Brown’s Too Much for Browns

CLEVELAND —  After nearly three months of self-destruction, the Carolina Panthers finally damaged somebody else’s season.

Dee Brown, a second-year running back out of Syracuse, rushed for 122 yards in his first NFL start as Carolina ended a losing streak at eight Sunday with a 13-6 victory over Cleveland, hurting the sloppy Browns’ playoff chances.

The Panthers (4-8), who began the season 3-0, won for the first time since Sept. 22. Carolina has also had numerous off-field problems -- the most notable being wide receiver Steve Smith’s assault of teammate Anthony Bright during a film session.

“So many bad things have happened to us,” said tight end Wesley Walls, who scored the game’s lone touchdown. “That made this one sweet, real sweet. This is our most satisfying win because of what we’ve been through.”

Like so many of Cleveland’s games in the last two seasons, this one had some controversy as officials waved off an apparent go-ahead touchdown by Browns’ wide receiver Kevin Johnson with 1:57 remaining.

The Browns (6-6) had five turnovers and quarterback Tim Couch threw three interceptions, the last coming on a bobbled ball that Carolina’s Emmanuel McDaniel grabbed with 1:45 left.