Browns are happy to be home despite cold, record, injuries

The Texans aren’t used to feeling Ohio’s chills in late November.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Not to be rude, but Browns coach Romeo Crennel wouldn’t mind seeing Northeast Ohio today in all its winter splendor.

Those knock-you-off-your-feet wind gusts off Lake Erie, the sideways sleet, the bone-chilling Arctic temperatures, and of course, the lake effect snow — inches upon glorious inches of it.

Bring it on, Crennel said.

“I don’t know that they’ve seen much snow from where they’re coming from,” Crennel said of today’s opponent, the Houston Texans.

There’s something else these Texans haven’t seen in a while — a road victory.

Winless in five games outside the Lone Star State this season, Houston hasn’t won away from home in its last eight road games since beating the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 2, 2007.

Inside, outside, night, day, it doesn’t seem to matter. The Texans (3-7) don’t travel well.

“It’s been over a year,” tight end Owen Daniel said. “So, I think we’re due. We’re due for one.”

On the flip side, the Browns (4-6) are trying to solve a peculiar bout of home sickness. In a recent five-day span, Cleveland dropped a pair of home games it should have won.

Despite holding double-digit leads in the second half, the Browns collapsed and lost first to Baltimore and then to Denver — defeats that triggered a quarterback change and accusations by Browns running back Jamal Lewis that some of his teammates quit.

The Browns bounced back last Monday, holding on for a 29-27 win at frostbitten Buffalo. Now Cleveland has some home improvements it must make quickly.

Last season, the Browns went a franchise-best 7-1 at home. This year, they’re just 1-4 with their only win a stunning 35-14 rout of the New York Giants.

What’s the deal?

“It’s really about execution,” center Hank Fraley said. “We always want to win at home. We just haven’t gotten it done this year. It’s a shame because it’s always fun winning at home because your fans are into it. We just haven’t executed well and have to change that around starting this Sunday.

“We’ve blown two good leads at home, that kind of killed us,” Fraley said. “That’s where our downfall was, not finishing those games.”

Not finishing isn’t the only thing going on with the Browns, who have been one of the league’s biggest disappointments following a 10-win season and seem to be a never-ending soap opera of turmoil.

During the first half at Buffalo, quarterback Brady Quinn broke his right index finger when he banged it on defender Marcus Stroud.

Quinn stayed in the game, and he expects to play against the Texans, who almost certainly will blitz him as much as the Bills did. Buffalo was able to time Quinn’s snap count and brought pressure up the middle.

Quinn doesn’t plan to wear any protection on his finger, but there might as well by a bulls-eye on it.

The Browns are hurting all over. Tight end Kellen Winslow (sprained shoulder), nose tackle Shaun Rogers (neck and shoulder), running back Jerome Harrison (pulled hamstring), safety Sean Jones (sprained ankle), running back Jason Wright (neck) and defensive tackle Shaun Smith (calf) all missed practice time this week.

The Texans, who have lost three straight, aren’t counting on Cleveland’s injuries to get them a coveted road win. They need to effectively run the ball the way they did last week in a 33-27 loss at Indianapolis.

Rookie running back Steve Slaton picked up 156 yards on 14 carries, an eye-popping 11.1 yard per attempt.

With a forecast calling for snow, the team that moves the ball best on the ground could come away with a win.