Good gravy, the Browns have won four straight!

Do you know how many NFL teams ended the 2009 season with at least four straight wins? Three. The AFC West champion Chargers, who have won their last 11; the Texans, who finished 9-7 and only missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker; and your Cleveland Browns. Do you know how many times the Browns have won four straight games since returning to the league as an expansion team? One. The last four games of the 2009 season.

And a team that was once 1-11 won their last four to finish 5-11. What are the odds of that? Has that ever happened before? I checked the Elias Sports Bureau's "Elias Says," and they don't have any information about that, but they do point out that Pro Bowler Josh Cribbs is only the second player in league history to score touchdowns on a kickoff return, a punt return, a reception and a rush (Brian Westbrook is the other); and with 127 rushing yards in Sunday's finale against the Jaguars, Jerome Harrison racked up 561 yards over the last three games, the second-highest total in league history (O.J. Simpson had 647 in 1976).

The Browns have known for months that they weren't going to get into the playoffs, but the visiting Jaguars went into yesterday's game with a 7-8 record and a chance, albeit a very slim one, of qualifying for the postseason tournament. But it was the Browns who looked as if they were playing for something yesterday. They closed the season with a 23-17 victory that would have been 23-10 if not for the Jags' meaningless final drive. There was never any doubt about this one.

The Browns won despite just 86 passing yards from Derek Anderson, probably in his last start as a Brown, possibly in his last game as a Brown. But Anderson only threw the ball 11 times, completing seven. He did throw a pick. But this game was won on the ground, with another fine performance from Harrison, plus 47 rushing yards from Cribbs and 38 yards from Chris Jennings. Jennings turned in a fine performance off the bench. Remember that run where he was trapped behind the line of scrimmage, then reversed course and wound up going for 11 yards? That kid's got talent.

And the Browns' defense played well too, holding the Jaguars to 328 total yards. Eric Mangini is a defense-minded coach, and should be pleased with the strides his defense has made this year. If he's back next year, presumably a new offensive coordinator will come in and run Mike Holmgren's preferred West Coast offense. I'd think they could work that out. If not, Mangini has made a case for his next job.

Either way, I can't wait to see this Browns team next year.