CLEVELAND, Ohio — Notes, observations and some facts on the fourth quarter …

• On super-important first possession, Browns complete 3-and-out with a third-down swing pass to Peyton Hillis. Groans. Minus-3 yards. Punt.

• Ben Roethlisberger’s shovel pass to Hines Ward results in 3-yard loss on alert hit by D’Qwell Jackson. Nonetheless, Steelers celebrate Ward’s 1,000th career catch.

• Isaac Redman loses the ball on a hit by Chris Gocong. Eric Hagg recovers and refs tack on 15 yards on a facemask penalty. Browns have it at Steelers’ 43.

• Mohamed Massaquoi gets a first down with a catch at the 32. Peyton Hillis out with a knee injury.

• Wallace’s pass over middle a little behind Massaquoi, but catchable. Dropped at the Steelers’ 19.

• After a Wallace throw two yards out of bounds, Browns punt from the Steelers’ 34 with 10:11 to go.

• Buster Skrine’s pass interference against Jerricho Cotchery bails out Steelers. First down at 26.

• Redman coughs up another after a 22-yard gain, and it’s recovered by the Browns at their 39.

• After one first down, Wallace’s passes on second and third down are off mark and almost intercepted. One fourth-and-10 with 4:59 to go, Browns elect to punt.

• Ben Roethlisberger makes a big throw to Heath Miller for 11 yards and a first down at the Steelers’ 29. Browns use their last timeout with 2:44 to go.

• Steelers can’t close the game out on offense, as Roethlisberger’s third-down pass is knocked away by Joe Haden. Browns, with no timeouts, get one last chance after Cribbs fumbles the punt out of bounds at their 24.

• Evan Moore catches one for eight yards at the 32, clock runs. Cribbs drops a short dump pass, but that at least stops the clock. Is there any play that’s more than 15 yards downfield?

• On third down, Cribbs catches another dumpoff for a first down. But can’t succeed doing this.

• Sideline pass to Massaquoi … just four yards downfield … is dropped.

• Snow coming down heavily on second down. Moore catches it over the middle and runs out of bounds to the Browns 45.

• Just 41 seconds left … have to go downfield. Carlton Mitchell grabs his first reception for 18 yards, and Wallace spikes the ball with 22 seconds left at the Steelers 37. Pittsburgh calls their second timeout.

• Snowglobe conditions. Moore catches a pattern near the sidelines, but can’t get out of bounds. Ball is clocked with five seconds remaining at the Steelers 25.

• Last play is … delayed by the Steelers’ last timeout. Will Browns have some final trick play to end the season?

• Hail Mary sees Greg Little get his hands on the ball in the end zone, but the ball is knocked harmlessly to the ground. End of game. End of season.

Nobody doubts the Browns’ young defense has had its shining moments.

Goal-line stands in Pittsburgh and Arizona the past two games were two of them.

But there have been some clunkers that have elicited flashbacks of previous defensive “Seasons From Hell”, too. And the first game on Dec. 4 against the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Browns play on Christmas Eve, was the stinkiest egg laid by this group.

“It left a bad taste in all of our mouths,” said defensive tackle Phil Taylor.

That was the game in which Ray Rice ran for a career-high 204 yards and averaged 7.0 yards per carry. Ricky Williams chipped in 76 yards as the Ravens rushed 55 times for 290 yards.

It was reminiscent of the Browns getting gashed for a then-NFL record 295 yards rushing by Jamal Lewis in a 2003 game. The Ravens totaled 343 yards rushing in that one.

Rice, a humble man, credited his career game to execution, to his offensive line and to the wet weather conditions that inspired the run-first, run-often Baltimore game plan.

The Browns’ explanation for what happened is a little more technical. But cornerback Sheldon Brown broke it down in easily understood terms.

“They won the front battle,” he said. “They won the line of scrimmage. Anytime a running back can get to the second level, it’s gonna be tough on anybody else trying to make that tackle. And that’s what they did, create holes to get him to the second level.”

Baltimore’s huge offensive line knocked the Browns out of their gaps, and the diminutive Rice — who’s 5-8 — made the secondary miss.

That game plunged the Browns to 31st against the run, their lowest ranking of the season. They were 31st out of 31 teams in the expansion season of 1999 and 32nd in 2004.

All the coaches have lamented “gap integrity” in defending the run. Current defensive coordinator Dick Jauron is one of the best at explaining exactly what that means.

“Everybody’s got to do their job on every play,” he said. “People have to stay in their gaps. But it’s not easy.

“You’ve got two 300-pound men trying to knock you out of that gap. And then it expands. It doesn’t stay in one spot. The play will move and as it stretches, there’s a lot of things going on. You don’t know before the snap which way it’s going or how they’re going to block it.

