Tomczak Is Sharp in Relief : AFC: His two touchdown passes lead Browns past Oilers, 24-14, keeping Cleveland in running for playoffs until Kosar can return.

Mike Tomczak knows his days as Cleveland’s starting quarterback are numbered, but he has done his job by keeping the Browns in the AFC Central race.

Tomczak, who could lose his job next week if Bernie Kosar is ready to come off the injured reserve list, threw two touchdown passes Sunday to lead the Browns to a 24-14 victory over the Houston Oilers.

“I think on a scale of 1-to-10, it’s a 10,” Tomczak said of the Browns’ performance. “We came out of the box pretty strong and executed well the entire game. We kept them off balance and didn’t let their fans get into the ballgame. We just took charge.”

Tomczak kept the Browns (5-4) moving and mistake-free. He finished with 17 completions in 26 passes for 219 yards and didn’t throw an interception.

Tomczak outplayed Houston’s Warren Moon, who completed 12 of 25 passes for 70 yards--his lowest total since 1989--and left the game after trying to tackle Cleveland’s Stevon Moore, who picked up a fumble by Ernest Givins and ran 73 yards for a touchdown to give the Browns a 17-0 lead late in the third quarter.

Houston faced fourth down with two yards to go at the Brown 25 when Moon completed a three-yard pass to Givins for an apparent first down.

But Givins had the ball knocked loose by defensive back Everson Walls, and Moore picked it up and ran for the touchdown, with a diving tackle attempt by Moon slowing him only briefly.

Cody Carlson, who also relieved last week when Moon went out with a concussion in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, tried to get the Oilers (5-4) back into the game by completing nine of 11 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the final quarter.

But he couldn’t keep Houston from losing for the third time in four games.