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For the first time since the 2002 season, the Browns will head south to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday afternoon in the 2010 regular season opener. It marks the first time since 1995 that the Browns will open the season on the road.

The Browns have a 5-2-0 all-time record against the Buccaneers, including a 3-1 mark in away games. The Buccaneers lost the first five games in the series, but are on a two-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s meeting.

When the Browns and Buccaneers last met on December 24, 2006, Tampa Bay collected a 22-7 victory at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Buccaneers forced four Browns interceptions and held the ball for more than 37 minutes. They outgained the Browns 355-187 in total yards, including 202-96 in the passing game.

The only Browns score of the game came on Daven Holly’s 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

As the game unfolds, here are several things to keep an eye on:

Two-time Pro Bowler Joshua Cribbs. He is one return touchdown away from moving into a fourth place tie with Devin Hester on the NFL’s all-time list. He is three shy of tying his boyhood idol, former Washington Redskins great Brian Mitchell, for the NFL’s career lead.

Cribbs had a banner season in 2009, returning three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns. Cribbs broke the Browns’ record for career return touchdowns with a 98-yard kickoff score in Pittsburgh. He also tied the NFL mark for most kickoff return touchdowns against one team. In his career, Cribbs has taken three kickoffs back for touchdowns against the Steelers.

Later in the year, Cribbs set Browns single-game records by racking up 269 yards and two touchdowns on kickoff returns against the Kansas City Chiefs. Cribbs had returns of 100 and 103 yards against the Chiefs, becoming just the second player in NFL history to have two kickoff return touchdowns of 100 yards or more in the same game.

In 2009, Cribbs became the first player in NFL history to begin his career with five consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more kickoff return yards. He also earned the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors for December and January.

Quarterback Jake Delhomme. In his 12 NFL seasons, Delhomme has completed 1,630 passes for 19,892 yards and 123 touchdowns against 94 interceptions. With 108 passing yards against the Buccaneers, a former NFC South rival during his days with the Carolina Panthers, Delhomme will reach the 20,000-yard mark.

During the 2010 preseason, his first with the Browns, Delhomme completed 38-of-48 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns.

He is 9-2 all-time against Tampa Bay and has completed 182-of-298 passes for 2,238 yards and 15 touchdowns against Tampa Bay. He had a career-high four touchdown passes and a 143.4 quarterback rating against the Buccaneers on December 26, 2004.

Kicker Phil Dawson. Dawson needs six field goals to pass Pro Football Hall of Famer, Lou Groza, for the franchise’s all-time record. Groza kicked 234 field goals in 17 seasons with the Browns (1950-59, 1961-67).

Dawson, third on the Browns’ all-time points scored list, needs just 44 more to reach 1,000 for his career.

Running back Jerome Harrison. The fifth-year back from Washington State set franchise records in back-to-back weeks last December, en route to the most productive season of his professional career.

Harrison ran for a Browns record 286 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs, which also stands as the third-best total in NFL history. One week later, he carried the ball 39 times against the Oakland Raiders.

He earned FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week honors for his game against the Chiefs and finished the year with a team-leading 862 yards on 194 rushing attempts, an average of 4.4 yards-per-carry.

Running back Peyton Hillis. Hillis, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound running back from the University of Arkansas, seems to have found a home in Cleveland after being acquired in an off-season trade with the Denver Broncos. Hillis displayed a punishing running style during the preseason, often being hit by several tacklers before going to the ground.

Hillis ended the preseason with 80 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries. He also caught the second-most passes, nine, of anyone on the team. He gained 86 receiving yards and helped out in all phases of special teams.

Defensive back Sheldon Brown and linebacker David Bowens. Brown has played in 128 consecutive regular season games, while Bowens has appeared in 100 straight contests. There are currently 29 active players who have seen action in at least 100 consecutive games heading into 2010 and only 12 are on defense.

Wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. In his first NFL season, Massaquoi tied for the team lead with 34 receptions. He gained 624 yards and became just the fourth rookie to lead the Browns in that category. Paul Warfield (920 yards in 1964), Derrick Alexander (828 yards in 1994) and Kevin Johnson (986 yards in 1999) are the only other Browns to accomplish the feat.

Massaquoi averaged 18.35 yards-per-reception, which broke the old record of 17.69 set by Warfield in 1964.

Rookie defensive backs T.J. Ward and Joe Haden. Ward started all four preseason games at safety and registered 14 total tackles, the second-most on the team. He had 11 solo tackles and one pass break-up in addition to three special teams tackles.

Haden had ten total tackles and tied for the team lead with four pass break-ups during the preseason.

Both players offer special teams value, with Haden having returned five kickoffs for 110 yards and Ward being a standout in kickoff coverage.

Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman. Freeman was injured during the preseason, but has progressed in rehab assignments to the point where he took all the regular snaps with the first-team, according to Coach Raheem Morris in a Tuesday press conference.

Freeman completed 158-of-290 pass attempts for 1,855 yards and 10 touchdowns against 18 interceptions during his rookie season.

Running back Cadillac Williams. He rushed for 823 yards on 211 attempts, an average of 3.9 yards-per-carry in 2009. He scored four rushing touchdowns and caught 28 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns out of the backfield.

Tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. The former Brown led all Buccaneers receivers with 884 yards and 77 catches. He also posted a team-best five receiving touchdowns in 2009, his first season with Tampa Bay.

The Browns go into Sunday’s game looking for their first opening day win since a 20-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at the beginning of the 2004 season. Their last opening day win on the road came in 1994. The Browns beat the Bengals 28-20 in front of 52,778 fans. The Buccaneers are looking for their first win in an opener since 2005 and Week One home win since 1997. Both teams finished 2-2 in the preseason.

CONNECTIONS

Former Browns center Jeff Faine (2003-05), safety Sean Jones (2004-08) and Winslow Jr. (2004-08) play for the Buccaneers. All three are listed as starters on the team’s depth chart. Buccaneers back-up left tackle James Lee was an undrafted free agent signing of the Browns in 2008.

Browns tight end Alex Smith spent four seasons in Tampa Bay (2005-08) and played in 58 games. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

New Browns defensive back Derrick Roberson played with the Buccaneers in 2009 and went through training camp with them this summer.

Browns defensive back Joe Haden played at the University of Florida, while safety Abram Elam is from Riviera Beach and went to Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson is from Largo, Florida and went to Seminole High School. Wide receiver Carlton Mitchell is from Gainesville and graduated from Gaither High School. He also played college football at South Florida.

MEDIA

Fans can watch Sunday's game at 1:00pm ET on local CBS affiliate WOIO-TV 19. Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Rich Gannon (color analyst) will provide the coverage.

The game is also available along the Browns Radio Network with Jim Donovan, Doug Dieken and Jamir Howerton on the call. The Countdown to Kickoff pregame show hosted by Mike Snyder and Mike Pagel begins at 11:30am. The Browns Radio Network’s flagship station is 100.7 FM/WMMS.

Fans can also get up-to-the-minute information by following the Browns on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OfficialBrowns or get sideline updates from Howerton at http://twitter.com/jamir2010browns.