CINCINNATI - Cornerback Joe Haden led a line of Browns players jumping to slap hands with joyous fans in the first row. The stadium was filled with the sound of woofing.Felt like times from way, way back when.And with a dominating performance, the Browns suggested theyve finally made it all the way back.The team that has been the AFC Norths bottom dweller for years climbed back into the top spot Thursday night. The Browns were all over Andy Dalton all night long, turning a first-place showdown into a shockingly one-sided 24-3 victory.With every interception and every sack, the Browns showed theyre for real.This is a little different Browns team than the rest of the league is used to seeing, said Haden, who shadowed A.J. Green all over the field and shut him down again.Cleveland (6-3) improved on its best start in 20 years and moved into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh. The Browns also snapped their streak of 17 straight losses to division opponents on the road.The last win? Also in Cincinnati, a 20-12 victory on Sept. 28, 2008.A huge boost for our guys, coach Mike Pettine said. Just look at the streaks we ended. Not many people gave us a chance.Just like the Browns, the Bengals (5-3-1) were trying to break away from some bad franchise history. Theyve played some of their worst games in prime time and wanted to show they were finally ready to hold up under the national attention.Instead, they crumbled along with their quarterback. They also got drubbed 43-17 during a Sunday night game in New England this season.Cincinnati fell to 18-41 in prime time.It does confound me, coach Marvin Lewis said. For whatever reason, the two times (in prime time) this year we didnt play well. Because we were at home, there was an energy and excitement instead of being steely-eyed and focusing on what we have to do.Dalton was 10 of 33 for 86 yards with three interceptions and two sacks and a passer rating of 2. It was another big-game meltdown for the fourth-year quarterback, who has led his team to the playoffs three years in a row only to lose opening games all three times.We didnt start fast and thats on me, Dalton said. I missed a couple early and could never get into a rhythm.The game marked the first since 1986 — when Bernie Kosar and Boomer Esiason were the quarterbacks — that the intrastate rivals played with first place on the line so late in the season. The Browns won that one 34-3.And they were in charge right from the start of this one, too.Playing in a cold, gusty wind, Dalton was repeatedly off-target and made a big early mistake. His first pass was high and incomplete. His next one was intercepted by linebacker Craig Robertson, who returned it to the 18. Five plays later, Ben Tate went into the end zone from 4 yards for the lead.We put a lot of pressure on their receivers by covering them tight, cornerback Buster Skrine said. He overthrew a lot of balls. He started the game with an interception and after that, nothing went right for him.It never got any better for Cincinnati, which self-destructed in a tone-setting first half.Kevin Hubers 25-yard punt into the wind set up a 59-yard touchdown drive by the Browns, highlighted by Brian Hoyers completions of 17 and 22 yards to Travis Benjamin. Isaiah Crowell carried the last two yards for a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.Billy Cundiffs 32-yard field goal made it 17-3 at halftime. It was Clevelands biggest halftime lead in Cincinnati since 1994, when the Browns won 28-20.The Browns essentially put it away late in the third quarter when Hoyer completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Gary Barnidge in the middle of tight coverage. Terrance West went in from a yard out for a 24-3 lead that sent some Bengals fans to the exits.Cleveland rushed for 170 yards after managing only 158 in the last three games combined. West led the way with 94 yards on 26 carries. Hoyer was 15 of 23 for 198 yards.The only good moments for the crowd of 65,871 came after the first quarter when 4-year-old Leah Still — daughter of defensive tackle Devon Still — was on the field for a check presentation. The girl is fighting cancer and flew in from Philadelphia to see her father play for the first time.The Bengals raised more than $1 million for cancer research and treatment through sales of Stills No. 75 jersey. Still wrote Leah Strong on the eye black strip across his face, and police officers at the game had his No. 75 on the back of their uniforms.Notes: It was Clevelands most lopsided win in Cincinnati since a 34-0 victory in 1987 with strike replacement players. ... The Browns were missing top receiver Andrew Hawkins, inactive with an injured knee and thigh. ... 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Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss.(SportsNetwork.com) - Even during some of their recent lean years the New York Islanders had a knack for beating the Detroit Red Wings. The new and improved Islanders hope to continue the trend Friday when they visit the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. New York has only made the playoffs once in the previous seven seasons, but is currently sitting second in the Metropolitan Division with 42 points, the same number as Detroit, which is tied for second in the Atlantic. The Red Wings, however, entered 2014-15 having made the postseason 23 straight times dating back to 1989-90. That consistency hasnt counted for much against the Islanders in the recent history between the clubs. New York enters the first of three scheduled meetings with the Red Wings this season having won six of the last seven encounters in this series. That includes a 3-0 victory in Detroit when the clubs last met on Dec. 23 of last season, a triumph that pushed the Isles road winning streak against the Red Wings to four games. The last time Detroit recorded a home victory over the Islanders was in a 6-0 blowout on Nov. 28, 2003. In addition to the series history, the Red Wings also will have to get over their own poor play of late when they take the ice on Friday. Detroit has lost four straight, and three of those losses came in the shootout. Its the Red Wings first four-game losing streak since a six-game slide from Dec. 7-17 last year in which they went 0-4-2. Detroit fell to 1-6 in shootout decisions this season after losing 1-0 in Columbus on Tuesday. Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets remained unbeaten in December with another tight win. Pavel Datsyuk scored in the tiebreaker for the Red Wings, but Jimmy Howard yielded goals to Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner as Detroit lost in the final phase. Datsyuk was the only player to beat Sergei Bobrovsky all night, fooling his fellow Russian with a backhand to open the shootout. Bobrovsky made 30 saves through regulation and overtime to earn the shutout victory, while Howard ended with 29 saves before allowing Johansen and Jenner to beat him in the shootout. Howarrd also picked up his second shutout of the season, though it came in a losing effort.dddddddddddd Detroits No. 1 netminder saw his personal record in shootouts this season fall to 0-6. The thing I dont like about it is Howard stood on his head and leaves the rink feeling like he didnt win, said Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock. Considering the Isles own a 6-0 record in shootouts this season, Detroit will certainly try to pick up two points tonight before it gets to the tiebreaker. Despite his shootout woes, Howard will get the start tonight for the Wings. He is 1-2-1 with a 2.55 goals against average in four career games against the Isles. New York has won two straight on the heels of three-game losing streak and the clubs most recent triumph came in Mondays shootout win over the visiting New Jersey Devils. The Isles charged back from an early 2-0 deficit before eventually taking a 3-2 decision on Josh Baileys tally in the fifth round of the tiebreaker. Bailey was able to sneak a low shot between the pads of Keith Kinkaid, and Jacob Josefson missed the net on New Jerseys last chance. Theyre fun and you have to go out there and enjoy it, said Bailey about shootouts. You cant be nervous when you go out there so you just have to embrace the moment and enjoy it. Bailey and Matt Martin each had a goal, while Jaroslav Halak stopped 26 shots for the Islanders, who have won five of their last eight. With New York also scheduled to play Saturday against visiting Tampa Bay, its unclear if Halak will get the call or if backup Chad Johnson will make his 10th start of the season. Johnson has a win in his only career game against Detroit, while the veteran Halak is 4-4-1 with a 3.47 GAA in this matchup. Johnny Boychuk could return to the blue line for New York tonight after sitting out the last nine games due to an upper-body injury. Boychuk is second among Isles defensemen this season with 14 points on two goals and 12 assists. Detroit also could get winger Johan Franzen back tonight after he sat out Tuesdays game with an illness. Franzen has six goals and 13 assists in 25 games. ' ' '
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