Like kissing your sister, but worse: Bengals 23, Browns 20 (OT)

It took nearly 75 minutes to decide the outcome, and the action in between was entertaining, but the outcome was as predicted as the Browns fell to 0-4 on the foot of a Shayne Graham 31-yard field goal with just seven seconds remaining in overtime.

Pre-game housekeeping: With James Davis on IR and Jamal Lewis inactive, RB Jerome Harrison got his second straight start. Kicker Phil Dawson also was inactive for the second straight game as Billy Cundiff handled the kicking duties. Nickel safety Mike Adams replaced Brandon McDonald at starting cornerback. WR Brian Robiskie dressed for the first time since Week 1.

The Good DA: Derek Anderson no doubt brought the offense back to life today. He gave the team the exact type of re-energization that I'm sure Eric Mangini was hoping he would. The Browns got more aggressive with playcalling, taking multiple shots downfield, and they were rewarded with two offensive touchdowns because of that aggressiveness and newfound momentum. Anderson threw the ball 48 times, completing 26 of those attempts for 269 yards to with a touchdown strike to Steve Heiden. DA also ran one in on his own on a 4th-and-goal. With a few exceptions, Anderson looked confident and improved over the Quinn-run offense.

The Bad DA: HOWEVER, every time you say something positive about Derek Anderson, you can almost assuredly count on a "but" or "however" attached to that compliment. Too often on third down, Derek Anderson has a "brain slug" moment where he seems to forget what his objective is out there. One of those instances came on a 3rd-and-goal in the third quarter. An apparent miscoummunication with TE Steve Heiden resulted in a low throw that was picked off at the goal line by Cincinnati. Poor decision-making there on DA's part denied the Browns from putting at least three points on the board there. In addition, it's obvious that Anderson delivers the ball harder and earlier than Quinn, and the players are still adjusting to that. DA had to deal with several drops on the day (including an Edwards can-of-corn, more on that later). Still, it is obvious that Anderson is delivering it too early at times; for example, when he drilled Robert Royal in the head in overtime. To sum it up, DA remains a give-and-take type quarterback option, but he is giving the Browns' offense elements that Quinn just cannot right now.

CLE Cribbs: Josh Cribbs was absolutely dynamic in the return game today for the Browns. Cribbs racked up 222 return yards in 9 attempts (6 punt returns, 3 kickoff returns). His best returns were a 58-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, a 39-yard punt return in the second quarter, and a 50-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. Despite not taking any back for six, Cribbs gave the Browns great field position on several occasions and really kept them in the game in that regard. Josh also had a 15-yard run on a reverse and a 5-yard catch at the 1-yard line to set up the 4th-and-goal DA run.

Massive-quoi: Mohammed Massaquoi was finally cut loose today, and boy did he look impressive. The second-round draft choice out of Georgia was Anderson's favorite target today. Massaquoi had 8 receptions for 148 yards; he also had a touchdown which was overturned and placed inside the 1-yard line where Anderson ran out of the pocket and threw to Heiden for the score. It appeared that Massaquoi took over the second receiver duties from Josh Cribbs, and not coincidentally, it allowed Cribbs to excel returning once again. Look for more of Massaquoi as him and Anderson continue to develop chemistry. Now if we could just get Brian Robiskie in the game...

Cincinnati stall: Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati offense dominated the first quarter time of possession as they had the ball for over 13 1/2 minutes courtesy of two long drives. The first drive ended with a blocked field goal, and the second was capped by a Chad Ochocinco touchdown reception. The Bengals had 156 yards in that first quarter. But, the Bengals failed to pick up a first down in the second or third quarters as the Browns defense tightened up the tackling. The Bengals next first down came with 4:57 to go in the fourth quarter.

Harrison hits the century mark: In his second straight week of carrying the load of the work at running back, Jerome Harrison performed very well overall. He eclipsed the century mark with 29 carries for 121 yards rushing, but he also added five catches for 31 yards receiving. Harrison also broke off the team's longest run of the season with an 18-yard scamper. His lone clear miscue was his fumble that was returned by DL Robert Geathers 75 yards for the Bengals' second score which gave them an early 14-0 lead.

DA-to-Braylon connection?: If you were trying to sum up the Browns' success in 2007, one of the bullet points would've been the connection between Pro Bowlers Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. Today's game saw Anderson under center for the entire game without a single completion to Edwards. He did connect with seven different receivers, but the Browns biggest offensive weapon was not one of them. It was not for lack of trying though; the day started off in a sour fashion when Braylon dropped a 2nd-and-7 can-of-corn from DA. The rest of the time it seemed like the Bengals defensive scheme was concentrating on taking away Edwards as an option.

