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Monday, November 07, 2011

Phil Dawson having record-setting season



• The Browns and Texans have split six all-time meetings with each team holding a 2-1 edge at home. The Browns have held the Texans under 20 points in all six meetings.

• Cleveland lost to San Francisco, 20-10, in its last game. The Browns have scored only three first-quarter points and six third- quarter points -- both are the lowest for any team in each respective quarter this season.

• Houston is coming off a 24-14 win over Jacksonville and will be looking for its first single-season three-game winning streak since ending the 2009 season winning four in a row. A win on Sunday would also put the Texans three games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

• The Texans have scored 31 points on their first offensive possessions this season -- tied with Pittsburgh and New England for most in the league. The Browns are the only team in the NFL yet to score any points on their first offensive possession of a game.

Phil Dawson made four field goals of 50+ yards in October, making him just the fourth kicker in league history to make at least four field goals of 50+ yards in any calendar month.

• Arian Foster rushed for 112 yards against the Jaguars, his 11th 100-yard rushing game of the past two seasons, tied with Michael Turner for the most in the NFL. It was also Foster's 12th career 100-yard rushing game, breaking the Texans' franchise record he had held with Domanick Williams.




Wrap-up: Texans 30, Browns 12

November, 6, 2011

By Jamison Hensley

Thoughts on the Cleveland Browns' 30-12 loss at the Houston Texans:

What it means: The Browns cemented their position as the worst team in the AFC North with another painful first quarter (trailed 14-0 eight minutes into the game). Cleveland lost for the fourth time in five games to fall to 3-5. The Browns' average margin of defeat over that span has been 13.3 points.

Thumbs up: Kicker Phil Dawson. He provided all of the Browns' scoring for the first three quarters with field goals of 50 and 51 yards. This has become status quo for Dawson, who has six kicks of 50 yards or longer this season.

Thumbs down: Browns run defense. The NFL's 26th-ranked run defense looked worse, giving up 261 yards (Cleveland had given up 127.3 yards on the ground entering this game). Arian Foster (124 yards) and Ben Tate (115) outgained the entire Browns offense 239-172.

Running on empty: No one expected much out of the Cleveland running game with Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty sidelined. Chris Ogbonnaya fumbled on his first carry in his first start (which led to Houston's second touchdown of the first quarter) and finished with 28 yards on 13 carries (2.2 yard average).

What's next: The Browns return home to play the St. Louis Rams for their third game against an NFC West team in four weeks.

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