“In a one-gap scheme [such as Jauron's], it’s pretty clear at the snap where you belong. And it’s very, very difficult to play it and stay in that gap. The offenses are good, the people are huge and strong. It’s what makes the game so competitive and hard to play.”

Besides the linemen, Baltimore pummeled the Browns with 260-pound fullback Vonta Leach. Linebacker Chris Gocong said linebacker Kaluka Maiava took on 22 lead blocks of Leach in that game.

And then there’s Rice, who runs like every play will decide his next meal. In his case, it might. He’s one of several NFL running backs playing out the last season of their rookie contracts, hoping to secure a long-term deal either from their current team or a new one in free agency.

“I’ve worked for everything I got in my life,” Rice said. “Nothing was given to me. I’m still under contract, so why would I complain about something I’m not up for? After this season is over, me and my agent will deal with it accordingly.

“My stats will take care of itself. I look at what other guys got, but that’s not going to determine the outcome of my season. I want to have a great year. Obviously the ultimate goal is to win.”

Rice ranks fifth in the NFL with 1,086 yards rushing and is second among all backs with 71 receptions.

“He may be a little guy but he runs better than most backs twice his size,” said linebacker D’Qwell Jackson.

Rice doesn’t think it will be as easy for him this time — even though this game is in Baltimore with the Ravens hoping to complete an 8-0 home season and maintain first place in the AFC North ahead of Pittsburgh.

“They obviously want to finish their season on a high,” Rice said. “We know that. They’re a prideful organization. They can play the role of the spoiler. We’re gonna try to the best of our ability not to let that happen this week.”

Read More: Colt McCoy (QB – CLE), Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first time since spraining his right knee in a 24-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week and he is listed as probable on the team’s injury report for Thursday’s Week 14 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

McCoy is still aiming for his first win against an AFC North opponent — he is currently 0-7 against division opponents, via the Associated Press. The native Texas made his first NFL start last season at Heinz Field but despite completing 23-33 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown in an impressive debut, McCoy was also intercepted twice and the Browns lost 28-10. McCoy and the Browns suffered an even worse fate on the final day of their season last year, falling 41-9 to Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, running back Peyton Hillis was limited in practice again on Wednesday, just as he was on Monday and Tuesday, and is listed as questionable. Fellow running back Montario Hardesty (calf) has practiced all week and is probable. Like Hillis, safety Mike Adams (shoulder) and tackle Tony Pashos (ankle) are questionable after being limited all week as well.

Linebacker Chris Gocong (hip) and defensive end Jayme Mitchell (ankle) are listed as probable while linebacker Quinton Spears (hamstring) and safety T.J. Ward (safety) are listed as out.

BEREA, Ohio — Here’s a major reason the Browns are 30th in the NFL on offense and 28th with 14.6 points per game: They lead the league with 35 dropped passes, according to Stats LLC.

Rookie Greg Little, the Browns’ main target, has dropped 11, including six in the past two weeks and two against the Ravens. Tight end Evan Moore dropped one in the end zone Sunday, and tight end Ben Watson let two slip through his hands.

“You can’t drop balls,” coach Pat Shurmur said Monday. “You just can’t do it, especially when they’re catchable. We talk about it all the time and the players will tell you — any ball in the air is ours, thrown by our quarterback or theirs. That needs to be the mentality and we’ve got to get that done.”

As for the Browns leading the league in that dubious category, Shurmur said, “I didn’t know that. That’s unacceptable and we keep working to correct it and will make a special emphasis as we go.”

Not available vs. Steelers: Safety T.J. Ward (foot) and linebacker Quinton Spears (hamstring) have both been ruled out for the Pittsburgh game. Ward will miss his fifth straight game with a sprained foot. He said last week that he’s still hopeful to return this season, but has only three games left to do it: at Arizona, at Baltimore and at home against Pittsburgh.

Aches and pains: Linebacker Chris Gocong suffered an oblique strain against Baltimore and right tackle Tony Pashos has a sprained elbow but Shurmur said both should be fine. He said safety Mike Adams came through fine with his shoulder injury. Adams, Peyton Hillis (hip) and Pashos were limited in Monday’s light practice.

Mind the gap? Not Joe: Left tackle Joe Thomas disagreed with Josh Cribbs‘ postgame assessment that there’s “a big gap” between the Browns and Ravens.

“That’s one player’s opinion,” said Thomas. “I tend to disagree with that. I think we’re just as talented as any team that we face and I think the bottom line is that it comes down to execution and who’s going to execute on gameday.”

Cornerback Sheldon Brown says “it’s a copout” to use lack of talent as an excuse for a 4-8 record.

