ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Cleveland Browns are hoping that Monday night will be kind to them once again.

Fives weeks ago the Browns surprised the NFL world with a resounding 35-14 win over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. The Browns will try to make it 2-0 on Monday Night Football tonight against the 5-4 Bills.

There's a big difference between the Browns that walked off the home turf after the win over the Giants and the Browns of today. There was a sense that things were starting to come together on that Oct. 13 night in Cleveland. Coming off disappointing back-to-back defeats to Baltimore and Denver, the 3-6 Browns seem to be battling internal controversy more than opponents.

Much was made of comments running back Jamal Lewis made after a 34-30 loss to the Broncos. There was an insinuation that some players might have quit on the team.

"Jamal doesn't say much, and when he does say something people listen," tight end Kellen Winslow said. "I just think everybody was frustrated. It's just disappointing how the season has gone so far for us."

Despite his critical comments, Lewis believes that the Browns can regroup and finish strong.

"I'm very confident," Lewis said. "I think we've got a group of guys that are willing to fight and want to go out there and get it done. We've got to go out there like I've said every week and just execute and just do what coach preaches, and that's finish."

Finishing games was a major problem in the losses to the Ravens and Broncos. The Browns squandered a 27-13 lead in the third quarter to the Ravens and then blew a 23-10 lead in the third quarter to the Broncos.

"People say the good teams can finish and do what they have to do to win," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said.

"I know we talked about finishing (against the Broncos) since we didn't finish against Baltimore. We tried to emphasize that we needed to finish, even at halftime. If you do what you're supposed to do, play things the way you're supposed to play them, then you have a chance to finish."

Brady Quinn will get his second career start at quarterback for the Browns. Quinn completed 23-of-35 passes for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Winslow against the Broncos. Quinn relied primarily on the short passing game, completing 10 passes for 111 yards to Winslow.

Quinn had just four days between games to prepare for the Broncos. Having 11 days between games gave him time to add more to his repertoire.

"We've got a little more time to prepare," Quinn said. "Buffalo is a tough team, solid defense all around. It presents a tough task, not only for myself coming into my second start, but for our team going into an environment like Buffalo on Monday night."

Unlike Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, Bills coach Dick Jauron had tape of Quinn to help in his preparations. He was impressed with what he saw.

"Anytime in a football game you put 30 points up on the board offensively, that's a pretty good evening," Jauron said. "It starts with that, because that's the point of an offense. Then, possessing the ball, keeping the ball and limiting the number of times that you turn it over and all those things, he did an outstanding job with. I thought he was accurate with his throws, he looked like he directed their offense without any problems and he didn't look like he got rattled. Those are all big pluses for a quarterback."

The weather forecast might prohibit both teams from having much success through the air. This is the time of the year when the running games become more important in cold-weather cities.

The outcome could be decided on the legs of Bills running back Marshawn Lynch and Lewis.

"I'm just coming to work and doing my job," Lewis said. "Numbers to me aren't a big deal. It's winning. The number that concerns me is 3-6, not my personal numbers. But it's that time of the year where my number is called a lot."

Lewis would have it no other way.

mmclain@tribtoday.com