: Series is tied, 10-10-2
Last meeting: Kansas City won, 16-14, in Week 2 of 2010
The line: Browns (-6)

What to Watch For

The game against Kansas City seems like it would be a great opportunity for the Browns to get their offense in gear and give the home fans a treat.

While the Chiefs are ninth against the pass, why throw the ball when it is so easy to run? Kansas City is 26th in the NFL against the rush, giving up 129 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry.

Hello Trent Richardson. The rookie running back has averaged 25 rushes and 96 yards over the past five games.

“I think Trent is a grind out runner,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said. “He can handle carrying the football numerous times. There are times when it doesn’t look like it’s always a pretty run and its four or five yards. That’s what’s important because down to down you want efficient runs. Of course, he’s shown throughout the year that he can get the ball in the end zone. That’s also important. You want to put players on the field that know how to get it in there.”

If the Browns can get the ground game going, that will go a long way toward slowing down Kansas City outside linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, who have combined for 16 of the team’s 21 sacks.

“They’ve got two outstanding pass rushers standing on the line of scrimmage, then their inside linebackers. All of the guys that have played are very, very active,” Shurmur said. “They have the ability with that scheme to naturally rush three, four, five or six and then be able to drop as many as eight. That’s what makes the 3-4 scheme a challenge.”

The Browns offensive line has been solid all year, especially in the passing game, as quarterback Brandon Weeden has only been sacked 21 times. The offensive line is the third best in the league in Pass Blocking Efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Protection-wise, I’ve stayed off the ground,” Weeden said. “They’ve given me time to throw, they have picked up blitzes and they prepare well. I can’t stress it enough how well they’ve played. Those guys have been remarkable for however many games we’ve played. They’ve been unbelievable.”

Of course, nothing is ever that simple for the Browns and, while it seems like the offense is getting better, the Browns have not scored more than 20 points in their last six games. The team is still struggling in the red zone and have only scored a touchdown on 38 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line, ranking 31st in the NFL. (More on who is ranked 32nd in a moment).

“I think we have to be better as a red zone team, first of all,” offensive coordinator Brad Childress said in an understatement. “If you’re going to get those points, you’ve got to be better in the red zone. That’s something that we probably haven’t accentuated as much as we would have liked to. It’s getting there. As I mentioned before, it’s about three quarters of the way through.”

The match-up between rookie wide receiver Josh Gordon and Chiefs’ cornerback Brandon Flowers will also be a key one to watch. Flowers ranks in the Top 10 at his position in nearly every metric that Pro Football Focus uses to rank defensive backs, while Gordon has shown in recent weeks why the Browns were eager to get into the supplemental draft to select him.

“I think everybody probably pays attention to (Josh) just from the standpoint of he’s been behind the defense a few times,” Childress said. “You kind of want to know where that guy is at and who is going to play in front or who you’re going to play over top of him.

“I think we’re seeing some different kind of roll coverage’s (against Gordon) and that’s one of the things that he can be better at. He does have to make adjustments as a wide receiver because of some of the rolls and some of the conversions that routes take when people do roll to you.”

On defense, the Browns should have an easier day going against Daboll and his patented field goal offense.

On the season, the Chiefs are 31st in scoring at 15.7 points per game (just barely ahead of Arizona), have kicked the third-most field goals in the league and is 29th in passing.

The Chiefs are fifth in rushing at 146 yards per game and are rushing for 4.5 yards per carry, led by running back Jamaal Charles, who has rushed for 1,055 yards and 4.8 yards per carry.

Charles will present a good challenge to the Browns revitalized run defense, which has held the opposing team to just 65.7 yards per game over the past three games, and ranks 16th in the NFL.

“(Jamal’s) got that great speed down the field,” said Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron. “He is a very good zone runner ... somewhat similar to Ray Rice. They are very, very good readers of the defensive scheme and where the holes are. They get there quickly, get in and out of the hole quickly and down the field and really attack a defense and make things happen.”

At quarterback is old friend Brady Quinn. Last week’s win against Carolina was the first time the Quinn/Crennel combination won a game together since the Monday Night game against Buffalo in 2008.

The job of taking away Quinn’s top target, Dwayne Bowe, will fall to Joe Haden. On the season, Bowe has 57 receptions for 731 yards and three touchdowns. Pretty good numbers when you consider who is throwing him the ball and who is calling the plays.

“I wouldn’t say his strength is his speed, but he can definitely make all of the catches,” Haden said of Bowe. “I think I just want to stay tight to him because he’s so big and strong. He will be able to look if the ball’s coming and a little push off, a little something like that, he’ll be able to jump up high and get the ball. I just want to stay as tight as possible to him. I’m not as worried about his deep threat as I am about just getting body position.”

The Prediction

It’s really hard to ever say the Browns, a four-win team, should beat a team.

Well, Sunday’s game against Kansas City is one of those times.

The Chiefs have two wins on the season, one coming in overtime and the other against a three-win Carolina team.

The Browns simply have to find a way to get it done on Sunday.

A win gives the Browns four home wins on the year (with one game remaining), the most home wins since 2007.

“I think it’s important to establish a home field advantage in this league,” Shurmur said. “We know when we go on the road that crowd noise can be a big distraction when you’re trying to move the football. Plus it’s fun to be able to put a good performance on the field in front of our home crowd.

“We’ve got a great fan base. I’ve said it all week, let’s not look at the record, this is a good football team. We’ve got to play our best football to find a way to win the game. I anticipate there will be a great crowd. They will be ready to go.”

It would also mean that the Browns would be 5-3 over their last eight games – impressive in light of the 0-5 start.

“It’s always nice to talk about victories no matter what,” Richardson said. “If it’s an ugly win or a bad win, no matter it’s always good to talk about victories. We’ve still got a lot to conquer and stuff like that. We’ve still got a lot of goals to reach. We’re still going and we’re still trying to get to where we want to be. We haven’t gotten there yet, we’ve still got a lot to put together, but we know we’re on the right page.”

A win would also give the Browns only their second winning streak of at least three games since returning in 1999 (think about that one for a minute), and keep the fans and the players engaged through the final three games of the season.

“We’re 4-8 and guys are still coming to work enthusiastic. Guys are excited about the opportunity,” Weeden said. “Obviously, we’re on an uphill climb because we put ourselves in the situation. We’re playing these last four games for the last four games. I think attitudes have been great. That’s all you can ask, especially this late in the year. Some guys will hit a wall, but I don’t see it. We’re hungry and it makes it more fun to come to work every day.”

Having said all that, giving six points to anyone is just too much to ask of the Browns right now.

We look for the Browns to win, but we’ll take the Chiefs and the points.

Record picking the Browns this season: 4-7-1

(Photo by ClevelandBrowns.com)