“We get paid to do a job,” he said. “If you made it to this level, you have talent. It’s time to look yourself in the mirror and say ‘go out and do your job.’”

Brown said everyone needs to step it up a notch.

“At this given moment, I wouldn’t say everyone is playing as good as they can,” he said. “The teams that win, the more consistent football, they execute a majority of the time.”

A message to the fans: Shurmur said he’d tell the fans that the Browns will “just keep plugging ahead, and this thing will turn when we least expect it.

“You just keep pushing. And again, I saw eyes roll in here, so I can tell that that maybe doesn’t sink in real well. But I will say this, all you do is keep pushing. And I don’t have the memory of what’s happened before. I do know this, though, I’ve been around teams that have won and have built winners, so I think you just be patient.

“I think we’ve got some good young players that are doing some things well. Jabaal Sheard again played well yesterday. Phil (Taylor) battled. You’ve got a lot of rookies out there and a lot of first- and second-year players getting a lot of important playing time. So I think that’s important and we’ll build on it.”

He said the mood in the locker room is still good.

“I think these guys want to win a game and they want to do what it takes to win,” he said. “And so I think they’re forging forward just like I am.”

A daunting test: Cornerback Dimitri Patterson said the Browns will find out a lot about a lot of players in these last four weeks.

“We’re going to see where they’re at, their mental toughness,” he said. “Everybody can play when things are going well. But can you play well when things are not going your way? That’s the measure of a football player right there.”

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns knew it was going to be a long afternoon when Ray Rice gashed them for 30 yards on his first play of the game. They didn’t know it was going to be this humiliating or embarrassing.

By the end of the first quarter, he had 75 yards. By the end of the half, 107. By the end of the game, a career-high 204. By then, the Browns were soggy, beaten up and red in the face.

“We got slaughtered,” said defensive lineman Scott Paxson. “They kicked our butt up front. We’ve just got to swallow it and move on.”

Rice became the first player to rush for 200 yards against the Browns since Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker gained 223 on Dec. 7, 2006. The team’s 290 rushing yards were the most against the Browns since they surrendered 303 vs. the Steelers that day.

“They just flat out whupped us up front,” said linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. “It wasn’t anything special. The front line, the defensive line, the linebackers, we didn’t get it done. They embarrassed us.”

Rice opened the scoring with a 6-yard TD run at the start of the second quarter and then stuck the dagger in with a 67-yard blast to the Browns’ 6 just after Cleveland had pulled to within 10-3 in the third quarter. That set up a Ricky Williams TD that increased the Ravens’ lead to 17-3.

“I missed that tackle,” said safety Mike Adams, who played with a shoulder injury. “I could’ve made that tackle, coming down wide open. I want to see where my angle was.”

The defense stopped Rice for no gain on fourth and 1 on the Ravens’ first drive. Chris Gocong and Phil Taylor got credit, but Jackson looked to be there, too. But the floodgates re-opened on the next drive when Rice pumped out runs of seven, 14 and 10 yards on the first three plays. He wound up with 48 on that drive alone, including the 6-yard score.

“It was a slap in the face today,” said Jackson. “A lot of guys put a lot of time into it and to give up that many yards — Ray is an extremely talented back and they have a good team. They came to play tonight and we had no answer for it.

“It wasn’t complicated runs, but we just couldn’t get off blocks and we weren’t making enough plays. I just want the guys to know that this is not acceptable at all.”

The Ravens’ dominance spoiled spirited efforts on the parts of rookie Jabaal Sheard and Paxson. Sheard had strip-sack for the third game and a tackle for a loss, and Paxson forced and recovered a fumble, but it was reversed.

“I’ve just got to find a way to make better plays,” Sheard said. “I missed a few plays out there.”

Said Paxson: “We knew coming in that Ray Rice was their stud. We knew that not only did he run the ball out of the backfield, but he was a check-down guy, a screen guy. We did know that, but we couldn’t stop it.”

That’s because Rice hit the rewind button at halftime.

“I knew I was over 100 yards at halftime,” he said. “Coach [Wilbert] Montgomery said ‘you know what, let’s start all over.’ So when I came back out, I had a carry for nine or 10 yards. I came back to the sideline and he said ‘you got ten yards’, meaning that we started all over again because it was a new half.

“Once he knew I was getting closer to that 200-yard mark, he did let me know when I needed like four yards. I was like ‘I need to get these four yards before it eats me alive.’”

When the game was briefly close in the third quarter, Rice knew another big play was needed.

“We had to make a play then and there,” he said. “Then we were up by two scores. That’s the difference. That was the turning point in the game.”

On Twitter: @marykaycabot