Browns... 8 Bills... 0

CLEVELAND -- Once out of the snow, the Cleveland Browns slid closer to a spot in the AFC playoffs.

Jamal Lewis rushed for 163 yards and Phil Dawson kicked two field goals through harsh, wintry winds as the Browns beat the Buffalo Bills, 8-0.

The Browns (9-5), who never figured to be playing meaningful games in December when the season started, picked up one of their biggest wins since returning as an expansion franchise in 1999.

Cleveland needed a win and a loss by Tennessee to secure at least a wild-card berth. Only half of that scenario happened, but the Browns would clinch their first playoff appearance since 2002 with a win at Cincinnati next week. The Browns are tied with Pittsburgh for first in the AFC North, but the Steelers hold the tiebreaker.

Buffalo looked more like a warm-weather team as the elements -- along with Cleveland’s defense -- prevented the Bills (7-7) from scoring.

Unable to throw the ball with swirling winds off Lake Erie gusting over 40 mph, Browns quarterback Derek Anderson handed it 33 times to Lewis.

Quoteworthy: “It was like something on the Discovery Channel about the North Pole.” -- Marshawn Lynch, Bills running back, on the snowy weather