AFC Couch to play biggest game

The Browns quarterback must lead his team to victory to keep its playoff hopes alive.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Tim Couch isn't hiding, ducking or scrambling from the oncoming rush.
Maybe more than anyone, Couch understands what he's facing in today's game against the Indianapolis Colts. It's the biggest game of his NFL career -- and the Browns' most important game since returning to the league.
"This is the reason that I was brought here and picked No. 1," Cleveland's quarterback said. "To go out and win these type of games."
Couch, sacked 141 times in four pro seasons, has never been under pressure like this.
The Browns (7-6) probably need to win their final three games to make the playoffs. One loss, and in all likelihood, they're done. There is little or no margin for error.
"We win, we stay in it," said wide receiver Kevin Johnson. "We lose, we're gone."
Colts in similar bind
The Colts (8-5) are in a similar bind. They're tied with Tennessee for first place in the AFC South and among 13 teams still in contention for the postseason.
"There's so much riding on this game," Couch said.
And so much of it is focused on Couch, who has had a maddeningly inconsistent 2002 and has been in the eye of a personal storm most of the season.
Complicating things for Couch are several factors -- all converging at once -- that he'll have to overcome if the Browns are going to win this week.
He's been slumping badly at home. He'll be facing good friend Peyton Manning, and Couch has the added burden of keeping Cleveland's season alive.
"This is when we've all got to step it up," cornerback Corey Fuller said.
Beginning with the Oct. 6 debacle against Baltimore when he was booed incessantly by Browns fans, who then cheered when he sustained a concussion, Couch has played miserably in home games.
Couch just 1-3 at home
He's just 1-3 with a 62.8 quarterback rating at Cleveland Browns Stadium, and has thrown just four of his 15 TD passes there. Worse, he's averaging just 169 yards passing at home compared to 229 per game on the road.
Two weeks ago, Couch threw three interceptions and had a career-low 19.0 QB rating in a 13-6 loss to Carolina.
Couch's problems at home have caused him to press. He admits he's compounded matters by forcing passes that have been easily intercepted.
"I think a slow start has been probably the biggest hurdle for me at home," he said. "I've had something go bad early in a game. Hopefully, I can come out and get off to a good start and get a little confidence going, move the ball early, get a couple of early scores."
And hopefully, Couch can get the boobirds off his back.
Target for fan abuse
He has become a target for fan abuse in Cleveland. The city's radio sports talk shows are inundated with callers screaming for Browns coach Butch Davis to bench Couch in favor of backup Kelly Holcomb.
Manning can appreciate his friend's plight. He heard the boos last season when he threw 23 interceptions and the Colts finished 6-10.
"Nobody knows what it's like except for the guys playing the position," he said. "It's a very humbling position. I pull for quarterbacks. I don't like to see quarterbacks get booed or pulled from a game or have a four- or five-interception day. I know what it's like out there."
Facing Manning for the first time as a pro could be a problem for Couch, too.
Last year, Couch tried so hard to impress Green Bay's Brett Favre, one of his favorite players, that he threw three interceptions in a 30-7 loss.
"When you're young, you try to prove yourself too hard sometimes," Couch said. "I think I've learned to be just myself, and be patient. You don't have to win the world over with every throw and just go out and be a smart player."
Couch and Manning have met on the field once before.
In 1997, Couch was a sophomore at Kentucky and Manning a senior at Tennessee when the two hooked up in a memorable SEC shootout. Manning passed for 523 yards and five TDs, and Couch threw for 476 yards and two scores in a 59-31 loss to the Volunteers.
"It would be kind of neat to go out and have one of those games again," Couch said.
That's unlikely, especially with the way the Browns have run the ball lately. Cleveland has posted four straight 100-yard rushing games, an improvement that has helped take some pressure off Couch.
He wouldn't mind if the Browns made if five in a row.
"If we ran the ball and ate up all that clock and kept Peyton and that offense off the field, I would be more than happy," Couch said.