Close loss sickens Edwards

Sunday's close score probably had more to do with Pittsburgh's struggles than Cleveland's development.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- As the Browns players shuffled into the stadium tunnel following Sunday's loss, wide receiver Braylon Edwards hung back, head down, one hand holding his helmet and the other at his side. Tight end Kellen Winslow looked back, waited for Edwards and put his arm around him as the two walked into the locker room.
"We should be proud," said Winslow. "We had fun out there today.
"The Browns are gonna be all right."
Edwards wasn't so sure. Following last week's win over Atlanta, Edwards drew attention to himself by looking ahead to the Pittsburgh game and saying, "We're coming after their [butts]."
Edwards' contribution
Edwards delivered on his side of the promise, catching seven passes for 137 yards. But the defining moment of Sunday's game may be the two catches he didn't -- or couldn't -- make. Edwards had a jump ball in his hands on the final play of the first half, but couldn't come down with it in the end zone. Then, on the final play of the game, he again couldn't secure a desperation throw as Steelers safety Troy Polamalu batted the ball back toward him before Edwards (who may or may not have been in bounds) tried to snag it with one hand.
He didn't. And the Browns lost.
"I've never been hurt after a loss [in the NFL]," said Edwards. "This one hurts. We played our hearts out."
Still, it was progress. Edwards and Winslow didn't play in last year's 41-0 loss to the Steelers on Christmas Eve -- both were out with ACL injuries -- but the loss stuck with them, just as it did with everyone on the team. Winslow and Edwards vowed that outcome wouldn't be repeated.
"I damn sure wasn't gonna have that," Winslow said after the game. "Again, we need to keep our heads up. We were very close."
Winslow's day
Winslow, who led all NFL tight ends entering the game with 56 catches for 561 yards, finished with four catches for 36 yards. His best catch was his first, a 9-yard reception in the third quarter that saw him throw Steelers linebacker Joey Porter to the ground with one arm. When he got up, he had a few words for Porter.
"That's just talk," Winslow said. "It's all love."
Winslow and Edwards have been two of the biggest highlights of a mostly-forgettable season, injecting attitude into a team that seemed intimidated by the Steelers last year. By the end of last December's game, Pittsburgh fans outnumbered Browns fans in the stands by a 5-1 margin and all that could be seen were black jerseys and terrible towels.
Sunday's game was quite a contrast. There were still several thousand Steeler fans, but the Browns fans were loud and active.
"I wish they'd get even louder," said Winslow.
Added Edwards, "The fans are always great. They were here for us when we were a good team in the '80s and they're here for us now when we're losing."
But the fans' patience may be running thin. Pittsburgh has now won 12 of 13 games in the "rivalry" and Sunday's close score probably had more to do with Pittsburgh's struggles than Cleveland's development.
He doesn't care
When asked if he thought the Browns had earned some respect from the Steelers, Edwards scoffed.
"The hell with the Steelers," he said. "I could care less about getting the Steelers' respect. They ain't no championship team. They haven't done anything this year. They're 4-6 now."
Edwards, whose post-game interviews sometimes often have a Jesse Jackson-esque quality, was speaking out of frustration. (When he arrived at his locker to find a pack of reporters, he mumbled, "I guess I couldn't avoid this one.") But it's refreshing to find a Cleveland player willing to inject energy into a Browns-Steelers game.
Even though he wasn't able to come up with the game's final catch, he did come up with quite a few of them. And Edwards thinks Sunday's performance is a good sign for the rest of the season.
"I guarantee if we play the Cincinnati Bengals [next week] like we did today, we'll win," he said. "We just have to keep our heads up and keeping fighting."
scalzo@vindy.com