Browns 30, Chiefs 7
CLEVELAND - Travis Benjamin returned a punt 93 on the first play of the second quarter Sunday to put the Cleveland Browns ahead and spark them to a 30-7 victory over the Kansas Chiefs.
The victory was the third straight by the Browns, and it is their longest winning streak since they won the last four games in 2009. They are 5-8 and have won one more game than they did last season when they lost nine of their last 10 games.
The Chiefs slipped to 2-11. Their offense suffered a severe loss in the first quarter when leading receiver Dwayne Bowe was knocked out of the game with a rib injury. The Chiefs led 7-0 at the time.
Benjamin's return, the longest in Browns history, involved a bit of trickery. He was near the line of scrimmage as the teams were lining up, but then dropped back to receive the punt as Josh Cribbs ran toward the line of scrimmage. After receiving the punt, Benjamin moved to the right, veered to the middle, then cut to the left and outran his pursuers to the end zone.
That gave the Browns a 10-7 lead, and they added 20 points in the second half. Trent Richardson had two one-yard touchdown runs -- one in the third quarter and one in the fourth.
The Browns and Chiefs started Sunday as the worst red-zone teams in the league statistically and played like it early in the game.
Chiefs' running back Jamaal Charles muzzled the crowd in Cleveland Browns Stadium on the first offensive play of the game when he blasted over right guard and continued running until he got to the end zone 80 yards later.
After forcing a punt, the Chiefs had a chance to take a 14-0 lead. They drove to the Browns' 3, where the drive stalled. After a false start, Ryan Succop's field goal try clinked off the left upright and was no good.
The Browns drove to the Kansas City 2-yard line and their drive stalled, but Browns kicker Phil Dawson made his 23-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
Benjamin's punt return gave the Browns the lead for good.
NOTES: Browns cornerback Dimitri Patterson played for the first time since suffering a partially torn left ankle ligament in the game against the Giants on Oct. 7...Tyson Hartman started at free safety in place of Kendrick Lewis for the Chiefs...Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel returned to Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday for the first time since being fired as Browns head coach at the end of the 2008 season... Dawson kicked three field goals and now has made 302 in his 14-year career.