One-man blocking crew: I've said it before, and I'm sure it's not the last time I'll say it: whatever Shaun Rogers is making is not enough. This guy is a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line at times, despite getting double (and triple) teams most of the time. Today, Rogers had not one, but two, blocked kicks. He now has 14 career blocked kicks (9 field goals, 5 extra points), which is an absolutely unreal statistic. Rogers erased the 23-yard attempt from Shayne Graham on the team's first drive, and he effectively sent the game into overtime by blocking Graham's PAT with 1:55 remaining after the Ochocinco score. On the defensive side, Rogers contributed one tackle. Well done, Shaun, well done!

Are we on offense or defense?: I was surprised to see Mike Furrey in the game playing safety - in the fourth quarter nonetheless. I had heard that Furrey had played safety in the NFL before and that Mangini had given him some reps there in practice, but it still shocked me to see him get that chance. What surprised me even more was how good he looked. He helped break up at least one key completion late in the game that I can recall. I'm sure this is what helped prompt the switch to Mike Adams at CB. It also opens up more wide receiver reps for Massaquoi and Robiskie.. hopefully.

Defensive shoutouts: There were several strong performers on defense for the Browns today. D'Qwell Jackson racked up 13 tackles and a forced fumble, Brodney Pool was all over the place with an interception and six tackles, and Kamerion Wimbley and Corey Williams each had a sack. It was nice to see Williams make some positive plays, since there have been so few since he was traded for last year. Wimbley continues to look improved from last season as he added five tackles.

Playing for overtime?: The one thing I regret about the Rogers' blocked extra point is the fact that Eric Mangini chose to punt on 4th-and-10 from the 40 yard line. With 19 seconds remaining, I would've preferred the other two options over the punt. First, Billy Cundiff could have tried a 57-yard field goal. That would have had a relatively low chance of going through, but at 0-3 it's worth a shot as Cundiff's career long is 56 yards. The next option would've been to go for it. Again, not a great percentage play, but it would show you have faith in your offense to make a play with the game on the line. Unless you throw a pick six or they block the kick and take it back, you go to overtime anyway. Yes, the Bengals had two timeouts but with likely only 15 second or less on the clock, that's two or three plays to get into field goal range. If we had lost on Cincy's first possession in overtime, I would've been furious with Mangini.

Overtime ping-pong: You rarely see an NFL overtime game go much more than five minutes into the 15 minute session, but this one had all of that and then some.

PING! - The Bengals get two 12 yard gains from Cedric Benson, but they are forced to punt after a 3-yard Benson run and two incompletions.

PONG! - The Browns get one yard from Harrison, three yards on a pass to Harrison, and an incompletion to Massaquoi. Zastudil punt.

PING! - Benson runs for a first down on a 21-yard carry, but Kamerion Wimbley comes up with a big third down sack (the first of the game for Cleveland), and Huber is forced to punt.

PONG! - Anderson converts a 3rd-and-10 to Mike Furrey for 11 yards, but a no gain from Harrison and two more incompletions sends Zastudil back on the field.

PING! - Two Palmer incompletions and a six yard run from Benson. Enter Ken Huber.

PONG! - Harrison runs for six, Heiden catches a 14-yard pass, and the Browns are in Bengal territory. But, Harrison run for four, a Harrison reception for -4, and an incompletion where DA misses Mike Furrey due to the pressure causes another punt.

PING! - Carson Pommer (his name according to Rich Gannon) completes a 20 yard pass to Chris Henry on 3rd-and-10. He does the same thing again on 3rd-and-10 with a 20 yard completion to Coles. Then, the backbreaker comes on 4th-and-11 from the 41 yard line: Palmer breaks the initial pressure and runs up the gut Juice Williams-style for 15 yards, the first down, and the gift-wrapped victory. At this point, the Browns can still hope for a Graham miss and a tie. The Bengals run two more plays to set up Graham for a 35-yarder with 7 seconds to go. Rogers cannot get to this one as the snap is solid, and Graham bangs it through and sends the Cleveland faithful home unhappy.

Game ball goes to: Josh Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi. Cribbs looked much better today as a full-time special teamer and part-time offensive player once again. I know everyone wanted to see more of Josh Cribbs (including myself), but you shouldn't try to fix what isn't broken. Right now, the Browns' return game is one of the aspects of the team that is definitely... not... broken. Massaquoi showed today that he is ready to contribute right now in a big way (as the second receiver) if the Browns can continue to display downfield passing ability. With Derek Anderson, that should not be a problem.

I'm disappointed that they lost, but the Browns' opponents are now a combined 13-2 so far this season, so the Browns have been affected by a grueling start to the season. If the Browns had tied, I would've been mildly upset, but I also would have considered it a moral victory against a team that looks like it wants to compete this season. All the Browns had to do was drive down and score one of their last four or five possessions to win the game. They couldn't do it, and that will be some of the growing pains associated with a less-than-talented offense and a roulette quarterback.

The Browns now head into Buffalo next Sunday afternoon to take on the Bills who are 1-3. Perhaps that game will result in Mangini's first win as Browns coach.

Kirk