Winning is fun

The Browns' 13-10 win over the Dolphins yesterday was their second in a row, and this one was far more satisfying than the previous week's win over the terrible Carolina Panthers. The offense was not very impressive, but at least they didn't turn the ball over, and they did manage to take at least some advantage of the turnovers the defense got them. Jake Delhomme threw a pass that should have been returned for a pick six (that's an interception taken back for a touchdown, for the uninitiated), but he caught a break there. And he did engineer one nice drive, ending with a touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson. Watson was the brightest light on the Browns' offense, catching 10 passes for 100 yards. That was great to see.

The non-interception notwithstanding, it would be incorrect to say Delhomme played mistake-free football. He made a pretty big mistake toward the end of the second quarter when he failed to get rid of the ball on a third-and-four and took a sack for a nine-yard loss. If he'd thrown it away, Phil Dawson would have had a relatively easy 38-yard field goal attempt. Instead, Dawson had to try a 47-yarder, which of course bounced off the upright. That could easily have been the difference in the game.

In any case, the defense obviously won this one. The Browns picked off Miami quarterback Chad Henne three times, the last of which Mike Adams returned to the 2 to set up Dawson's game-winning field goal. They held the Dolphins to 281 yards, which is more than the Browns' offense got, but when you throw in the three turnovers, it's a very solid effort. And Shaun Rogers' field goal block was obviously huge.

I have to quibble with coach Eric Mangini's strategy after Adams' interception. He had Delhomme kneel on the ball three times before letting Dawson attempt the game-winning field goal. It obviously worked out -- as it would at least nine times out of ten -- but why not try for the end zone? Mangini wanted the field goal attempt to be the last play on the clock, which it was. But what if the snap had been fumbled? What if Dawson, reliable though he usually is, slipped or something? No field goal is guaranteed. If the Browns had put the ball in the end zone with, say, 40 to 50 seconds left, that would have meant the Dolphins had less than a minute to take the ball all the way in for a touchdown. Given how their offense was performing, that seems a nearly impossible task. I say the Browns would have been better off letting Peyton Hillis pound the ball at the line three times and seeing what would happen.

Regardless, the Browns did it. They have matched last year's win total, with four games to go. They even have an outside shot at a winning season. But if they win half their remaining games and go 7-9, I'll be happy with this season. They will be favored next week in Buffalo and the following week in Cincinnati, then will be underdogs for their last two, at home against Baltimore and Pittsburgh. So 7-9 is probably the most likely outcome for this season. But don't be surprised if they knock off the Ravens or Steelers. This team is capable of that sort of thing. Especially if Colt McCoy is healthy by then.