Where have the Browns been hiding it?

As we all know, the Browns went into their game two weeks ago against New Orleans with a 1-5 record. They were competitive in those games, even leading in the fourth quarter of all but one, but there was little reason to believe they could hang with the likes of the world champion Saints. And if you peeked ahead on their schedule, you'd see New England on Nov. 7 and the Jets on Nov. 14. You'd have been forgiven for assuming the Browns would go into their Nov. 21 game against Jacksonville with a 1-8 record.

But a funny thing happened on the way there. The Browns have now, in their last two games, upset two of the NFL's elite teams. And in convincing fashion, too -- yesterday's game against the Patriots was never in doubt. The Patriots came in with the league's best record, having lost just once. And the Browns beat them by 20.

How did they do it? Creativity and mistake-free football on both sides of the ball. And when I say creativity, I'm not just talking about the trick play that led to the Browns' second touchdown -- genius though it was. I've always loved gadget plays, and this one was a classic. I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it. Quarterback Colt McCoy walked away from the line of scrimmage while the linemen stood straight up, acting like the play was not going to start any time soon. Josh Cribbs sneaked up to the line of scrimmage and took the snap, then stuck the ball in Chansi Stuckey's ribs nonchalantly as he appeared to wander as aimlessly as McCoy. Stuckey went off-tackle to the left as the linemen suddenly snapped to life and started blocking, and ran it in for an 11-yard touchdown. It was a thing of beauty.

But the Browns did a lot of good things on offense, starting with Peyton Hillis, who rushed for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns. Hillis was an animal out there. My dad told me he reminds him of Ron Dayne when he was at Wisconsin -- not an overly fast runner, but a guy who has good moves and can run over a defender every now and then. I think that's a pretty apt comparison.

McCoy didn't produce any eye-popping numbers in his third NFL start, but he didn't have to. Considering he only had to throw the ball 19 times, thanks to Hillis and the running game, he acquitted himself quite well. He completed 14 of those passes for 174 yards, and most importantly, he didn't throw any interceptions. He didn't pass for any touchdowns, but he did run for one, after dropping back to pass and not finding anyone open. Young quarterbacks are sometimes too quick to scramble, but that was certainly not the case here. McCoy saw an opening and took it. And perhaps the strongest compliment to McCoy is to simply look at the Browns' record with each quarterback starting: Delhomme, 0-1; Wallace, 1-4; McCoy, 2-1.

On the defensive side, the Browns kept Tom Brady and the Patriots offense off-balance all game long. To hold a Tom Brady-led offense to 14 points is a real accomplishment. He threw for 224 yards, but because they were behind all day, had to throw the ball 39 times to get there. The Pats only gained 283 total yards on the day, compared to the Browns' 404. This wasn't the usual type of game in which a 2-5 team upsets a 6-1 squad, in which the winning team gets a few breaks but really didn't outplay the losing team. The Browns genuinely outplayed these Patriots.

Are the Browns suddenly one of the league's best teams? Do we have a real shot at the playoffs this season? I don't know the answer to either question, but I can hardly wait to see how we do next week against the Jets.