Serendipity: to make discoveries, by accident and sagacity, of things not in quest of.

 With the season in the balance and trailing by 18 points the Cleveland Browns had their moment of serendipity. With a lights out defense, outstanding special teams play and an offense that continued to put pressure on the Oakland Raiders defense the Browns owned the 2nd half Sunday. Those three things led them to a 24-21 win, their first of the season.

The game Sunday truly was one of 2 halves or maybe 1 and 1/2 quarters to 3 and 1/2 quarters. The Browns really stole the game momentum mid way through the 2nd quarter, when they went on a 7 play drive that culminated in a 3 yard TD pass from Charlie Frye to Darnell Dinkins to cut the lead to 21-10. It was the beginning of the comeback for the Browns.

The Browns then took the opening kickoff of the 2nd half and cut the lead to 21-17 when Frye connected on his 2nd of 3 TD passes, hitting TE Kellen Winslow II in the back of the end zone. It was a season defining drive for the Browns. On 4th down and 8 from the Raiders 31 yard line Coach Romeo Crennel decided to role the dice. The decision was gutsy, but was made easier due to kicker Phil Dawson missing a 48-yard field goal earlier in the game. Frye dropped back and fired a bullet to Winslow for 9 yards and a 1st down, 1 of 21 on the day. Two plays later and the Browns were with 4.

The Browns were a stellar 3 of 5 in the Red Zone, all 3 ended in TD's. It took the Browns season percentage in the Red Zone to 61.5%, 8 of 13. It was an area the team knew it had to address in the off-season and so far in 2006 it appears to be headed in the right direction.

QB Charlie Frye continues to run hot and cold. After leading the team back and out to a 24-21 lead the Browns got the ball back. Frye led them down field on an 8 minute drive, only to throw an ill-conceived pass into the end-zone. The pass was intercepted and gave a breathe of life back into the Raiders when they should have had none left in them. Frye needs to learn to throw the ball a way and live to play another day.

The offensive line had their best showing of the season. Frye was sacked just 2 times and Reuben Droughns was able to break the century mark for the 1st time in 2006. It is a sign that the line is finally beginning to gel and that could really help the running game and offense overall as the 2006 season unfolds.

Although the offense clearly never let their foot off the gas, it was the change made by the defense at halftime that made the biggest difference in the game. The Raiders had converted 4 of 8 3rd down conversions in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half the Browns held them to 0 for 4 and one huge stop on 4th down with the Raiders on the Browns 30 yard line. The Browns offense ate up the next 8 minutes of the game. The Raiders ran all over the Browns defense in the 1st half amassing 156 yards, but on the 2nd half they could only squeeze out 38 yards on the ground.

Raiders QB Andrew Walters was putrid on the day going 9 of 23 for 68 yards and a QB rating of 43.6. It was a combination of coverage and good pressure from the Browns defense. The Browns were able to get to Walters for 4 sacks and 1 interception on the afternoon.

Even with all the great play from offense and defense, the Browns would never have had a chance to win had the special teams not played so exceptionally. Not only were the Browns affective returning punts and kickoffs with Joshua Cribbs and Dennis Northcutt, they were also stout covering kicks as well. Cribbs averages 59 yards per kick return and Northcutt averaged 24.3 yards per punt return. Three returns led to three Browns touchdowns. Conversely the coverage teams held Raiders return man extraordinaire Chris Carr to a 7 yard punt return and a 25.5 yards per kick return.

The Browns will now fly home, but will leave the 800 pound gorilla in Oakland. They will once again hit the road next week to take on the Carolina Panthers and will look to win consecutive games for the first time under head coach Romeo Crennel.

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