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POSTGAME NOTES

The Browns are just the second team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to have a rookie lead the team in passing (Brandon Weeden 3,385), rushing (Trent Richardson 950) and receiving yards (Josh Gordon 805) in the same season. Cleveland joins the 1968 Buffalo Bills as the only teams to accomplish that feat.

Making his NFL debut, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis became the 18th quarterback to start to start for the Browns since 1999. He is also the seventh quarterback from Duke to start an NFL game and first since Dave Brown started for Arizona at Jacksonville on December 10, 2000. Lewis finished 22 of 32 passing for 204 yards with one touchdown.

Starting Quarterback’s Cleveland Browns Debut Since 1999 (Player Opp. Date Att. Com. Pct Yards TD INT Rating Result)

Ty Detmer Pit. 9/12/99 13 6 .462 52 0 1 25.2 L, 0-43

Tim Couch at Ten. 9/19/99 24 12 .500 124 1 0 80.9 L, 9-26

Doug Pederson at Pit. 10/22/00 20 9 .450 61 0 3 12.7 L, 0-22

Spergon Wynn at Jac. 12/3/00 16 5 .313 17 0 0 40.6 L, 0-48

Kelly Holcomb K.C. 9/8/02 39 27 .692 326 3 0 120.2 L, 39-40

Jeff Garcia Bal. 9/12/04 24 15 .625 180 1 0 99.3 W, 20-3

Luke McCown N.E. 12/5/04 34 20 .588 277 2 2 80.1 L, 15-42

Trent Dilfer Cin. 9/11/05 34 26 .605 278 1 2 67.8 L, 13-27

Charlie Frye Jac. 12/4/05 20 13 .650 226 2 0 136.7 L, 14-20

Derek Anderson at Pit. 12/7/06 37 21 .568 276 1 1 78.2 L, 30-40

Brady Quinn Den. 11/6/08 35 23 .657 239 2 0 104.3 L, 30-34

Ken Dorsey at Ten. 12/7/08 43 22 .512 150 0 1 49.6 L, 9-28

Bruce Gradkowski at Pit. 12/28/08 16 5 .313 18 0 2 1.0 L, 0-31

Jake Delhomme at T.B. 9/12/10 37 20 .541 227 1 2 59.2 L, 14-17

Seneca Wallace K.C. 9/19/10 31 16 .516 229 1 1 73.2 L, 14-16

Colt McCoy at Pit. 10/17/10 33 23 .697 281 1 2 80.5 L, 10-28

Brandon Weeden Phi. 9/9/12 35 12 .343 118 0 4 5.1 L, 16-17

Thaddeus Lewis at Pit. 12/30/12 22 32 .688 204 1 1 83.3 L, 10-24

Wide receiver Greg Little caught three passes for 38 yards with a touchdown. He finished the season with a team-leading 53 receptions, while adding 647 yards and four scores. He is the first player to lead the Browns in receptions in back-to-back seasons since tight end Kellen Winslow (2006-07) and first wide receiver since Dennis Northcutt (2003-04).

Defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard tied a career high with two sacks. He finished with a team-leading seven sacks this season, including six sacks over the final eight games. He is the first player to lead the Browns in sacks in back-to-back seasons since linebacker Kamerion Wimbley (2006-07) and first defensive lineman since Michael Dean Perry (1990-91). Sheard also recorded two sacks at Arizona on December 18, 2011.

Rookie wide receiver Josh Gordon recorded four catches for 39 yards. Gordon joins wide receiver Kevin Johnson (1999), running back Eric Metcalf (1989) and wide receiver Webster Slaughter (1986) as the only rookies in Browns history to record a reception in all 16 games. Gordon led the team with 805 receiving yards on the season, which is the fourth-highest figure by a Browns rookie.

BROWNS SINGLE-SEASON ROOKIE RECEIVING YARDAGE LEADERS

1. Kevin Johnson 1999 986

2. Paul Warfield 1964 920

3. Derrick Alexander 1994 828

4. Josh Gordon 2012 805

5. Greg Little 2011 709

With seven punt return yards today, Joshua Cribbs passed Dennis Northcutt (2,149) as the Browns’ all-time leader in punt return yards. He also returned two kickoffs for 42 yards to become the fifth player in NFL history to total 10,000 or more career kickoff return yards.

MOST CAREER PUNT RETURN YARDS BY A BROWN

1. Joshua Cribbs 2005-12 2,147

2. Dennis Northcutt 2000-06 2,149

ALL-TIME NFL kickoff return YARDS LEADERS

1. Brian Mitchell 1990-2003 14,014

2. Allen Rossum 1998-2009 11,947

3. Mel Gray 1986-97 10,250

4. Dante Hall 2000-08 10,136

5. Joshua Cribbs 2005-12 10,015

6. Glyn Milburn 1993-2001 9,788

Defensive back Ray Ventrone took a fake punt and ran 35 yards, which marked his first career rushing attempt. The run tied with wide receiver Travis Benjamin’s (vs. Philadelphia on 9/9) 35-yard end around for the Browns’ longest running play of the season.

Kicker Phil Dawson’s 51 yard field goal in the second quarter tied for the second-longest field goal at Heinz Field. Dawson finished the season with a 93.5 (29 of 31) field goal percentage, which is the best of his 14 year career, surpassing his previous best of 93.1 (27 of 29) set in 2005. He also scored 116 points this year, which is the second-most of his career (120 in 2007). Dawson finished 7 for 7 on field goals from 50 yards or longer and his 13 field goals of 50 yards or longer since 2011 are the most in the NFL.

LONGEST FIELD GOALS AT HEINZ FIELD (Player Team Opponent Date Distance)

1. Jeff Reed Pittsburgh Atlanta 9/12/10 52

2. Phil Dawson Cleveland Pittsburgh 12/30/12 51

Nick Novak San Diego Pittsburgh 12/9/12 51

Billy Cundiff Baltimore Pittsburgh 11/6/11 51

DAWSON’S 50 YARD FIELD GOALS THIS SEASON

at Cincinnati 9/6 50

at Baltimore 9/27 51

at Baltimore 9/27 50

at Baltimore 9/27 52

at Dallas 11/18 51

at Denver 12/23 53

at Pittsburgh 12/30 51

TOTAL OF SEVEN

2012 NFL 50 YARD FIELD GOAL LEADERS  (Player Team Made Att.)

1. Blair Walsh* Minnesota 9 9

2. Phil Dawson Cleveland 7 7

Greg Zuerlein* St. Louis 7 12

*Minnesota and St. Louis play today at 4:25 p.m.

NFL 50 YARD FIELD GOAL LEADERS SINCE 2011 (Player Team Made Att.)

1. Phil Dawson Cleveland 14 15

2. Sebastian Janikowski* Oakland 13 19

*Oakland plays today at 4:25 p.m.

Defensive back Sheldon Brown was inactive today with a concussion suffered last week at Denver. Brown had previously appeared in 175 consecutive regular season games, a figure which ranked fourth among all defensive players.

Left tackle Joe Thomas has started and played in each of the first 96 games of his career, while center Alex Mack has started and played in each of the first 64 games of his career. Neither one of the two have missed an offensive snap during their career.

As a team, the Browns had 26 rushing attempts for 138 yards for a 5.3 average. It is the second week in a row and third time this season that the club recorded an average of 5.0-or better. The team’s 5.3 average was the second-highest figure of the season, trailing only the 5.7 average set during a Week Two matchup at Cincinnati.

Defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin tied for the team-lead with six tackles, which also tied his season high.