Zero Hour Arrives in Browns’ Shutout

Of all the lofty numbers the Cleveland Browns put up Sunday, the most impressive was a zero.

Phil Dawson kicked four field goals, Kevin Johnson caught a touchdown pass and the Browns got their first shutout since returning to the league with an 18-0 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I’ll be celebrating ‘til Tuesday,” linebacker Jamir Miller said. “It’s our first shutout, a milestone. My first one in years and it feels great.”

The Browns (6-4) forced seven turnovers, including five interceptions, and got more than enough offense to handle Cincinnati (4-6).

“We just feel terrible about ourselves,” said Bengal quarterback Jon Kitna, who was benched after completing eight of 19 passes and throwing two interceptions in the first half.

Cleveland came in focused on stopping running back Corey Dillon, who had averaged 144 yards in his five previous games against the Browns. But despite missing suspended tackle Gerard Warren, they held Dillon to 63 yards on 20 carries.

The shutout was the Browns’ first since blanking Arizona, 32-0, on Sept. 18, 1994. And with five more interceptions, Cleveland leads the NFL with 25 after getting just 20 in the last two seasons combined.

Johnson caught a six-yard touchdown pass in the first half and Dawson kicked field goals of 23, 27, 22 and 33 yards as the Browns avenged a loss earlier this season to the Bengals.

Tim Couch went 16 of 27 for 189 yards with two interceptions.

Cornerback Corey Fuller said the Browns didn’t start talking about a shutout until the final minutes.

“I went to the sideline and said, ‘Let’s shut them out,”’ Fuller said. “We weren’t really worried about them scoring a touchdown after that.”

The Browns made four trips inside the Bengal 20 in the first half, but didn’t get their touchdown until 26 seconds before halftime.