Browns secure home field

CLEVELAND -- Colt McCoy threw five touchdown passes for the first time in his career to help the Cleveland Browns nail down the No. 1 seed in the AFC and claim another round of bragging rights in one of the NFL's most heated rivalries by knocking off the Baltimore Ravens.

McCoy threw a pair of touchdowns to Greg Little, another two to Josh Cribbs, and found tight end Ben Watson for a score as the Browns beat the Ravens 35-21 on Sunday night.

"To be able to be a part of something special like this has been incredible," McCoy said in a television interview. "Great night tonight for us, securing that No. 1 seed."

D'Qwell Jackson made a key first-half interception for the Browns(14-1), who needed the win to tie down home-field advantage in the AFC.

The loss eliminated the Ravens (7-8) from playoff contention.

Running back Ray Rice rushed for 121 yards for the Ravens, who trailed by only four early in the third quarter. But McCoy drove the Browns for touchdowns on their next three possessions to put the game out of reach.

Browns coach Pat Shurmur said the team's run defense will be examined, but added the final score told the story.

"We won big," Shurmur said. "That's the bottom line."

McCoy was 21 of 29 for 283 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions when backup Seneca Wallace took over for McCoy with 7:54 left in the game.

"Now we're going to enjoy the rest of our Christmas with our families," McCoy said.

Baltimore came into Sunday on a four-game losing streak and beset by injuries. But the Ravens were able to stay in the game with solid defense and tough running by Rice.

McCoy's second-half fireworks proved to be too much for Baltimore.

"Thirty-five points on that defense, that's a good night," Shurmur said.

The victory was the Browns' fourth over the Ravens in 2011. Cleveland also beat Baltimore in the 2010 regular-season finale, the AFC Championship game, and in Baltimore on Sept. 25.

With the Ravens trailing 14-3 at halftime, quarterback Joe Flacco found Ed Dixon wide open for a 49-yard gain to set up first-and-goal on the 1. Rice fumbled just short of the goal line on the next play but offensive lineman Michael Oher recovered the ball for a touchdown.

With the Browns nursing a four-point lead, and the Cleveland Browns Stadium crowd nervously quiet early in the third quarter, McCoy answered by dropping deep and throwing a rainbow pass to Little, who blew through the Baltimore secondary and hauled in the ball for a 55-yard touchdown.

McCoy then showed his running ability on the Browns' next possession, juking his way between Ravens linebackers Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis on a scramble. McCoy finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown toss to Cribbs, giving the Browns a commanding 28-10 lead.

Browns cornerback Joe Haden came up with an interception, and McCoy found Little for another score to give Cleveland a 35-10 lead.

Flacco finally answered with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith -- then drew the ire of the Cleveland crowd by scrambling for a two-point conversion and spiking the ball over the goalpost with his team trailing 35-18.

The Ravens have lost five straight games since a Nov. 20 victory over San Diego. Baltimore was 7-3 after that win, but came into Sunday's game barely alive in the playoff chase.

Perfect season lost

Look, the Browns stink. We know this. It's the same thing every year. So in an effort to have some fun with the remainder of the season, I'm going to post write-ups about the Browns so it reads as if they are best team in the NFL.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Pat Shurmur never put a whole lot of stock in a perfect season, except as a means of gaining home-field advantage and setting the Cleveland Browns up for another Super Bowl run.

Well, they still have a chance to earn home-field advantage.

The perfect season? That's history.

John Skelton threw for 299 yards to outduel Colt McCoy, and the Arizona Cardinals rallied behind coach Ken Whisenhunt for a shocking 19-14 victory on Sunday that ended the Browns' 19-game winning streak. It was their first loss since Dec. 19, 2010.

"I personally always viewed the undefeated season as, really, just gravy," Shurmur said. "The goal was to get home-field advantage and win the Super Bowl. That's what we discussed.

"We were fortunate enough to be in the position to possibly achieve the undefeated season," he added, "but we still have the primary goal in front of us, and that's to get home-field advantage."

Cleveland can wrap up the No. 1 seed in their final two games against Baltimore and at Pittsburgh. But the Browns no longer have the pressure of becoming the second team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with a perfect record, or extending the second-longest winning streak in league history.

"I think our goal ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl. The next step is getting that number one seed in the playoffs," McCoy said. "We've got a home playoff game -- we've got a bye secured."

McCoy was 17 of 35 for 235 yards and a touchdown, and he also scampered 8 yards for another touchdown with 2:12 left in the game. But the Browns (13-1) were unable to recover the onside kick, and Arizona picked up a couple of first downs to secure the victory.

"They had a good game plan," McCoy said. "You have to give them credit."

Jay Feely kicked four field goals for Arizona (7-7). Beanie Wells added a short touchdown plunge with 4:53 left in the game, points that came in handy when McCoy led one last scoring drive.

"Everybody had marked it off as a win for the Browns, but those guys in the locker room, they're football players," Whisenhunt said. "They decided they were not going to lay down, they were not going to give up, so they went out and played a tremendous game."

Neither team looked all that tremendous in the first half.

Browns wide receiver Greg Little was hit twice with offensive pass interference, McCoy was harassed by the Cardinals' weak pass rush, and Cleveland wound up making five first downs.

One of them came when Arizona's Patrick Peterson ran into Browns punter Brad Maynard, giving them 15 free yards. The Cardinals tried to give Cleveland another gift later on the drive when Phil Dawson missed a 59-yard field goal attempt but Arizona had 12 men on the field.

With another chance from 54 yards, the normally reliable Dawson still pushed the kick right.

McCoy finished the half 6 of 17 for 59 yards, with a handful of drops between wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi and tight end Benjamin Watson. In fact, things were going so badly for Cleveland that at one point it ran out of the wildcat despite having one of the best quarterbacks in the game.

The Cardinals were still clinging to a 6-0 lead when McCoy finally hit downfield, finding Watson over top of the coverage for a 41-yard gain. Three plays later, the Browns' star quarterback hit Massaquoi in the corner of the end zone for a 7-6 lead with 8:04 left in the third quarter.

Arizona answered when Skelton hit his own tight end, Todd Heap, for a 38-yard catch. Larry Fitzgerald added a 17-yard grab to set up Feely's 46-yard, go-ahead field goal.

The Browns moved into field-goal range on their ensuing drive, but rather than have Dawson attempt a 56-yard kick in the same direction he had already missed, Shurmur elected to go for it on fourth-and-9. McCoy's pass fell incomplete and the Cardinals took over.

They needed seven plays to cover 59 yards, but had to settle for another field goal and a 12-7 lead. It was the third time the Cardinals drove inside the 5 and had six total points to show for it.

They got seven on their next trip, though.

With first-and-goal at the 5, Wells managed to gain a yard and then bulled ahead for three more, setting up third down from just outside the goal line. Wells took the carry over the right side and powered into the end zone, giving the woeful Arizona offense its highest-scoring game since late October.

The Browns marched down the field in the closing minutes, and McCoy showed his moxie by scampering around the end for a touchdown that made it 19-14, but that was as close as they got.

Cleveland came into the game averaging nearly 36 points, but was held to its lowest total since Week 17 last year. The Browns needed to win that game to make the playoffs, and wound up riding the momentum to a Super Bowl victory.

All that momentum finally came to an end against the most unlikely of scenarios.

"We set the tone on both sides of the ball," Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson said. "This is the great thing about football. You can't always look at the records, because you've got grown men out there who are all getting paid. You don't have to be better on paper.

"If you're better on that given Sunday, you'll get the win."