PRO FOOTBALL : Early Returns Comforting for Browns

Relief, not celebration, was all around the Browns’ locker room Sunday.

“That game was all we thought it would be when we came down here,” Cleveland Coach Bill Belichick said of the blowout-turned-squeaker. “The Bengals never gave up and had a chance at the end. We feel real fortunate to come out of here on top.”

Maybe coaches are supposed to say that after every game, but Belichick’s words rang true as the Browns hung on for a 28-20 victory over the Bengals.

“That takes the pressure off,” Cleveland’s Eric Metcalf said of the victory.

The Browns avoided their worst-case scenario: A loss that would revive bitter feelings from last season, when Belichick incurred the fans’ wrath by elevating quarterback Vinny Testaverde and cutting Bernie Kosar.

But rookie Antonio Langham and the Browns’ special teams got Belichick the big start heneeded.

Randy Baldwin returned a kickoff 85 yards, and Metcalf set a club record with a 92-yard punt return less than three minutes later to spark the Browns.

No NFL team had returned a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in the same game since Detroit in 1977.

It was the Browns’ first punt-and-kickoff touchdown game since 1958.

Testaverde completed 14 of 24 passes for 149 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.