CLEVELAND, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Daylon McCutcheon had two of Cleveland's five interceptions Sunday, the Browns forced seven turnovers in all and receiver Kevin Johnson collected 113 yards and the game's lone touchdown in a 18-0 blanking of the Cincinnati Bengals.
McCutcheon doubled his season tally with two interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Browns (6-4) improved their NFL-leading total to 25 in just 10 games.
"We kind of push each other in the secondary," McCutcheon said. "It's kind of competition between us. One guy gets one and it's like, 'I want to get one and try and keep up.'"
It was the fourth time this season that the Browns' defense had picked off at least three passes. In last Sunday's triumph at Baltimore, cornerback Anthony Henry became the first rookie since the Dallas Texans' Bobby Ply in 1962 to register a pair of three-interception games in a season.
"I couldn't be prouder of our defense," first-year Browns coach Butch Davis said. "We really came out focused and ready to play. We held (Bengals running back) Corey Dillon in check, created turnovers, played great pass defense and put pressure on the quarterback."
Cleveland last recorded a shutout on Sept. 18, 1994 against Arizona.
Johnson once again torched the Bengals (4-6), catching a six-yard touchdown pass from Tim Couch with 26 seconds left in the first half. The third-year receiver has collected 635 yards and 37 catches in six career games against Cincinnati.
Johnson has notched five career 100-yard receiving games. Four have come against Cincinnati.
"We know as wide receivers, we had an advantage over their defensive backs and we just wanted to exploit that mismatch as best we could," Johnson said of a Bengal defense that yielded 193.1 passing yards per game entering Sunday.
Phil Dawson missed the ensuing extra point, snapping his streak at 51. But he kicked four field goals to help the Browns to their second straight win against an AFC Central Division rival.
The Bengals continued their slide, losing their three straight and sixth in their last eight games.
"We turned the ball over too many times," Bengals coach Dick LeBeau said. "You cannot win a game with seven turnovers. We have to find a way out of this and find a way to get some points."
Cincinnati had its best chance to get back into the game early in the fourth quarter, when they were trailing 12-0. Rookie T.J. Houshmandzadeh returned a punt 86 yards -- the third longest in franchise history -- to the Browns' five.
But an incomplete pass and a pair of ineffective runs by Dillon, who managed just 63 yards on 20 carries, set up fourth and goal at the Cleveland two. With defenders blanketing the end zone, defensive end Courtney Brown and linebacker Dwayne Rudd tracked down backup quarterback Scott Mitchell, who replaced an equally ineffective Jon Kitna to start the second half, and sacked him for a nine-yard loss.
"I tried to run it in," Mitchell said. "The Browns played it really well. It was just a naked bootleg and they made a good play on it."
"They tried a little play action to catch us off guard," McCutcheon said. "If you look at it both ways, I think it was a good call on their part. But it didn't work."
Mitchell completed just four of 12 passes for 38 yards with three interceptions. Kitna threw for 85 yards with two picks. But according to LeBeau, a quarterback controversy does not exist.
"Jon Kitna is our starting quarterback," LeBeau said. "We wanted to fire every gun that we had to see if we could shake something loose in the second half. We did not get anything more out of the second half than we did in the first half. So, we will go back to Jon."
After going three-and-out on his first drive, Mitchell seemed to settle down on the Bengals' next possession, completing an 11-yard pass to receiver Danny Farmer at the Browns' 38 on third and 10.
On the next play, the lefthander threw over the middle, but found defensive back Corey Fuller, who returned it 32 yards to the Cleveland 43.
The Browns' offense proved ineffective throughout the second half, recording just 111 total net yards. But the Bengals' mistakes more than compensated for their hosts' struggles.
On the fourth of Cleveland's seven drives that concluded with a punt, Chris Gardocki's effort was muffed by Houshmandzadeh and recovered by safety Scott Frost at the Cincinnati 21.
Despite Mark Roman recording one of two interceptions against Couch on the very next play, Mitchell was sacked on third and five to end the drive.
Couch finished with 189 yards, completing 16 of 27 passes.
"I played well at times, made a couple of bad decisions. But we did what we had to do to win the game," Couch said.
The Browns scored nine of their 12 first-half points off turnovers, which helped Cleveland overcome a meager 17 rushing yards in the opening 30 minutes.
