Cold. Windy. Miserable. That about sums up my experience at the Cleveland Browns game on Sunday, January 1. In addition to a good dose of Cleveland winter, the Browns unfortunately fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers by the score of 13-9.

Coming into the game I honesty was not expecting much. A win against the Steelers would be a fantastic way to end a mildly disappointing season while a loss would guarantee a better draft pick. (Am I really justifying a loss here?)

I was looking for a competitive football game, and based upon the final score it would appear the win could have gone either way. When taking a look at the final stats, the Steelers played poorly but the Browns were simply awful.

Quarterback Seneca Wallace completed just 16 of 41 attempts for a total of 177 yards on the day. He threw no touchdowns and was picked off once.

On the other hand, Joshua Cribbs had a career game netting seven receptions for 91 yards. Unfortunately, that was the lone bright spot for the Browns. For one of the only players that is passionate and wants to be on the field as much as possible, embraces and interacts with the fans, and genuinely loves Cleveland, he deserved all of his success in the game. I just wish it were enough to contribute to a win. One guy cannot do it all.

Peyton Hillis, who may have played his last game in Cleveland, carried the ball 10 times for 30 yards.

For the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger was only marginally better than Wallace going 23 for 40 for 221 yards. His decision to play with a lingering sprained ankle did not make much sense, especially with the playoffs right around the corner.

Isaac Redman racked up 92 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. As the only touchdown of the game, it broke up the field goal battle between Phil Dawson and Shaun Suisham.

Dawson was 3-3 on the day hitting from 26 yards, 45 yards, and 49 yards on the day. Suisham was 1-1 in extra points and 3-2 in field goals hitting from 19 yards and 29 yards.

When all was said and done, the Browns fell yet again and finished the season with a 4-12 record. But in true Cleveland style—Just wait until next year!

More Cleveland Browns Commentary from this Contributor:

The Cleveland Browns’ experience: A fan’s take

Cleveland Browns lose to Cardinals in OT, QB debate begins: A fan’s reaction

The benefits of being a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan this season: A fan’s perspective

Cleveland Browns prepare for tough game against Baltimore Ravens: A fan’s view

Cleveland Browns release Pro Bowl veteran Pontbriand in favor of rookie Yount: A fan’s reaction

Sources:

All data provided by NFL.com

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Browns fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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

• Ben Roethlisberger is determined to take lead on first drive. After three runs, he’s throwing almost every down. In no-huddle mode, Ben completes passes of 12 yards to Heath Miller, 11 to Antonio Brown and 11 to Mike Wallace.

• A dropped interception at the goal line by Buster Skrine kept alive the Steelers’ drive. Skrine jumped when he didn’t have to and dropped the ball.

• Dimitri Patterson breaks up lob pass to Jerricho Cotchery in the end zone.

• Browns defense holds at the 11. Shaun Suisham’s 29-yard field goal ties score at 6.

• Troy Polamalu steps in front of Evan Moore for interception at Browns’ 43 with 8:22 to go. Seneca Wallace was drifting to the right and throwing off back foot again.

• This Isaac Redman is always spinning, like Montario Hardesty. Tough to lay a lick on him.

• Now Roethlisberger has Steelers back inside Browns 20.

• Jabaal Sheard guessed wrong and jumped offsides. Steelers at the 7. Redman plows in for a 7-yard TD run.

• Needing to up the tempo, Wallace connects twice with Cribbs for 11 and 21 yards, and then keeps it for 20 yards to Steelers’ 24.

• Ryan Clark blitz scores a sack of Wallace back to Steelers’ 31. Then a holding call on Alex Mack moves it back 10 more.

• Phil Dawson makes 49-yard field goal to cut Steelers’ lead to 13-9 after Mike Tomlin declined a 10-yard holding penalty on third down.

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

• Steelers convert fourth-and-1 and get to Browns’ 14. But Jabaal Sheard’s 13-yard sack and Shaun Suisham’s 45-yard field goal miss keeps game scoreless.

• Seneca Wallace hits Jordan Cameron for 15 yards. First Browns first down. Peyton Hillis gets another on runs of 9 and 2 yards.

