It's a miracle! ... Or is it?

On Saturday night, my wife, Lisa, and I were sitting on the back porch, enjoying the lovely evening after having dined at Lola Bistro downtown to celebrate our one-year anniversary. (Incidentally, that restaurant is pricey, but very, very tasty. Michael Symon isn't an Iron Chef for no reason.) I mentioned that I couldn't remember who the Browns were scheduled to play on Sunday, and my wife told me it was the Saints.

"Ah, yes," I said. "They'll lose."

"That's what everyone's saying, but I don't know," she said. "I think they'll win. They seem to do that; lose to the crappy teams and beat the best."

My wife had a point. Each of the last two years, though the Browns have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, they've managed to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions. Last year, it was the Steelers, as part of the Browns' season-ending four-game winning streak that followed their 1-11 start; in 2008, it was the Giants, in an early-October Monday nighter that gave us false hope that the Browns could turn their season around. The Browns are likely to finish under .500 this year as well, and I wonder how many times a team has finished under .500 while beating the defending champions each of three years in a row. It's a highly unlikely feat, to be sure.

Anyway, like those wins, this was very sweet. The Browns beat the Saints despite being out-gained, 394 yards to 210; despite giving up 356 passing yards to Drew Brees, compared to just 74 puny yards by Colt McCoy in his second NFL start; despite the fact that the Browns' leading rusher was their punter until Peyton Hillis' last run got him up to 69 for the game. And they did it by getting four turnovers and surrendering zero -- and by using trick plays and executing them perfectly.

David Bowens was the obvious MVP of this game, in one of the most unlikely performances you'll ever see. You don't very often see a guy with a number in the 90s intercepting a pass, much less two in one game, much less returning both for long touchdowns. Yes, Bowens is actually a linebacker, not a defensive lineman -- still, he came into the game with a grand total of two interceptions in his 12-year career, and both of his interceptions yesterday came right around the line of scrimmage, not in coverage. As a side note, I generally don't care for showboating on the field, but I have to admit, his hot-dogging performance on the second pick-six was pretty entertaining. With no Saints around him, he had the luxury of slowing down gradually as he got closer to the end zone, then stopping at the goal line before falling in. I wouldn't have liked it if I played for the Saints, but it's their fault for not being close enough to stop him. In any case, Bowens is the first Brown to return two interceptions for touchdowns in a game since 1960.

And the trick plays were enormous. The Browns' first score, a field goal that gave them an early 3-0 lead, was set up by a trick return play in which Josh Cribbs caught the punt, started to run it back, then threw it across the field for a lateral to Eric Wright, who ran it all the way back to the New Orleans 19.

Then, in the second quarter, the Browns pulled off one of the most beautifully executed fakes I've ever seen in my life. On fourth-and-8 from their own 23, the Browns lined up in punt formation, snapped the ball to Reggie Hodges, and opened up a hole that Olivia, my five-year-old stepdaughter, could have run through for a first down. Hodges, who runs a little bit better than Olivia, took it 68 yards to set up a field goal that made it 13-3. He actually made some nice moves down the field, too.

Incidentally, that was the longest run by a punter in any NFL game since 1945, and that 76-yard run in 1945 came on first down. In those days, teams rarely carried a full-time punter or kicker, and Johnny Martin, the punter who made that run for the Boston Yanks in 1945, also played halfback and quarterback in his career. It's not known for sure, but it's entirely possible that Hodges' 68-yard run was the longest in NFL history by a punter on a fake punt.

The third trick play the Browns ran was less spectacular than either of those, but still impressive. Protecting a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter and facing a third-and-6, the Browns lined up in shotgun formation, but Hillis took the snap as McCoy ran a pattern out on the left flat and wound up catching the ball for a 13-yard gain that eventually led to another field goal.

This feels good. Yes, it only makes the Browns 2-5, but it gives us hope. The Browns won this with defensive execution and creative play-calling. Sure, I'd like to have seen more from the offense, but considering the situation, I can't complain too much about that.

And yes, my wife was right, and I was wrong. I'm sure it won't be the last time.