Many happy returns

11.11.2007

PITTSBURGH -- The Browns' Joshua Cribbs said his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was "like playing a video game."

After failing to get a handle on Jeff Reed's kick and watching it bounce to just short of the goal line -- "about an inch away," he said -- he knew he had to pick up the ball, lest the oncoming Steelers pounce on it. So he did and took off.

Not a second too soon.

"Guys were coming at me like bullets," he said. "Vroom! Vroom."

Cribbs dodged all of them, tightroping the sideline in front of the Pittsburgh bench to go all the way and help the Browns regain the lead, 28-24.

"At the end, I was losing wind," he said. "I was asking, 'Where's the end zone at?' But as you saw, I had a lot of guys there with me showing me the way."

He also had a 90-yard kickoff return at the end of the first quarter, barely getting tripped up at the Pittsburgh 3, to set up another TD.

But when it was all said and done, his big day was not quite enough as the Browns lost 31-28 at Heinz Field.

That's exactly what happened last season against the Steelers in Cleveland, when his 90-yard kickoff return for a score put the Browns ahead 20-10 in the fourth quarter, only to see Pittsburgh rally for a 24-20 triumph.

Cribbs, who entered Sunday day third in the NFL in kickoff returns with a 30.2 average, averaged 51.0 yards on four returns. His 204 returns yards are the second-most in team history, behind Richard Alston's 212 in 2004.

In just nine games, with seven to go, Cribbs now has two returns for a TD this year, tying the team record set by Eric Metcalf in 1990. He also has a team-record four scores for his career, breaking the mark of three established by Pro Football Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell from 1958-61.

Mitchell played four seasons for the Browns. Metcalf, one of the better players in team history, was a Brown for six years.

This is only the third year for Cribbs, which means he could shatter every team record before he's through.

Not bad for someone who came to the Browns in 2005 an undrafted rookie free agent after having played quarterback at Kent State.

Cribbs had said all week leading up to the game that special teams could have a major impact, and he made it a self-fulfilling prophecy with the way he performed.

And what doesn't show up in the box score of the game is his 19-yard punt return to the Pittsburgh 38 with 1:04 left, which would have put the Browns, trailing by the final margin of 31-28 at the time, in great position to either kick a field goal to tie the game or score a TD to win it.

But the play was nullified by a holding penalty, costing the Browns 29 yards and forcing them to start all the way back at their 33. They got back to the Pittsburgh 35, but Phil Dawson's 52-yard try fell just short.

Afterwards, Browns head coach Romeo Crennel all but said the hold was a bad call. Cribbs agreed.

"I don't believe it was a penalty," he said. "It's one of those situations where a ref sees a guy fall down and turns around and assumes it's a penalty."

Penalty or not, the fact of the matter is that Cribbs once again served notice that he is one of the top returners in the league. He sure got Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin's attention.

"One thing is for certain: We stink as a kickoff coverage unit,"Tomlin said. "Not to take anything away from Josh Cribbs -- he is a great return man -- but we have to grow in that area."

Cribbs kept burning the Steelers because they kept kicking to him. As crazy as that tactic sounds, he can understand it.

"It's hard to kick away from guys," Cribbs said. "When you do, it messes with your field position."

Yes, but it's better than giving up a 100-yarder for a TD, or a 90-yarder, for if you do that enough times, it's "GAME OVER, YOU LOSE."