Texans-Browns Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

Look for Quinn to get win No. 2Last week, Cleveland traveled to Buffalo for the Monday night game and held on in a tight rather poorly played game and is now working on a short week. Before that win, Cleveland blew a 14-point lead against Baltimore and a 13-point lead against the Broncos. Houston visited divisional rival Indianapolis, battled to the end and lost on a late interception. It is safe to say that neither of these teams are heading to the playoffs and their seasons have not gone as planned, but there is potential for offensive fireworks.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
HOU	8-8	366	394	6-2	2-6	2-4	5-7
CLE	4-12	232	350	1-7	3-5	1-5	3-9
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Houston Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Schaub 67.9 4770 29 15 Grossm... 33.3 33 0 1

Cleveland Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Quinn 53.1 1339 8 7 Anders... 44.5 888 3 10

Houston Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Slaton 131 437 3.3 3 Moats 101 390 3.9 4

Cleveland Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Harris... 194 862 4.4 5 Lewis 143 500 3.5 0

Houston Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Johnso... 101 1569 15.5 9 Walter 53 611 11.5 2

Cleveland Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Massaq... 34 624 18.4 3 Harris... 34 220 6.5 2

Full Player Stats: Houston | Cleveland

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	HOU	382.0
	CLE	249.0
Yards Passing	HOU	266.7
	CLE	148.8
Yards Rushing	HOU	115.4
	CLE	100.3
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	HOU	336.6
	CLE	356.5
Pass Yds Allowed	HOU	213.9
	CLE	204.6
Rush Yds Allowed	HOU	122.6
	CLE	151.9

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Series tied 3-3
Nov 25, 2007	HOU 17, CLE 27
Dec 31, 2006	HOU 14, @CLE 6
Oct 30, 2005	HOU 19, @CLE 16
Jan 2, 2005	HOU 14, @CLE 22
Oct 20, 2002	HOU 17, CLE 34

The Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans seemed set at quarterback entering the season, but now each team is banking on a backup to end its struggles.

Brady Quinn and the Browns, coming off a much-needed win, look to end their home woes when they meet Sage Rosenfels and the lowly Texans on Sunday.

Derek Anderson had an outstanding 2007 season for Cleveland (4-6) and there was no reason to believe he wouldn't grow after his first year as a starter, but he struggled through eight games and coach Romeo Crennel benched him in favor of Quinn.

Houston (3-7), meanwhile, was hoping to get a full season out of Matt Schaub after a dislocated left shoulder limited him to 11 games last year. But Schaub has missed two straight games with a knee injury and could miss another four weeks, leaving Rosenfels as the starter.

With instability at quarterback, the Browns and Texans have taken a step back after going 10-6 and 8-8, respectively, in 2007.

Quinn, though, is coming off his first win as a starter. He wasn't sharp, finishing 14-of-36 for 185 yards and a 55.9 rating, but didn't make any major mistakes in Cleveland's 29-27 win at Buffalo on Monday night.

The former Notre Dame star didn't have an interception for the second straight game, and showed poise when it mattered most. With Cleveland trailing 27-26, Quinn completed a 12-yard pass to Braylon Edwards and a 16-yarder to Kellen Winslow to get the ball far enough for Crennel to summon Phil Dawson for a game-winning 56-yard field goal.

"We needed the luck to fall on our side," Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas said. "We needed one to finally bounce our way."

Quinn broke his right index finger in the game, but is expected to play Sunday. He may be without one of his top targets, as Winslow hurt his right shoulder in the closing minutes against the Bills and his status is uncertain.

"Whether (Winslow) will be able to play depends on his strength and movement, his range of motion," Crennel told the Browns' official Web site. "If he has that, he'll be able to go."

Missing Winslow, who leads the team with 39 receptions, won't help Cleveland improve at home. The Browns are 1-4 there after going 7-1 last year.

"The one thing we want to do now is win a home game," Crennel said. "That's something we've not done much of this year."

Cleveland seems to have a good chance to pick up its second home win against Houston, which has lost three straight overall and is 0-5 on the road. Two of the Texans' victories came against teams that were winless at the time.

Houston has not been able to rally around Rosenfels, who has seven interceptions with four touchdowns this season. Rosenfels ruined Houston's chances of a comeback in a 33-27 loss to Indianapolis last Sunday, throwing an interception to end the game.

He threw four interceptions in a 41-13 loss to Baltimore the previous week. Rosenfels, a career backup, said he's trying to make better decisions and improve each week.

"I'm ... really trying to manage the game," he said. "There's times when you can try to make plays and there's times when you really got to be more conservative and either throw it away or take a sack. I'm really trying to learn ... and not get too careless with the football."

Rosenfels wasn't the only culprit against the Colts, with the Texans' defense giving away a 20-16 third-quarter lead.

Houston gave up 154 yards rushing to Indianapolis, and has allowed 162.6 in its last three contests. With defensive tackles Travis Johnson and Amobi Okoye both nursing ankle injuries, the Texans' run defense may not improve any time soon.

Okoye has missed the last two games and Johnson was injured last Sunday. Both are listed as day-to-day.

Those injuries could help Browns veteran Jamal Lewis reach 100 yards rushing for the first time this season. Lewis, averaging 3.6 yards per carry, had 134 yards and a TD in a 27-17 win over Houston last Nov. 25.

Houston, meanwhile, continues to get surprisingly strong play from rookie Steve Slaton. He's coming off his best game of the season, running 14 times for 156 yards to break the franchise's single-game rookie record.

Slaton scored on a 71-yard run, the longest in team history, and has rushed for 701 yards and six TDs on the season.

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