The Cleveland Browns Are Super Bowl Bound!

THE CLEVELAND BROWNS ARE SUPER BOWL BOUND!

Wow! Did you see that game last Saturday? Those Lions did not know what hit them.

It looked as though I was watching a combination of the 2005 World Champion Patriots offense and the 1986 World Champion Bears defense!

Now that I have your attention—Gotcha!

For those of you who are drinking that big glass of Kool-Aide, please slow down. That was the 0-16 Detroit Lions, with a rookie quarterback no less.

For those of you who were ready to declare the season over after last week’s debacle against the Packers, you should take a chill pill too.

There were some good things to take out of the 27-10 thrashing of the hapless Lions. The Browns played with more poise and focus on Saturday night.

Jamal Lewis scored the first Browns offensive touchdown in seven games.

For the second week in a row, Eric Wright showed he is ready to take the next step as a playmaking corner. This time he intercepted rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford’s first pass attempt of the game. Brandon McDonald, Corey Ivey and Hank Poteat all made plays at the cornerback position as well.

Joshua Cribbs returned a punt 84-yards for a touchdown, caught a 20-yard pass, and would have had a 95-yard touchdown run on the opening kickoff had it not been called back for holding. Cribbs punt return came replete with several cut-backs, followed by a vicious stiff-arm, before making his way down the sideline.

Derek Anderson may have played his way back onto the radar with a brilliant opening quarter drive that resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by Jamal Lewis.

For the day, Anderson was nine of 13 for 130 yards, while showing that canon-for-an-arm that has mesmerized many scouts. The wide receiving corpse played especially well, including rookie wideouts Brian Robiskie (two receptions for 31 yards) and Mohamed Massaquoi (one reception for 24 yards).

Braylon Edwards caught the only catchable pass thrown his way, pulling down an exciting 34-yarder from Anderson. It looked like shades of 2007.

The offensive line blew open holes and kept the quarterbacks clean for the most part. Rookie Alex Mack is starting to play like he actually has a clue.

Rookie running back James Davis had an electrifying  81-yard touchdown run. For the day he finished with 116 yards on 12 carries.

The defense showed a tremendous amount of improvement from game one. They played more aggressively, knocked balls loose (four forced fumbles), and just played an overall smarter football game.

There was even a Kamerion Wimbley sighting, showing up with six solo tackles.

As well as the Browns played on Saturday, there were still mistakes that will cost them wins against most NFL teams.

Mental errors were made which can be the difference in close games, including Eric Wright’s 15-yard excessive celebration penalty and Abram Elam’s hold which wiped out an opening play touchdown.

Derek Anderson, despite putting up big numbers, was guilty of rocketing a skip-pass at Braylon Edward’s feet on a slant.

And once again, Anderson made a terrible decision and threw a tipped-pass interception right before the half.

When the clock is winding down at the half, your quarterback has to understand the concepts of "down, distance, and clock." His mistake resulted in a Lions’ field goal as the clock expired in the second quarter.

Quinn’s stint on the field was short and uninspiring. He finished just three of five for 29 yards.

And lest we forget, this was the dreadful Lions; and this was just an exhibition game.

This game was certainly a confidence booster for the squad and a step in the right direction. But I would advise against pre-ordering your playoff tickets yet.