Written by Jonathan Knight

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

RAM REMINISCENCE: Through all of the franchise shifts and turmoil over the years, the Browns-Rams rivalry has remained remarkably even. Including postseason games, the series is now tied 11-11. The Browns have lost three of four to the Rams since they moved to St. Louis and haven’t defeated the Rams in Cleveland since Oct. 26, 1987, when they soared to a 30-17 triumph on a Monday night in the regulars’ first game back after the four-week players’ strike.

ROUGH TIMES WITH THE RAMS: Since winning seven of their first eight meetings with the Rams between 1950 and 1963, the Browns hold a record of just 4-10 against them since the Kennedy assassination.

THE DROUGHT CONTINUES: The Browns now haven’t scored a touchdown in the first quarter in 10 consecutive games.

NARROW MARGIN FOR ERROR: This was the 34th one-point game in Browns’ history and the 19th defeat. Their most recent one-point setback was in November of 2009 to Detroit, 38-37.

EVEN WORSE: The Browns’ lousy 12-point showing looks even lousier considering the Rams were allowing an average of 26 points per game this season. Previously, the fewest points St. Louis had allowed in a game this season was 17.

A SCHIZO DEFENSE: The Browns’ defense went into Sunday leading the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed per game (165.2). Sadly, that’s wiped out by their inability to stop the run - they entered Sunday ranked 30th in that department, allowing 144 per contest.

NOT EXACTLY RUNNING ROUGHSHOD: The Rams entered Sunday’s game as the worst team in the NFL against the run, allowing an average of 153.6 yards per game, yet the Browns could only manage 126. On the other hand, that was their second-best tally of the season.

50-PLUS: The 52-yard pass to Greg Little just before halftime was the Browns’ second-longest play of the season, trailing only the 56-yard pass to Mohamed Massoquoi in the opener.

SURPRISING: For as much as the Browns’ offense has struggled, they still have more first downs than their opponents on the season (161-156) and have an advantage in time of possession (average of 30:38 to 29:21).

NFC NEMESES: Since their return in 1999, the Browns now hold a record of 17-32 against NFC teams. Only once (2007) have they had a winning record in a season against NFC foes.

SEEING OLD FRIENDS: Sunday marked the fifth time the Browns have faced a team for which their current head coach was an assistant the previous season:

1978: Sam Rutigliano beat Saints, 24-16

(had been Saints’ receivers coach from 1976-77)

1989: Bud Carson beat Jets, 38-24

(had been Jets’ defensive coordinator from 1985-88)

1991: Bill Belichick lost to Giants, 13-10

(had been Giants’ assistant from 1978-90)

1999: Chris Palmer lost to Jaguars 24-7 & 24-14

(had been Jaguars’ offensive coordinator from 1997-98)

WORST OF THE BEST: The Rams are the only team the Browns have lost to this season that currently has a losing record.

THE 300 CLUB, PART ONE: This was the fourth time this season the Browns have held an opponent under 300 total yards. Yet they’ve lost two of those games.

THE 300 CLUB, PART TWO: The 335 total yards the Browns accumulated was their second-best offensive performance of the season, trailing only the 416 they put up in the blowout loss to Tennessee.

A GOOD DAY: Colt McCoy put together his finest performance of the season on Sunday, scoring a quarterback rating of 97.5, marginally better than the 97.3 he notched in Indianapolis. For the season, he now stands at 78.2, 22nd in the NFL.

BIG DAY FOR BIG PLAYS: After compiling just 15 in their previous eight games, the Browns notched six plays of 20 yards or more on Sunday and only allowed three themselves. They still trail in the big-play department for the season, 32-21.

AN OFFENSIVE OFFENSE: The Browns have now failed to score 20 points in 13 of their last 14 games. What’s worse, they’ve been unable to score a single touchdown in four of those contests.

WHERE WE RANK: Averaging 4.4 yards per play, the Browns’ offense ranks 31st in the NFL (ironically just behind St. Louis, their last opponent, and just ahead of Jacksonville, their next), while their 14.6 points scored per game is 29th. The Cleveland defense is allowing five yards per play, putting it seventh in the league, and their 20.3 points allowed per game puts the Browns 11th.

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