Browns' playoff hopes still alive -- barely

Cleveland will probably need to win its last four games to make the postseason.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- With three quarters of the season complete, the Cleveland Browns remain in the hunt for the team's first playoff berth since the 1994 season.
But they are going to need a lot of help.
"We're sitting here at 6-6 and we can certainly make a lot of things happen," Browns coach Butch Davis said.
Cleveland is 1 1/2 games behind the Steelers in the AFC North and are one of 13 teams in the conference with a record of .500 or better.
"It's not looking good," said cornerback Corey Fuller. "Something ain't right at home and we've got to figure it out. I don't know if pressure is mounting on guys, but we've got to play better at home."
The Browns are 2-4 at home this season.
"There's a logjam in the AFC," said Fuller. "Everybody's right there. I said [last week that] I didn't want to be one of the logs that falls to the side, but we got pushed to the side a little bit. We've got to put some momentum back on our log."
Costly loss
The Browns certainly shunned momentum Sunday. Three of their drives ended with Tim Couch interceptions.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Couch fumbled while being sacked by Panthers linebacker Mark Fields and safety Deon Grant recovered.
The Browns used their final timeout to challenge whether Couch's arm was moving forward.
Referee Walt Coleman ruled that Couch's arm was not moving forward when the ball came out of his grasp.
Couch said, "It's gutcheck time for this team. Nothing against Carolina's record, but we came in here feeling we had to win this game. It's a heartbreaking loss because of how big the game was and how much it meant to us."
Davis said the Browns weren't guilty of looking past the 3-8 Panthers.
"You've got to be absolutely stupid to not recognize that every team in this league has talented players," Davis said. "There is a reason [the Panthers] are rated in the Top 10 in defense.
"Coming into the ball game, we knew that if we weren't careful it would be a low scoring game, and that's the thing we didn't want to happen," Davis said.
Should have won
Wide receiver Kevin Johnson agreed.
"Obviously, we had looked at this game as a game we should win, but Carolina proved that on any given Sunday, any team can beat any team," Johnson said. "We just didn't make plays when we had to win the game."
Linebacker Dwayne Rudd, whose helmet-tossing antics in Week 1 cost the Browns a victory, said his team needs a four-game winning streak to earn a fifth game.
"I think we'll need all four," Rudd said. "Three might do it, but I'd like to get all four and we're very capable of doing that. But we missed a great opportunity today."
"[A]10-6 [record] would give the momentum we would need going in to the playoffs," Rudd said. "Realistically, we need these games. It's at the point of the season where there are no excuses, win or lose. It's no longer a long season."
Wide receiver Quincy Morgan said, "We're still in it -- we can win four in a row."