Though neither the Buffalo Bills nor Cleveland Browns would appear to be going anywhere that would involve a championship in 2009, the battle between the teams at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday should be plenty intense.

Such is the desperation for a win present in both organizations at the moment.

The Bills are one week removed from being blown off the field, 38-10, by the previously winless Miami Dolphins, and whispers about the employment status of Dick Jauron have been water-cooler talk throughout western New York.

The struggles of the Buffalo offense were evident against the Dolphins. Quarterback Trent Edwards (17-of-26, 192 yards, 1 TD) was sacked six times and threw three interceptions, and the running game was a non-factor during a contest in which the Bills played from behind nearly throughout. Marshawn Lynch had just four yards on eight carries in his return from an NFL suspension, though he did catch a team-best five balls totaling 43 yards.

On the other side, Buffalo had major trouble getting the Miami offense - led by first-time starting quarterback Chad Henne - off the field. The Dolphins carried the ball 45 times for a whopping 250 yards, including a combined 200 yards and three scores from Ronnie Brown (20 carries, 115 yards, 2 TD) and Ricky Williams (16 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD). Henne (14-of-22, 115 yards, 1 TD) managed the game well enough to earn his first NFL win.

It could soon be Waterloo for Jauron, who needs to start pulling the Bills out of their 1-3 rut this week, at the start of an upcoming five-game stretch that also includes matchups against the currently winless Panthers (10/25) and Titans (11/15).

Meanwhile, though moral victories don't show up in the won-loss column, it appeared that the clouds began to part a bit for the Browns in their overtime loss to the Bengals last week.

Making his first start of the year, Derek Anderson looked much better-equipped to run the offense than did predecessor Brady Quinn, completing 26-of-48 passes for 269 yards with a touchdown and an interception on the day.

Anderson found a new favorite target in rookie second-rounder Mohamed Massaquoi, who burst onto the scene with eight catches for 148 yards after hauling in a grand total of two passes in the team's first three games.

Additional pressure will be on Massaquoi following Wednesday's trade that sent former Pro Bowl receiver Braylon Edwards to the Jets in exchange for a package including draft picks, wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, and linebacker Jason Trusnik.

Running back Jerome Harrison, making his second start in place of the injured Jamal Lewis, delivered on the prior promise he had shown by carrying 29 times for 121 yards and adding five catches out of the backfield against Cincinnati.

Even a defense that had been largely run over through the first three weeks showed up, forcing a couple of turnovers and holding the Bengals to 5-of-18 on third-down conversions.

In addition to trying to notch its first win of the Eric Mangini era, the Browns will on Sunday be attempting to end a 10-game losing streak that followed a 29-27 win at Buffalo last November.

Cleveland has averaged just eight points per game in its 10 losses since its last trip to Ralph Wilson Stadium.

SERIES HISTORY

Cleveland holds a 9-5 advantage in its all-time regular season series with Buffalo, including the aforementioned 29-27 road win in a Thursday night affair in Week 11 of last season. As mentioned, that game ranks as the Browns' most recent victory. The Bills are 0-2 against the Browns since notching a 37-7 home win over them in 2004.

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