Browns staring at record for road defeats

Loss at Cincinnati would be 26th in a row, tying Lions.

Interim coach BER E A —

Gregg Williams has talked to his staff about the nega- tive history the Browns hope to avoid Sunday when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals, and he plans to use it to motivate his players in the buildup to the game.

“I use everything we can,” Williams said Monday with the team back to work after its bye week.

The Browns (3-6-1) hav- en’t won on the road since they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 33-30 in overtime on Oct. 11, 2015. A loss to the Bengals (5-5) at Paul Brown Stadium would give the Browns their 26th consecutive defeat on the road and put them in a tie with the Detroit Lions (2007-10) for the NFL record.

“Hopefully we can put this in the [win] column and break that not winning on the road [streak],” defensive end Chris Smith said. “To get to where we want to go, which is postseason, you’ve got to win on the road.”

The Browns are long shots to earn a postseason berth for the first time since 2002, but they would remain on the edge of the wild-card play- off picture by defeating the Bengals, who are favored by three points.

“We’ve got a lot of juice right now, and we’re just looking to finish games because we’ve been in a lot of games this year, and if we can finish the season strong, we can make a real late push at this playoff spot,” safety Damarious Randall said.

“We’re about to finish the season pretty good. I’ve got a really good feeling about this. I’m healthy, feeling good, finally. Haven’t been healthy since, honestly, Week 1, so this feels good.”

Randall is not the only one feeling good on the heels of the Browns ending a fourgame losing streak with a 28-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 11.

“If you can’t and don’t believe that we can make a playoff run, then you’re on the wrong team,” corner- back TJ Carrie said. “And I feel like from that stand- point, we all have that feel- ing and that emotion about we can definitely do something very special.”

But before any playoff talk can be taken seriously by outsiders, the Browns must string wins together. They haven’t won consecutive games since they prevailed in three in a row in 2014 (on Oct. 26, Nov. 2 and Nov. 6).

“Anytime a team gets start- ing to win a couple in a row, it builds momentum, it builds belief and that can have a positive impact on your team,” right guard Kevin Zeitler said. “It’d be real nice if we can get that going.”

A rare win on the road would be required. Four of the Browns’ final six games will be on the road.

“I don’t think it’s tough [to win on the road],” said Randall, who spent the past three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. “I feel like the game is played the same other than the crowd is going to boo every time you make a play, and every time the ref throws a flag they’re going to think the flag is bulls***, but that’s what home fans are for. We’re looking forward to getting our first mini-roll.”

Extra points

■ Williams said he’ ll accept the Browns’ invitation to interview for the fulltime head coaching job. Last week, GM John Dorsey said Williams would receive an interview.

■ Veteran Greg Robinson and rookie Desmond Harrison will compete to start at left tackle, Williams said. “Both deserve that,” Williams said. Robinson has started the past two games and received praise.