Art Bietz of Bernie’s Insiders offers a solid and speedy recap of today’s 27-20 win at Cincinnati. As the Browns square their record at 5-5, here were the keys to this a solid overall game:

1) Dennis Northcutt led Cleveland’s talented WR corps with six catches: five third-down conversions and one touchdown.

2) Creative play calling helped William Green find space to run, and the retching rookie ran roughshod, mustering the first real Yards After Contact (YAC) of his pro career.

3) Resiliant defense sealed the win with a late goal-line stand: An 82-yard kickoff return put the Bengals just seven yards away from a tying TD, but four carries by Corey Dillon were stuffed by the likes of Earl Holmes, Darrin Hambrick, and Earl Little.

This was an important win, but not a dominant one that calls for excessive jubilation. For example, while I’m glad for William Green’s first taste of success, I’m concerned that his digestive problems during the game may be related to his ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition first diagnosed in high school. When drafted, Green said, “It’s very controlled. It’s not anything to worry about.” We’ll get more details later, but it didn’t look controlled today. He was obviously losing his stomach in the backfield on the first drive of the day. When the Browns needed his power and energy to grind the ball late in the game, he was spent. Running out of bounds with 3:05 to go is no way to cement a seven-point lead.

Tim Couch was sharp, gliding away from pressure, barely beating the rush, and hitting receivers in stride. But his timing with erstwhile favorite receiver Kevin Johnson was often awry. KJ had just three first-half catches, while four others thrown to him were incomplete, including one drop in the end zone. Next week, down in New Orleans, the combo of 1999 (eight TD’s) will try to recapture the magic of the “new” Browns first win, which came on a Couch-KJ Hail Mary.