UNDER STANDINGS: I had hoped the Browns could steal a win but realized that even a respectable loss keeps us in the thick of the playoff hunt. But that doesn’t ease the disappointment of letting a solid 6-3 tie for first place slip into a fairly middling 5-4 dawgfight. Sure, the remaining schedule is favorable, but this loss makes a win at Baltimore darn near mandatory, not mathematically, but emotionally.

Recall that the Browns’ last two playoff seasons, their only chances in the past 17 years, were each sullied by a trio of losses to the Steelers. We are right on track for a reprise. Rather than having a fair shot at the division title and the inside track at either of the two wild card slots, we remain on the outside reaching for a possible sixth seed. That would put us back in Yinzerland in January if the Steelers finish third in the AFC. The difference between the fifth and sixth seeds is huge this year given the weakness out west.

BRAY: Look it up. It means either the cry of an ass, or getting ground into dust. Do you see where I’m going with this? I wouldn’t be quite as harsh as the dictionary, but still … #17, outside of one incredible tap dance touchdown, was worse than absent. The Browns’ first two scores came despite him.

On an otherwise perfect opening drive, Edwards got clocked on a quick slant, which seemed to set the tone for his day. He was next seen stopping on his route while the QB scrambled. Then he couldn’t take Wheelie’s hint to back off the line, prompting a penalty. In the next possession, he flinched in the red zone for a false start. The next time he got his hands on a ball, he couldn’t haul in a tough third-down catch.

TICKING OFF: Romeo is rightly being lambasted for squandering two late timeouts on a failed challenge (even if Todd Grantham might be to blame). But equally vexing is the foot-off-the-throat approach at the end of the first half. Antwan Peek sacked Big Ben with 45 seconds to go, forcing a FG try from the 12. Rather than use one of their two remaining timeouts to pursue more points of their own, Romeo was plenty content to sit on the lead and bleed the clock. That passivity set a poor tone for the second half.

Also worth noting: during the Browns’ last defensive stand, Romeo burned his final timeout after first down with the clock at 2:38. The way I see it, Pittsburgh had to run exactly one play before the two-minute warning whether or not the timeout was called. So if he would’ve saved it, the Browns might have had 30 more seconds, or that last timeout, on their final drive.

Romeo is so far away from being even a decent clock manager, that the latter point is probably too subtle. The fact remains: of the team’s six allotted timeouts, two went unnecessarily unused in the first half, and none of the three in the second half did the Browns a whit of good.

It’s clear that the coach did not give his team every possible chance to win this game. Congrats on beating Mumbles for your award for last week, though, and for improving to 10% in replay challenges.

WRIGHT ON: The Browns’ rookie cornerback has been surprisingly solid in run support. (And I don’t just say that because he leads the team in tackles. We all know that most of them are pushouts along the sideline after 12-yard receptions.) He hasn’t been beaten deep since Oakland. And now, by actually holding on and knocking down a quarterback listed 48 pounds heavier than he, Wright has notched the first sack by a Browns cornerback since Lewis Sanders got Jacksonville’s Mark Brunell in 2002, a span of 77 games.

LONG SHOT: I’m not saying that distance is Phil Dawson’s best attribute as a kicker. Nor did I expect him to make it from 52 yards. It would’ve been the longest regular-season FG in Heinz Field history. But those who knock his leg strength are just plain wrong.

Fact #1: Even with the miss, Dawson is six-for-eight in his career from 50 yards or longer.

Fact #2: He set career highs in kickoff distance and touchbacks last season, coming off hernia surgery, and he’s not that far off the pace again this year. While he’s still pretty average at best with his depth, the return yardage on his kickoffs is among the league’s lowest. So I’ll take it.

SPEED PLEASE: One thing yesterday proved to me: if the Browns’ offense is going to be truly great, it will need to deploy its full arsenal. Even when DA is not at his best, and he wasn’t, this unit has too much talent to curl up and fritter away a 15-point lead.

Of the Browns’ two leaders in rushing average, neither has been given a single carry in either of the past two weeks. Jerome Harrison (6.8) and Josh Cribbs (8.8) also happen to be the fastest weapons the Browns wield, along with Tim Carter (career 8.8 yards per carry), who you’d think would be worth an end-around at some point against a defense known for its aggressive pursuit.

Jamal Lewis was dishing out some punishment early, and that certainly is beautiful to behold. But without a change of pace or some misdirection in the mix, he’ll continue to grind out about two yards a crack. And in the course of doing so, he may well lead the league in fumbles (he’s now tied with Adrian Peterson for tops among running backs).

With kickers and punters increasingly realizing the folly of feeding Cribbs the ball, the Browns ought to do it themselves from scrimmage.