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Browns look to clinch playoff spot

Dec 23, 2007 - 11:22 AM Cleveland (9-5) at Cincinnati (5-9) 1:00 pm EST

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- One more win, and they're in.

The Cleveland Browns look to clinch their first playoff spot since 2002 on Sunday when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Browns can lock up a postseason berth by beating the team against whom Derek Anderson made his first start.

Anderson began the season on the bench but got his break when the Browns traded Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks following a season-opening 34-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Anderson passed for 328 yards and five touchdowns in Cleveland's 51-45 Week Two win over the Bengals, and hasn't looked back since.

The Browns moved closer to the playoffs by beating the Buffalo Bills, 8-0, last week in blizzard-like conditions.

The arctic conditions affected everyone except Phil Dawson, who made two field goals, and running back Jamal Lewis, who rushed for 163 yards to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his eight seasons.

While the Browns need one more win to get into the playoffs, they still have an outside chance to get the AFC's No. 3 seed and host a first-round round.

Cleveland would capture the AFC North and secure the No. 3 seed with two wins and one loss each by the Steelers and San Diego Chargers. The Steelers own the tiebreaker edge in the division, based on a season sweep of the Browns.

However, the Browns need a win Sunday to stay alive in the division race, as the Steelers moved back into sole possession of first place with Thursday's 41-24 win at St. Louis.

Remarkably, the Browns committed no turnovers against the Bills. With the victory, they clinched only their second winning season since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.

"We feel good about that but the season is not over," said Browns coach Romeo Crennel, a candidate for Coach of the Year. "We still have two games to play and we want to finish this season strong."

Cincinnati is coming off a 20-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a defeat that assured the Bengals their first losing season since 2002.

Carson Palmer became the fifth-fastest passer in NFL history to throw for 100 touchdown, but the Bengals lost to a quarterback making his first career start - Shaun Hill.

The Browns have not swept the Bengals since 2002 and have dropped three in a row in Cincinnati, including a 34-17 defeat last year.