Browns’ Receivers Get a Passing Grade in Loss

The Cleveland Browns were afraid they might have to use a wide receiver at quarterback in an emergency on Sunday. But they didn’t use one.

They used two.

With nothing to lose, Brown Coach Chris Palmer, who has lost three quarterbacks to season-ending injuries and whose job could be in jeopardy, played wide receivers Dennis Northcutt and Kevin Johnson--a former college quarterback--along with starter Doug Pederson in a 35-24 loss to Philadelphia.

“I think the crowd wanted to see something different,” Johnson said.

This was different all right.

Northcutt, a rookie from Arizona who was a backup quarterback in high school, replaced Pederson on the second play from scrimmage. From the shotgun, he ran for two yards before breaking a 13-yard run on his next snap.

Northcutt, who didn’t attempt a pass in his seven plays at quarterback, said he found out early in the week he’d be behind center.

“Coach Palmer asked me if I knew the cadence,” he said. “I told him ‘No’ and he said, ‘Learn it.’ ”

Johnson threw deep incomplete on his first attempt, but later connected with David Patten for a 23-yard gain. The Browns, outscored 92-7 the last two weeks, scored on their second possession on Pederson’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Patten.

“I felt real comfortable out there,” Johnson said. “We moved the ball a little bit.”

Palmer, criticized all season for his conservative offense, may have taken a step toward saving his job.

There was speculation if the Browns weren’t competitive in their final two games Palmer would be fired. But his creativity, along with the fact the Browns played hard throughout, could help the second-year coach’s future.

Johnson was recruited as a quarterback at Syracuse before being moved to wide receiver, losing out to Donovan McNabb, now the Eagle quarterback.

McNabb passed for 390 yards as the Eagles earned their first playoff berth since 1996. He was also impressed with Johnson’s performance.

“He did a nice job,” McNabb said. “I just wish they would have let me play linebacker.”

The Browns already lost starter Tim Couch, backup Ty Detmer and third-string rookie Spergon Wynn to season-ending injuries. Before free agent Tony Graziani was signed on Friday, the team was going to use Johnson as the backup.

Johnson worked with the second-unit offense during practice this week, but Northcutt’s appearance was a surprise.

Pederson finished 29 for 40 for 309 yards, Northcutt ran for 37 yards and caught five passes for 44. Johnson had six catches and was one for three passing for 23 yards with an interception, giving him a 61.8 passer rating.

Wynn, the worst quarterback in NFL history, has a passer rating of 41.2.

What did Pederson, a career backup, think of having to share his duties with two others?

“I think we can try it again,” he said.

SEE HOW TIME FLIES?

In their 24-17 loss to the Bears, the Patriots put together a last-minute drive with no timeouts, only to have an illegal motion penalty end the game with 10 seconds showing on the clock.

From the Bear 31, Drew Bledsoe completed a 10-yard pass to Troy Brown, but Curtis Jackson was called for illegal motion. The officials huddled for several minutes before declaring the game over.

Under NFL rules, if a team is out of timeouts and commits a penalty that stops the clock in the final two minutes of a game, officials run 10 seconds off the clock. And 10 seconds was all that remained.

“Drew called a left side play and I was running as fast as I could over there. I usually make it just in time. I tried to be frozen as best I could, but I guess the ball was already hiked,” Jackson said.

“You always like to have a shot at the end zone at the end of the game. It’s very disheartening to have it end that way,” Bledsoe said.

MORE HOT AIR THAN THE CIRCLING BLIMP

Before Sunday’s 24-3 victory over the Chargers at Baltimore, Ravens’ owner Art Modell was honored for his 40 years as an NFL owner.

Instead of introducing the offense or defense, the Ravens had Modell walk onto the field accompanied by team captains Shannon Sharpe and Ray Lewis.

“I wouldn’t consider it under any circumstances unless we were in the playoff hunt,” Modell said beforehand.

That quest is over. Modell now has a team in the playoffs for the first time since the Cleveland Browns made it in 1994. Before this year, the Ravens never had a winning season.

“I’m very happy for the fans. This is a football town starved for success,” said Dilfer, playing his first season with Baltimore. “Getting to the playoffs is huge.”

Billick, who forbid his players from talking about the playoffs in recent weeks, cheerily lifted the ban.

“One word, two syllables: Playoffs,” Sharpe laughed. “It feels real good.”

And Modell had so much to do with it.

CONFUSED, DEL GRECO THEN KICKED O’DONNELL

Tennessee was so dominant in a 35-3 victory over Cincinnati at Nashville that fans started doing the wave early in the second quarter, and the loudest cheers came at the end when the playoff berth was announced.

Coach Jeff Fisher even inserted kicker Al Del Greco for the final play, and he stood behind backup quarterback Neil O’Donnell as he knelt down to run out the clock.

HE GETS MORE MONEY FOR DOING HIS JOB?

With his eighth straight 100-yard game, Jaguar running back Fred Taylor took sole possession of the fourth-longest streak in history and also earned a $200,000 contract incentive for surpassing 1,200 yards on the season.

“I don’t think about it,” Taylor said. “After the game, I may look back on it and say, yeah. But people are making a bigger deal out of this than I am.”

We’re sure Taylor isn’t thinking about this, either: He needs 63 more yards to earn another $500,000 contract incentive.

* --Compiled by HOUSTON MITCHELL