Browns' mistakes lead to 21-14 defeat

Cincinnati rallied for its first victory of the season.
& lt;a href=mailto:scalzo@vindy.com & gt;By JOE SCALZO & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- This might be a good time to start worrying.
With a well-rounded combination of bad plays, dumb penalties, poor decisions and crucial mistakes, the Browns dropped a stunning 21-14 decision to the woeful Cincinnati Bengals Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
"That wasn't a very good performance," Browns coach Butch Davis said. Or, as lineman Barry Stokes put it, "We got beat by a team that shouldn't have beaten us."
The Browns were penalized a season-high 11 times for 101 yards, gave up a 55-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half, fumbled three times (recovering all three) and allowed Cincinnati to convert 60 percent of its third down plays (9-of-15).
"We played about as poor in several areas of the game as you could possibly play," Davis said. "You cannot shoot yourselves in the foot like that."
Still, the Browns had a chance to tie the game until quarterback Tim Couch -- filling in for the injured Kelly Holcomb -- threw an interception to Bengals cornerback Jeff Burris in the final minute.
Couch
Couch, who was trying to hit wideout Kevin Johnson, said Burris disguised his coverage well.
"I'd love to have that ball back," Couch said. "Burris made a great play and I saw him out of the corner of my eye as I threw the ball. I got in between throwing and not throwing the ball and it floated on me a little bit."
Couch finished 23-of-36 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, including a 71-yard scoring pass to Quincy Morgan on the game's second play.
But the Bengals defense shut down Cleveland in the second half, holding the Browns to 124 yards -- including just 22 on the ground.
"We never got anything going offensively," Davis said. "You probably couldn't have scripted a better start to the game, but we didn't follow up. We didn't slam the door."
Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna completed 23-of-31 for 215 yards and three touchdowns to lead Cincinnati (1-3) to its first win of the season.
"It has been a great day," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who earned his first NFL head coaching victory. "We didn't play particularly well in different phases and at different times during the ball game, but we hung in there and made some plays at the end of the game."
Big scoring play
They also made plays in the middle part of the game, including a 55-yard touchdown pass from Kitna to Chad Johnson with 29 seconds remaining in the first half that wiped out the Browns' 14-7 lead.
"Obviously, that was a huge play," Lewis said.
The momentum carried over into the second half, as Cincinnati took its opening possession 80 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass from Kitna to Reggie Kelly.
"Kitna had a good day," Davis said. "His receivers made some plays for him and they didn't turn the ball over."
Kevin Johnson finished with five catches for 89 yards and Morgan added three for 91 yards for Cleveland (1-3).
Jamel White added four catches for 20 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that gave the Browns a 14-7 lead.
But it wasn't enough, and the Browns now face an uphill battle if they want to make a return trip to the playoffs this season.
"I will give the Bengals credit, because they played hard," Browns tight end Aaron Shea said. "But I still think we gave them the game."
& lt;a href=mailto:scalzok@vindy.com & gt;scalzo@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;