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Browns center Hank Fraley doesn't rush home after games at Cleveland Browns Stadium and he doesn't figure this week against San Francisco will be any different.

"I do a little tailgating afterwards, friends and family and teammates," Fraley said. "I host a tailgate after every game, win or lose. It's a better tailgate when we win. I used to do it in Philly and I brought it here."

Fraley said the festivities usually last about two hours, time enough for the traffic to clear. Then if he doesn't go out to dinner, he'll head home to play with his sons before bed, then catch some of the 8 p.m. NFL game.

He'll be watching closely this week. To reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the Browns need the Indianapolis Colts to beat the Tennessee Titans in the final game of the regular season.

"I'm sure guys will get together," Fraley said. "I guess we'll go watch that game at 8 o'clock somewhere. It will probably be the first time I've rooted for the Colts."

Fraley has been one of the Browns' unsung heroes since coming to Cleveland in a trade from Philadelphia on Sept. 2, 2006. After free agent center LeCharles Bentley went down in training camp with a torn patellar tendon that year, the Browns tried what seemed like a cast of thousands at the position. Since Fraley took over, the spot has been stabilized.

If Cleveland wins Sunday at Cincinnati, it clinches a playoff berth for the first time since 2002. Here's what some of the Browns starters had to say this week.

QUARTERBACK DEREK ANDERSON

(on the weather) "Hopefully we'll have a little bit of a normal surface underneath us."

(another shootout?) "Who knows what will exactly happen. I think our defense is playing a little bit better than we were in that second week. And their defense has changed since the beginning of the season as well."

"We talked about trying to pretend like that didn't happen and we hadn't seen them before and go in like it was a team we hadn't played."

(have you progressed since first meeting) "It's been all right. I've had some ups and downs. But overall I'm happy with where we are right now. We're in a good position to finish the season strong."

(you more confident than in second game) "We've been through a lot more experiences. The more you're in there, the more confident you become. We've grown a lot since that first or second week."

(pro bowl selections) "I'm happy for the guys who are going. It's a good deal. It says a lot about what we've done as a whole."

(are the Bengals a dangerous spoiler) "We're going to prepare like it's every single week. Nobody's taking it any lighter. Every game is important right now and that's how we've been attacking for I don't know how many weeks."

(did your performance in week 2 settle you down) "No. Then you've got to keep repeating it and keep moving the ball and winning games. I've done that for the most part."

(how big was that first win) "It was huge. We knew what we could do. We went out there and were successful on offense and did some good things. Really picked up when we needed to and scored, kind of got guys' confidence in things we had been doing and got us rolling a little bit."

(will you buy gifts for your offensive linemen) "I have a few ideas."

(any you can share) "Nope. But I've decided."

RUNNING BACK JAMAL LEWIS¶

(disappointed not a Pro Bowl alternate) "It doesn't matter, really. It's individual efforts and I kinda knew I wasn't going to be in there, anyway. The guys who went earned it, they had the numbers to put up for it. Congratulations to them."

(what's at stake Sunday) "They're in our division and it's going to be a fight pretty much every time we play them. We have to control the things we can control and execute the plays we put in this week in practice and roll on. Every game is important and this is the next one and we want to come out with a win.

"It's just another team that we have to face that's on the road the way we're trying to go that's in our way. That's how we have to take this game, this team is in our way and we have to go out there and play one of our better games."

(are you still putting in plays now) "We still have things we adjust."

(can the Bengals make it hard for you to run) "This past week it was hard for us to pass and we still made the plays we needed to make. We put in plays if it's raining, if it's wet, we can throw the short passes. There are things you can do, eight- or nine-man fronts that we know we're going to have to face."

TIGHT END KELLEN WINSLOW

(on Bengals) "They have a potent offense, hopefully it's not a shootout and hopefully we
just come out with a win."

(nice to know one win and you're in) "We don't know about all that. All we know is we have to win out and we're in so we don't count on other people losing. We just take care of our business and we'll be in there."

Perhaps the most amazing part of Cleveland's 8-5 season is that the Browns have a legitimate shot at a wild-card playoff berth despite fielding the league's worst defense.

Coach Romeo Crennel didn't sugarcoat that fact when asked by an out-of-town media member last week what concerned him about the defense.

"The thing that concerns me is that we're not good," Crennel said. "We're not good enough. We're going to work and try to get better — to get guys to play technique longer and get them in position better, to fit better. If we can do some of those things, we'll be better."

