CLEVELAND — A four-week span does not make a season, but it’s done wonders for the Browns offense as the team looks toward next year.

A stagnant unit that struggled to find consistency for much of the season put it all together for the final four games, spearheading four straight victories that put a positive spin on an otherwise disappointing season.

The fourth consecutive win arrived Sunday, a 23-17 decision over Jacksonville, which was once again ignited by an impressive rushing attack. Of Cleveland’s 300 total offensive yards against the Jaguars, 214 came on the ground.

“It’s just a great way for us to finish. I’m really proud, too, of the offense,” Browns coach Eric Mangini said. “It’s the first time that we’ve rushed for this many yards in this many consecutive games, I think, since ’68. That’s hard to do, but that’s what you need to do in games like this late in the season in Cleveland. It is just a testament to their will.”

Cleveland’s offense actually began to improve halfway through the season. Over the Browns’ last seven games entering Sunday, they averaged 10.8 more points than they did in the first eight, as well as 78 more total yards and 54.2 more rushing yards.

But the pinnacle came over the last four games, especially on the ground — the Browns amassing at least 160 net rushing yards in four straight games for the first time since 1968.

Running back Jerome Harrison was once again at the forefront Sunday, running for 127 yards on 33 carries. He became the first Cleveland back to record three straight 100-yard rushing performances since Lee Suggs in 2004.

“I’m really proud of Jerome Harrison, I’m proud of our line and I’m proud of our offense,” said Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas. “Two hundred yards on the ground, that’s how you win a cold-weather game in Cleveland.

“There’s no doubt that Jerome Harrison was the catalyst for us.”

That was the case over the final three weeks of the season when Harrison became the Browns’ featured back. He produced a breakout game against Kansas City with 286 yards — the third-highest single-game total in NFL history — then followed with two more high-octane efforts to finish the season.

“We just got going early and got a good feeling for each other as the year went on,” Harrison said of himself, his offensive line and fullback Lawrence Vickers.

Harrison’s surge and Cleveland’s fantastic finish have given the Browns and their fans reasons to look toward 2010. The positive vibe and the winning streak all started with a victory over archrival Pittsburgh at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Dec. 10.

“That was the hump that we needed,” said Pro Bowl special teams player Joshua Cribbs. “What better way to start a winning streak than that? You see what became of it. We got it done at the end of the year.

“This win is going to carry over. It has to. It will.”

Cribbs, arguably Cleveland’s best player and clearly the top return man in the league, went as far as to call the 5-11 Browns a playoff contender next year.

“I feel that, in my opinion, of course,” he said. “I don’t want to play for a team I think is going to lose.”

For now, the Browns will have to be satisfied with a positive ending that has bred optimism for a new start next year.

“This is a special group of guys in this locker room,” Harrison said. “To go through the adversity we did and to finish like this says a lot about the character on this team.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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