Browns coach Butch Davis acknowledges that Sunday’s win wasn’t pretty.
But looks aren’t important for the Browns, who are just happy to get back to .500 and start the season 2-0 at home for the first time since 1995.
“When you win that’s all that really matters,” Davis said Monday. “You talk about goals and objectives and statistics. … The bottom line is in January nobody’s going to care how you did it. It’s just, ‘How many did you win?”‘
But it’s still October, and the ugliness of Cleveland’s 17-13 win over Washington is still fresh.
Perhaps the most unsightly moment was holder Derrick Frost getting smashed by two Redskins defenders as he tried to run on a fake field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Frost was supposed to throw it, but didn’t see wide open offensive tackle Joaquin Gonzalez running toward the end zone.
Davis said the Browns have practiced the play for three years and called it a calculated risk. Kicker Phil Dawson, who hasn’t missed this season, would have been attempting a 46-yarder into the wind.
“If we had the chance to do it all over again, I would call it again tomorrow,” said Davis, who invited members of the media into one of the Browns’ film rooms Monday to watch the play in slow motion.
The video showed that Gonzalez would have had a sure touchdown. But the bottom line is the trick play didn’t work, and fortunately for the Browns, their defense caused a fumble on the Redskins’ final possession.
Cleveland’s defense continues to keep the Browns in games and has now held both Clinton Portis and Jamal Lewis to less than 60 yards rushing.
Linebacker Andra Davis said he doesn’t mind the offense leaning on the defense.
“It’s our job to do it week in and week out,” he said.
The offense looked lost in the first half, just like in the season-opening win against Baltimore. Any time they built momentum, it was blown on penalties and mistakes.
“We’re not always playing as well as we’d like to, but that’s something we’re smart enough to recognize,” Butch Davis said. “We know there are some areas we have to continue to improve on and we’re trying to do that.”
The Browns did get a spark on offense from Lee Suggs, who ran for 82 yards and the game- winning touchdown after missing three games with a neck stinger. Suggs’ return limited William Green to just four carries.
Butch Davis said the coaches will make sure Green knows he’s an important part of the offense.
The Browns had one other thing going for them — for the first time in three weeks they didn’t lose any players for the season to injury.
2-2 looks pretty good right now.
“A win’s a win no matter what. It’s so hard to win a game in this league,” center Jeff Faine said. “There are so many teams that are 0-4 right now. For us to be sitting at 2-2 with a chance to go 3-2 going to Pittsburgh … you can’t ask for anything more but 4-0.”