• From the 31, Wallace accelerates on a keeper and is tripped up at the Steelers’ 4. His fumble disallowed when ruled down by contact. Browns go backwards, but Phil Dawson’s 26-yard field goal makes it 3-0.

• Jayme Mitchell buries Ben Roethlisberger just after a 1-yard throw. Browns finally on to his dunkathon.

• At the 2-minute warning, Wallace’s 23-yard pass to Josh Cribbs takes Browns to Steelers’ 41.

• Cribbs again for 14 yards to the 27. A jump ball in end zone for Evan Moore against Ryan Clark falls incomplete.

• Dawson’s 45-yard field goal makes it 6-0.

• Roethliserger throws over Joe Haden and Antonio Brown makes over-shoulder catch for 40 yards down to Browns’ 14.

• After Brown makes another catch at Browns’ 1, Steelers use their last timeout at :11.

• Roethlisberger throws too far on lobs for Brown and Hines Ward. After Pat Shurmur ices Suisham, chip shot field goal of 19 yards is good, killing shutout bid, 6-3.

Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 5:46 PM     Updated: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 6:51 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio — After the dirtiest dozen years in a once-proud team’s history, an era that included two winning seasons and one playoff game, the Browns have named as their first franchise player kicker Phil Dawson.

Dawson thought he was so gone as a free agent — probably back to his native Texas, in hopes that jittery Jerry Jones might money-whip him as the latest final piece to the puzzle in Dawson’s hometown of Dallas — that he sold his Westlake home after the season ended. Now it will cost a prospective suitor two first-round draft choices to take on Dawson and his new $3 million contract. The Browns could sign him to a long-term deal, too.

For three years, Dawson had been angling for a new contract to no avail until Tuesday’s decision to franchise him. It seems clear that not getting the deal done with a kicker who was adept in the formidable lakefront conditions late in the season is another unhappy result of so much regime change in the dysfunctional Browns franchise. Players coaches, tough-guy coaches, power game, West Coast offense, 3-4 defense and 4-3 defense — the only constant has been convulsive change, as the Browns have gone back and forth on the pendulum.

So heavy after the season was the auld lang syne vibe that, in the wake of the traditional thumping by the Steelers in the final game, long snapper Ryan Pontbriand, who for nine years has been aiming for holders’ hands so Dawson can kick field goals and (less often) extra points, posed for a farewell photograph with the kicker.

When Butch Davis was running the Browns, he spent a fifth-round draft pick on Pontbriand. College coaches often teach long snapping to their offensive linemen who otherwise are borderline NFL prospects in the hope that the added skill will earn them a roster spot in the pros. But, apparently, long snapping on the Pontbriandian scale of virtuosity cannot be passed up for an every-down player, nor can it be taught satisfactorily in training camp.

The Mike Holmgren regime can’t be faulted for Pontbriand, who has actually done well. His low profile on the team is perfect for a position that draws attention only because of a low and away grounder or a high and outside whistler.

So, too, Dawson fared well. He has been the only kicker the Browns have ever had, at least since they returned. He was 23 for 28 last season on field goals and didn’t miss an extra point, impressive figures in the difficult conditions. He got a lot of chances because former coach Eric Mangini loved field goals the way Davis loved his own draftees, which, in both cases, was beyond all rhyme or reason.

It speaks to the impoverishment of talent on the team that a kicker would be so important to be franchised. Then again, the Pittsburgh Steelers once put the franchise tag on Jeff Reed, who kicked himself out of the job by midseason in 2010. You may have seen his successor, Shaun Suisham, hitting a duck hook in the Super Bowl that missed by a pesky 10 or 15 yards.

Paying handsomely for kickers is usually avoided in the NFL. New England let Adam Vinatieri, one of the great clutch kickers ever, go to Indianapolis as a free agent, rather than franchise him. Dawson, by reason of playing for the Browns, has not often been involved in such high-stakes games. But with the labor uncertainty that is on the NFL horizon, keeping would-be free agents might be the way to go.

