Written by Jonathan Knight

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Useless nuggets of information from Sunday’s Browns game that you can certainly live without…

 

MORE OF THE SAME: That’s six straight Browns losses to the Ravens - marking the longest losing streak in the series, which Baltimore now leads, 17-7. The Browns have never defeated Baltimore in more than two straight meetings.

 

TOUGH GOING: In their last four games with the Ravens, the Browns are averaging scoring just over seven points per game.

 

ROOKIE-ITIS: We’d been waiting for it and on Sunday Colt McCoy finally fell victim to Rookie-itis. Introduced to the kind of cold you just don’t see in Texas, McCoy sported a lousy quarterback rating of 27, dragged down by the three picks. It was the worst rating by any Browns quarterback this season. Previous low had been notched by Jake Delhomme (stunning!) in a half of action against Atlanta, a 30.5. McCoy’s previous low was a 68.2 against the Saints. His season rating now stands at 81.9.

 

NOW IT’S 20: It may have been brief, but it counts. The Browns have now held a lead in 20 consecutive games, two short of matching the third-best string in team history.

 

PEYTON’S PACE: With everybody in the Western Hemisphere now keying on him, Peyton Hillis had another rough day on Sunday. Still, with his modest 35 yards on 12 carries, he’s now collected 1,164 on the year, and still stands at 10th in the NFL. He’s also now gone four games without scoring a touchdown but is tied for fourth in the league with 11 for the season.

MORE LIKE IT: Josh Cribbs showed a little more spark in his step and consequently had his best day of the season on kickoff and punt returns. He averaged 25.2 yards on five kickoff returns (long 37 - his best return of the year) and busted loose for a 17-yard runback on his first punt return, also a season-best.

 

PHIL ‘ER UP: Phil Dawson has now connected on 21 consecutive field goals from 45 yards or less.

 

GENEROSITY: The four turnovers were the most the Browns had committed since they coughed up five last year in Chicago. In the last three weeks, the Browns are minus-5 in giveaways/takeaways, dragging their once-impressive season tally down to plus-2.

 

THE UNDER 300 CLUB: This marked the fourth straight game the Browns have failed to accumulate 300 yards of offense and the fifth time in the last six weeks.

 

TOUGH SLATE: The Browns now stand at 2-7 against teams that have clinched a playoff berth.

 

TEN’S THE LIMIT: This was the 11th time in the past two years that the Browns have failed to score more than 10 points in a game.

 

FEW IF BY AIR: The Ravens’ 97 passing yards were the fewest the Browns have allowed in a game since Week 12 last year in Cincinnati (96).

 

LOOKING TO APRIL: With a week to go, the Browns are in the thick of the race for the No. 5 pick in the NFL draft. Unfortunately, there are six teams that also stand at 5-10: (Houston, Dallas, Minnesota, Detroit, San Francisco, and Arizona).

 

DECEMBER WOES: The Browns’ record in the month of December since their return in 1999 stands at 15-33.

 

HIGHLY UNUSUAL: The Browns did not commit a penalty in the first half and only were flagged twice in the entire game. Altogether, the teams combined for just three penalties.

 

OUR PUNTING IS AWESOME: Reggie Hodges continued his quietly awesome season, posting a net average of 38.3 on a trio of punts, two of which were placed inside the Baltimore 20, giving him a season total of 29, good for seventh in the league. His net average of 38.8 puts him at ninth. Just as indicative of sterling special teams play, the difference between Hodges’ gross average and net average on Sunday was just 0.4 yards - meaning that’s what the Ravens averaged per return on the three kicks.

 

SOME WELCOME TRICKERY: For as creative (or desperate) as the Browns’ playcalling has been in recent years, believe it or not, prior to Mohamed Massaquoi’s dipsy-do scoring toss to Brian Robiskie, it had been eight years since a non-quarterback threw a touchdown pass for the Browns. It was Kevin Johnson firing a 33-yard strike to Quincy Morgan against Kansas City on opening day 2002 (which ended with Dwayne Rudd’s infamous helmet-tossing).

 

PROPS FOR THE D: Somewhat lost in the analysis of the contest was the Browns’ defense’s truly admirable effort against a dangerous offense. Our guys held the Ravens to just 258 yards of offense (4.4 per play), both inferior to the Browns’ offense’s 280 and five yards per play. Another welcome development after the last two weeks, the Browns ran only two fewer offensive plays than Baltimore and the difference in time of possession was only three-and-a-half minutes. On the individual level, Ray Rice was contained, picking up 92 yards on 25 carries, as was Anquan Boldin, held to two catches for 15 yards.

 

MORE GOOD D: For only the second time all season (Miami), the Browns did not allow a single play of more than 25 yards and only permitted one of 20 yards or more.

 

WHERE WE STAND: Now averaging 5.1 yards per play, the Browns’ offense ranks 23rd in the NFL (29th in total yardage per game at 294), while the defense (5.3 per play) comes in at 15th, 21st in yards per game (345.5). In terms of points, Cleveland ranks seventh defensively (19.4) and the offense is 31st (17.5).