WHERE: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
TIME: 8:30
RECORDS: Browns 3-6; Bills 5-4
LAST WEEK: Browns lost to Broncos 34-30; Bills lost to Patriots 20-10
SERIES: Browns lead 8-5 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs
SERIES AT BUFFALO: Browns lead 3-2
LAST MEETING: Browns won 8-0 on Dec. 12 in Cleveland
COACHES: Romeo Crennel is 23-34 with Browns and overall; Dick Jauron is 19-22 with Bills and 55-80 overall
TV/RADIO: ESPN and Channel 8, with broadcasters Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser; WMMS 100.7-FM
NFL RANKINGS (OUT OF 32 TEAMS): Browns — offense 27th (21st rushing, 25th passing), defense
T-27th (26th rushing, 21st passing); Bills — offense 24th (28th rushing, 12th passing), defense 13th
(15th rushing, 16th passing)
BROWNS UPDATE: Cleveland is 14-12 on “Monday Night Football,” 1-0 this year.
* Browns are playing back-to-back prime-time games for the first time in club history. They are 18-25 overall in prime time, 1-2 this year.
* Browns have been outscored 55-26 in the third quarter. They’ve outscored the opponent 146-139 in the other three quarters combined.
* Opponents have converted 43.9 percent of third downs.
* LB D’Qwell Jackson leads the team with 100 tackles. LB Andra Davis is second with 60.
BILLS UPDATE: One of two teams (Bears) with five or more receivers with 23 receptions.
* RBs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson have combined for 50 catches, second in the NFL behind the Saints.
* K Rian Lindell has made 47 straight field goals inside 40 yards, the longest active streak in the league.
* The Bills have 13 sacks, led by Marcus Stroud with 2½.
* The Bills have gone 84 games without going to overtime, the league’s longest active streak.
BROWNS INJURY REPORT: Doubtful: FB Lawrence Vickers (ankle); Questionable: G Eric Steinbach (oblique), TE Steve Heiden (back), NT Shaun Rogers (neck), DE Corey Williams (shoulder), TE Darnell Dinkins (ribs).
BILLS INJURY REPORT: Out: DE Aaron Schobel (foot); Doubtful: WR Josh Reed (ankle); Questionable: S Donte Whitner (shoulder), TE Robert Royal (ankle), WR James Hardy (hip); Probable: G Brad Butler (knee).
THE PICK: The Browns prove they’re not quitters and are still playing hard for Crennel.
Browns 24-21.
 — Scott Petrak

Bills WR Lee Evans vs. Browns CBs Brandon McDonald/Travis Daniels
To paraphrase the movie “Airplane,” Brandon McDonald picked a bad time to start playing poorly. Lee Evans is a tough enough assignment for a cornerback with complete confidence, yet alone one recovering from a pair of sub-par performances.
After a solid start to his second season — first as a starter — McDonald crumbled in the last two losses. He twice was beaten deep for touchdowns, then was manhandled by Brandon Marshall for the winner against the Broncos. Coach Romeo Crennel said veteran Travis Daniels will see more time and could start for McDonald.
Whoever lines up opposite Evans will have his hands full. The Bedford native is a premier deep threat with the speed to get behind any secondary. He has
37 catches for 700 yards for an 18.9 average that ranks fourth in the NFL. His nine catches of 25-plus yards rank third, and since 2000 he leads the league with
six touchdowns of 70-plus yards.
“He’s their go-to guy and he’s the guy you have to do something about,” Crennel said. “It’s a major concern. We’ve got to try to slow him down whether we double him or push the coverage to him or roll into him.”
Evans’ speed allows him to catch passes on a variety of routes.
“He’s breaking off his route really smooth and he’s getting out of his breaks,” McDonald said. “He creates a lot of separation just because he is a
deep-ball threat.”
Daniels started 25 games in his three years with Miami, but has seen action at corner in just two games this year, with one tackle. He was inactive last week.
“He looks excited,” Crennel said. “He’s out there hustling around. It’s an opportunity for him to get playing time, so he wants to make the most of it.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
     Nickel coverage
(Five points of interest in tonight’s game)
K2 IS OPTION NO. 1
A tumultuous season for Kellen Winslow may have taken an upswing with the insertion of Brady Quinn at quarterback. Quinn prefers the quick, short routes, and that’s where Winslow excels. He caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a career-best two touchdowns in Quinn’s first start.
If Winslow can keep up a similar pace, the Browns might be reluctant to trade “the troublemaker” in the offseason.
JUST FOR KICKS — AND COVERAGE
Pro Bowler Joshua Cribbs makes Cleveland’s special teams unit one of the best in the business. Coach Bobby April does the same thing for Buffalo.
The Bills special teams were the first to repeat as the No. 1 unit in the Dallas Morning News rankings in 2004 and ’05. They led the league last year and are second this season in punt return average (14.2 yards), and are in the top 10 in gross and net punting and sixth in drive start (29.0-yard line).
A RESTED ROGERS
Nose tackle Shaun Rogers is having a Pro Bowl season with 41/2 sacks and 48 tackles, but wasn’t his dominant self in the loss to Denver. He entered the game with three days rest and sore ribs, then suffered a neck stinger that forced him to the sideline for a spell. The stinger isn’t 100 percent, but he’s had 10 days to recover and recharge his batteries.
The Bills have the heaviest offensive line in the NFL (332.2 pounds per guy), but centers Melvin Fowler
(a former Brown) and Duke Preston have struggled against active nose tackles in 3-4 schemes. Rogers could have a field day.
TRENT’S TROUBLES
Quarterback Trent Edwards has a solid 86.9 rating, but he’s been bad in the Bills’ three-game losing streak, throwing five interceptions and losing two fumbles. Edwards, a third-round pick out of Stanford in 2007, is sixth in the NFL with a 66.9 completion percentage, but has just seven touchdowns to go with seven interceptions.
The Bills are 8-0 when he posts a rating of at least 80.0. In those games, he’s thrown more than one touchdown only once.
DONTE’S INFERNO
Bills safety Donte Whitner, a star at Glenville High School and Ohio State, is questionable with a shoulder injury but could have a profound impact if he’s able to play. He was picked for USA Today’s midseason all-pro team and has 39 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles.
He would help the Buffalo run defense and hound  Winslow in coverage.
— Scott Petrak

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