Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
11.05.2006
SAN DIEGO--The Browns would have rather had touchdowns, but Phil
Dawson's six field goals Sunday were a career high and a team record.

Dawson made his fifth field goal, a 36-yarder, early in the fourth
quarter, and set the record on a 35-yarder with 5:29 to go.

Dawson kicked four field goals in the first half for the first time
in his career. Dawson previously had five career four-field goal
games and one five-field goal game, but he'd never kicked four in one
half.

His fifth field goal tied a career and franchise high he set in the
Browns' 2004 season finale at Houston, but he wasn't in the mood to
celebrate after the game.

"I felt better last week," Dawson said. "I missed a 26-yarder, but we
won. I've been here since Day One, and I just want to win."

COUNT IT--Dawson got to 6-for-6 in an unconventional way. His second
kick, a 20-yarder, was deflected at the line by Derreck Robinson but
still made it over the crossbar.

He missed a 54-yarder wide left in the second quarter but the
Chargers were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, negating the miss
and giving the Browns a first down. He kicked a 42-yarder four plays
later, then gave the Browns a 12-10 halftime lead with a 31-yarder
with :01 left in the first half.

IMPRESSIVE HOMECOMING--Kellen Winslow's 11 receptions set a career
high, tied for second all-time in a single game in Browns' history
and increased Winslow's season tally to 51, the most among NFL tight
ends.

Winslow was greeted by boos in his hometown and in the stadium where
his father of the same name became a Hall of Famer, but he took it in
stride.

"They're great fans, and that's part of it," Winslow said. "They
wanted to get after me. They were loud; it was a great atmosphere. It
was a lot of fun."

Winslow had 4 catches for 30 yards in the first half; all four came
on the Browns' final field goal drive of the half. He finished with
78 receiving yards.

"Kellen was excited all week," Charlie Frye said. "He came home, and
he came out and did what he said he was going to do."

PLAYING THROUGH PAIN--Frye hit his right thumb on another player's
helmet during practice Friday, but both he and Browns coach Romeo
Crennel said it didn't affect his play Sunday.

Frye experienced another kind of pain -- the unexpected, full-body
kind -- in the third quarter when he was hit from behind by Jacques
Cesaire after the whistle. The officials stopped the play because the
play clock had expired.

"I was defenseless - I thought the play was over," Frye said. "When
the whistle blows your body relaxes. I wasn't ready for it, but hey,
that's football."

The third quarter pretty much summed up Frye's day. He lost a fumble
inside the Browns' 15 but got a break when the Chargers were flagged
for illegal contact, then hit Braylon Edwards for a 20-yard gain. But
two incompletions led to a punt from the Chargers' 42.

The late hit on Cesaire came two plays after the Browns had moved to
midfield on a 15-yard facemask call, but that drive ended when Frye
overshot Winslow on third down inside the 20.

Frye said after the game he was sore, but he'd be up and running and
ready for next week.

ANOTHER CORNER DOWN--Losing Leigh Bodden on the first series made a
tough task for the Browns defense even tougher.

The Browns were already playing without their other starting corner,
Daven Holly (illness). Ralph Brown started in Holly's place; Jereme
Perry, Mike Hawkins and Brodney Pool each saw some time at corner
after Bodden's injury.

Perry was shaken up and left the game after making a tackle early in
the fourth quarter.

Pool had a big first half, breaking up a third-down pass intended for
Antonio Gates that led to a punt, then forcing and recovering a
Keenan McCardell fumble at the Browns' 28 that set up the go-ahead
scoring drive just before the half.

McCardell had a productive day, though, catching 5 passes for 64
yards. Eric Parker caught 5 for 65 yards, and Gates caught 2 for 22,
both for first downs.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES--The special teams were again solid overall for
the Browns. Dennis Northcutt set up Dawson's second field goal with
an 81-yard punt return, the second-longest of his career and fifth-
longest in team history.

In the second quarter, Joshua Cribbs returned a kickoff 47 yards to
the Browns' 48, sparking the drive that eventually resulted in
Dawson's third field goal. Dave Zastudil pinned the Chargers inside
their own 15 with punts twice in the third quarter.

The Browns, however, will be haunted by Chargers rookie cornerback
Antonio Cromartie when they watch the game film Monday. Cromartie
chased down Northcutt, pushed Cribbs out of bounds on his return and
downed Mike Scifres' punt at the Browns' 2 in the third quarter,
leading to a quick three-and-out and the go-ahead touchdown.

SACK ATTACK-- Despite playing without both of their starting outside
linebackers, the NFL's co-sack leader Shawne Merriman (suspension)
and Shaun Phillips (calf), the Chargers sacked Frye four times in the
first half.

Unofficially, Cesaire was credited with two of the sacks, Luis
Castillo with one and Randall Godfrey with the sack that led to
Marques Harris recovering Frye's fumble in the endzone for the
Chargers' lone touchdown of the first half.

The Browns' two first-half sacks came from Kamerion Wimbley (1.5),
Simon Fraser (1) and Sean Jones (0.5).

Fraser and Chaun Thompson saw extended time in the Browns' nickel
defensive packages because Orpheus Roye (hamstring) and Willie
McGinest (ankle) didn't play. Nick Eason started in place of Roye and
Matt Stewart started for McGinest.

Rookie linebacker Leon Williams also played in the nickel packages
before suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter.

BIG GRABS--Joe Jurevicius' 52-yard reception in the first quarter was
his longest reception as a Brown. He added a 17-yard reception for a
first down late in the first half.

Perhaps Jurevicius' most important catch came in the fourth quarter
when Jerome Harrison fumbled the ball into the air and Jurevicius
caught it before any defenders could. He advanced it to the Chargers'
12, leading to Dawson's sixth field goal.