The retention of Dawson will be popular with fans. He is a personable man, has stayed the course and has been productive. Just last season, Dawson, a soccer-style kicker who uses his instep to strike the ball, passed Pro Football Hall of Famer Lou Groza to become the most prolific field goal kicker in Browns history. “The Toe” used a different part of his foot when he kicked.

He also played for what seems like a completely different Browns team, which had only the name and colors in common with those of today.

Follow Bill Livingston on Facebook and on Twitter @LivyPD

Published: Sunday, January 02, 2011, 4:11 PM     Updated: Sunday, January 02, 2011, 4:18 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns served up a performance Sunday afternoon that redefined odoriferous.

Saving their worst for last, the Browns were dismantled by the Steelers, 41-9, at Cleveland Browns Stadium. And it wasn’t that close.

The Browns finished 5-11 under coach Eric Mangini for the second consecutive season. Last year, they won the final four games to help save Mangini’s job; this year, they dropped the final four.

If Mangini survives this nosedive, rabbits will be hopping out of top hats everywhere along the North Coast.

Mangini owns a 33-47 career record in five years as an NFL head coach, the first three coming with the New York Jets.

The Browns lost for the 20th time in the last 22 regular-season meetings against their supposed rival. Sunday’s fiasco ranks among the most embarrassing in that stretch.

The Steelers (12-4) needed a victory to secure the AFC North. Their only obstacles were abdominal pain from laughing too hard and brain cramps from boredom.

Pittsburgh scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, turning Browns coordinator Rob Ryan’s defense inside-out. A field goal on the fifth possession pushed the advantage to 31-3 with 1:30 remaining in the second quarter. Boxing referee Mills Lane would have called it at intermission, but NFL rules state that a second half must be played.

Not surprisingly, the Steelers took the second-half kickoff and moved 77 yards in 13 plays. A 3-yard TD pass from Antwaan Randle-El to Hines Ward capped a drive that lasted 7:42.

Byron Leftwich then replaced Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback for the Steelers. Roethlisberger went 15-of-22 for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

The Steelers led, 38-7, through three quarters. Evidently, they were undaunted by Ryan’s assurance during the week that the Browns would get after the Steelers’ rear ends.

Cleveland pulled within 41-9 on Colt McCoy’s 20-yard pass to Brian Robiskie midway through the fourth quarter. The two-point pass attempt by Seneca Wallace failed.

The game took a dramatic turn in the first minute. On the Browns’ opening possession, McCoy threw a pass intended for tight end Ben Watson. The ball bounced off Watson’s outstretched left hand and into the arms of Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. Pittsburgh took over at its 44.

Moments later, the Steelers led, 7-0. Roethlisberger connected with Mike Wallace for a 56-yard touchdown with 14:17 left. Wallace, running a post pattern, ended up splitting rookie cornerback Joe Haden and rookie safety T.J. Ward.

The Browns fizzled in their second possession, and the Steelers pounced again. Rashard Mendenhall’s 1-yard run capped a 10-play, 71-yard drive. Shaun Suisham kicked the extra point to make it 14-0 with 6:57 remaining in the first quarter.

Terrible Towels were visible everywhere.

McCoy put the Browns in position to cut the deficit in half early in the second quarter. But a second-and-goal pass into the end zone glanced off tight end Robert Royal’s hands and a third-down pass shot through Royal’s hands.

Mangini opted to send out Phil Dawson for a 19-yard field-goal attempt, which Dawson converted. Steelers fans cheered as Browns fans booed.

Pittsburgh’s offense kept rolling. Mendenhall’s 1-yard run at 7:51, plus the extra point, increased the spread to 18. Minutes later, the Steelers had themselves a rout. Ryan Clark’s interception of McCoy set up a three-play, 24-yard possession. Heath Miller caught a 4-yard TD pass from Roethlisberger at 4:53 for a 28-3 bulge.

McCoy made his NFL debut against the Steelers on Oct. 17 in Pittsburgh. He was 23-of-33 for 281 yards in a 28-10 loss.

McCoy had a much tougher go of it in the rematch. He finished 20-of-41 for 209 yards with the one TD pass and three first-half interceptions.