Green gives Browns hope

Cleveland's running backs, unknown to the Bengals, paved the way for a 27-20 victory.
COMBINED DISPTCHES
CINCINNATI -- Rookie running back William Green stiff-armed his way out of anonymity.
Green ran for a career-high 96 yards, brushing off Cincinnati Bengals tacklers who didn't know his name, as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 27-20 victory Sunday that renewed their playoff aspirations.
"I think the biggest thing was the way Will was running the football," said Tim Couch, who matched his career high with three touchdown passes. "With him doing that, it took a lot of pressure off our offense as far as throwing the ball."
Improvement
Cleveland (5-5) finally got the running game it desperately needs to stay in contention. The Browns spent their bye week trying to get the NFL's worst ground attack up-and-running.
The onus fell on Green, who was averaging only 2.3 yards per carry and starting to get the label of first-round bust. Top rusher Jamel White has a separated shoulder, leaving Green and James Jackson as the last two options.
Not bad options, as it turned out. The Browns ran for a season-high 140 yards against the Bengals (1-8), who weren't even sure who was carrying the ball.
"Their running backs are weak, and we let them shine like they were Walter Payton out there or something," Bengals linebacker Adrian Ross said. "Their No. 1 guy was not even playing. They came in here with Nos. 31 and 29, and I don't even know the guys' names."
Ross could be forgiven for not knowing No. 29 -- Jackson is a special teams player who hadn't carried the ball this season. No. 31 is Green, who was the 16th overall pick in this year's draft but had done nothing worth noticing.
Pre-game nerves
Green was so nervous in the opening minutes of his biggest NFL game that he repeatedly vomited.
"I looked at him on the first drive and he had a little route across the middle and I was going to throw it to him, but he was throwing up," Couch said. "He was still running his route, even though he was throwing up."
Green's first signature moment of his career came early in the second quarter, when he ran to his right, encountered cornerback Kevin Kaesviharn, shoved him down with a nasty stiff-arm and kept going for a few more yards.
"I don't really care to answer any questions now," said Green, who has kept a low profile. "I just want to say the offensive line did a heck of a job. We came out and did what we worked so hard on all week."
Leading up to the game, Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson had guaranteed a win, just as he did before the Bengals beat the Texans for their only victory. Johnson did his part, making a 72-yard touchdown catch on the game's third play.
It wasn't enough.
"I'm just trying to do what's best for us as a team by coming out, putting myself out there and on the line and getting everybody hyped up and wanting to win and do it," Johnson said. "It seemed like it worked one time, but this time it didn't."
Making a stand
The Browns essentially clinched it by stopping Corey Dillon on two runs from the 1-yard line, completing a goal-line stand with 5:51 remaining. Afterward, they learned that Pittsburgh had lost, leaving them a half-game behind the first-place Steelers in the AFC North.
Some Browns thought they burst the Bengals' bubble with the goal-line stand.
Cincinnati's Brandon Bennett returned a kickoff 82 yards to the Browns' 7 before safety Devin Bush chased Bennett down to save a touchdown. Dillon gained 1 yard on his first try and 5 on the second.
Earl Holmes stuffed Dillon for no gain on third down. On fourth down from the half-yard line, Darren Hambrick stood Dillon up and Holmes finished him off.
"They stuffed him [twice] at the 1-yard line," Browns right guard Shaun O'Hara said. "Not only did that give us the ball, it totally demoralized them. You could see, it was like a hot-air balloon with a big, gaping hole in it. They were just totally deflated."
In Browns' favor
The Bengals are 4-1 when Dillon rushes for 100 yards. He finished with 92 yards on 19 carries Sunday.
"We control our destiny," cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said. "If we just play the way we are capable of and don't give it away, we have a chance to do everything that we wanted to do."
Next up is New Orleans (7-3) at the Superdome.
"We've got to win a game in that dome," wide receiver Quincy Morgan said. "The Saints are one of the best teams in the NFL right now. If we can win that one, the sky's the limit."
Holmes said, "We want to win seven or eight of these last 10 games."