Pressed on why the defense is not good, Crennel added, "All you have to do is look at the stats. When you look at the stats, we can't stop the run and we don't rush the passer efficiently enough. Those are some of the things."

He didn't seem to care how that message goes over in the locker room.

"I don't ask them. They know how I feel about them," he said. "They know we need to be more consistent. The stats are what they are. It doesn't do you any good to sugarcoat them. We need to be more consistent on defense. At times, our defense has played well and we've made some stops when we had to that helped the team win some games. But consistently, we haven't been able to do it enough.

"The kids on defense, they've worked very hard and are very conscientious. They want to be good. We just aren't consistent enough."

In a 24-18 victory over the New York Jets Sunday, Cleveland surrendered 387 yards, 175 in the fourth quarter. The Browns have allowed a 100-yard rusher in 10 of their 13 games, most recently the Jets' Thomas Jones, who totalled 106 yards on 24 carries. Crennel attributed some of those 175 yards to the Jets running against the sub defense.

But looking at the bigger picture, he can't pinpoint one problem.

"It’s always a number of things - injuries are one," Crennel said. "Sometimes it's gap control, sometimes it's run fits, sometimes it's pursuit angles, you just keep harping on those things. When you have different defenses, guys end up playing multiple positions. You now have a defensive back playing a linebacker position and he has to learn all the linebacker run fits. All of that goes together and it's some of the reason for the inconsistencies."

Whatever the reasons, Cleveland will certainly spend most of its time and money in free agency and the draft upgrading the defense, even if it fails to acquire the No. 1 pick it gave up for quarterback Brady Quinn.

Browns cornerback Brandon McDonald continued to shine Sunday as fellow rookie Eric Wright was sidelined for the third consecutive week with a sprained right knee. McDonald came up with his second interception in the past three games in a 24-18 victory over the New York Jets.

Cleveland led 17-6, but the Jets had driven to their own 48 and faced second down when McDonald nabbed quarterback Kellen Clemens' pass intended for receiver Wallace Wright. McDonald ran out of bounds at the Cleveland 31 with 10:07 to go.

"I was in man coverage against a pretty good receiver," McDonald said. I had pretty good leverage on the guy and I heard the ball call from a couple of my teammates on the sideline. I looked up and there it was."

McDonald finished with four tackles (three solos), two passes defensed and a special teams tackle.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel said even if Wright had returned this week, McDonald had earned playing time in nickel situations. That's good news for McDonald, a fifth-round pick from Memphis who played only on special teams until game 8 against Seattle.

"I'm always looking forward to getting better responsibilities," McDonald said. "If they call my name to do something, I'm going to try to do my best."

McDonald may have been the 140th man drafted, but his teammates are noticing his contributions.

"Brandon McDonald continued to make big plays," receiver Braylon Edwards said.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel never tries to downplay his responsibilities in how his team fares. But more than once after Sunday's 27-21 loss at Arizona, Crennel called himself out.

"We didn't play very well at all," he said. "We turned the ball over, we muffed punts, we had penalties. We did not do a good enough job coaching and we did not do a good enough job playing."

Cleveland lost four turnovers that Arizona turned into 21 points and was penalized 10 times for 77 yards. Cornerback Leigh Bodden was whistled for delay of game for kicking the ball after a third-down incompletion that kept Arizona's second touchdown drive alive. Defensive lineman Simon Fraser was cited for a head butt on Joshua Cribbs' kickoff return on Cleveland's final possession that left the Browns starting from their 18.

Asked if his team lost its composure, Crennel said, "We didn't do a good enough job coaching or playing and that's the only explanation I can give you."

Crennel may have another point to emphasize because penalties have been a relatively overlooked thorn in the Browns' side all season. They committed seven for 71 yards in the previous victory over Houston and 12 for 104 yards the week before at Baltimore. They've also had more than six against Oakland (9-64), New England (7-40), St. Louis (14-102) and Pittsburgh (7-40 on Nov. 11).

Cleveland ranked third in the league in penalties last week with 85, trailing only Arizona (97) and Green Bay (86).

"People try so hard to make the play, you want to play good ball. There's a fine line between a call and no call," Browns linebacker Chaun Thompson said.

"I didn't see all the penalties, so I'm not going to try to rate that guys lost their composure or whatever happened," Browns linebacker Willie McGinest said. "Any time you get penalties it's not good."