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Reeling Bills take on Browns

Nov 11, 2008 - 11:45 PM Cleveland (3-6) at Buffalo (5-4) 8:30 pm EST

ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- After losing three consecutive contests to division foes and surrendering the top spot in the AFC East standings, the Buffalo Bills and their struggling offense will get a welcome sight when they take the field Monday night.

The Bills will look to reverse the skid against rookie quarterback Brady Quinn and the defensively challenged Cleveland Browns.

A little more than a month ago, the Bills entered their bye week atop the division standings with a 4-1 record despite a 41-17 loss at Arizona in Week Five.

Buffalo emerged with a victory over San Diego, 23-14, off the bye week, but fell flat on its face during a key three-game stretch against AFC East opponents.

The latest flop came last Sunday in New England. The Bills managed just 168 yards of total offense in a 20-10 loss to the Patriots, dropping them into a tie with Miami for third place at 5-4.

New England and New York, which meet Thursday night, are tied atop the division at 6-3.

"Overall picture, we're 5-4," Bills wide receiver Lee Evans said. "That's who we are, that's what we are. Moving forward, the road doesn't get any easier. When you come down to this part of the season, you have to play well if you expect to win.

"You can't play a bad game and expect to get away with it at this time of season. This is when teams really start to separate themselves."

If the Bills are to score more than 20 points for the first time in four weeks, they are facing a defense primed to let them.

The Browns, losers of two straight and three of four, got a spark in Quinn's first start of his career but let the game slip away late in a 34-30 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Notre Dame product and 22nd overall pick of the 2007 draft completed 23-of-35 passes for 239 yards and a pair of scores, staking Cleveland to a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

But Denver rallied for three touchdowns in the final period and handed the Browns another devastating defeat, 34-30, on November 6.

"We let them throw the ball over our head, couldn't tackle and let the game get away," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "It's disappointing that your defense can't do some simple things and does some other things poorly. A 93-yard touchdown pass should never happen - ever."

Following the loss, running back Jamal Lewis accused teammates of quitting and several other players agreed.

"When you have a team like that that comes into our house and we're capable of beating them, that's the first thing that comes to your mind, is guys quitting," wide receiver and return man Josh Cribbs told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "[Lewis] didn't say any names, because you don't know who those guys were. But we know if everybody didn't quit, we would've won that ballgame."

In the last meetings between the teams, the Browns defeated the Bills, 8-0, in blizzard-like conditions in Cleveland thanks to a pair of Phil Dawson field goals and a botched punt attempt resulting in a safety.