(My Sportsbook) - Some will say the move comes several games too late, others will argue that the wrong man has just lost his starting job.

But both camps will be more than intrigued to watch Brady Quinn make his first NFL start this Thursday, when the Denver Broncos invade Cleveland Browns Stadium.

The final nail in Derek Anderson's quarterbacking coffin came in Sunday's 37-27 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and only minutes after it looked like the Oregon State product would pull the Browns to 4-4 with a key AFC North victory over a hated rival.

Cleveland led the game, 27-13, after Anderson hit Jason Wright with a seven- yard touchdown pass - the QB's second of the quarter - at the 6:07 mark of the third frame.

But the Ravens and rookie quarterback Joe Flacco came storming back, scoring the game's final 24 points, while the inconsistency that had plagued Anderson through the first seven weeks of the season began to creep in again.

When the 2008 Pro Bowler floated a screen pass that was easily intercepted and taken to the house by the Ravens' Terrell Suggs, sealing the game, it was clear that Anderson's time under center had run out, at least for now.

The fans in Cleveland chanted Quinn's name, and head coach Romeo Crennel finally bowed to the wishes of the team's vocal base of supporters.

"I felt like that we needed a different dynamic on the offense, so that's why I made that decision," Crennel said on Tuesday.

"I just felt like it was time...we're an inconsistent football team."

Crennel reportedly told both players of his decision on Monday.

"I wanted to talk to those two guys about the decision before I talked to anybody else," Crennel said. "D.A., he was disappointed but he's a pro. He'll handle it. Quinn is a professional, has been all along. He was thankful for the opportunity and he'll make the most of the opportunity.

Quinn, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, will finally get a chance to lead the Cleveland offense after 24 games spent as a backup behind Anderson and, briefly, Charlie Frye.

The highly-decorated former collegian at Notre Dame will be charged with breathing some life into an offense that has been a sputtering disappointment with Anderson at the controls this season, averaging just 17.8 points per game.

The native Ohioan has made just one meaningful NFL appearance, completing 3- of-8 passes for 45 yards without a touchdown or turnover in a 20-7 win over the 49ers in Week 17 of last season.

Quinn hurt his chances for early playing time by becoming embroiled in an extended contract holdout into 2007 training camp, and began his rookie campaign as the third-string quarterback behind Frye and Anderson.

Then, when Frye faltered, it was seen by most as only being a matter of time before Quinn took the reins of the struggling Browns' attack.

But the previously unknown Anderson altered that script by leading the Browns to a 10-5 record in 15 starts, earning an unlikely Pro Bowl nod and nearly guiding Cleveland to its first playoff appearance since 2002.

Anderson received a three-year contract extension this past offseason, and his status as the team's starting signal-caller was not in question prior to the start of 2008.

But with Cleveland dropping to 3-5 with the loss to the Ravens, the embattled Crennel opted to shake things up by inserting Quinn into the lineup.

"We're not throwing in the towel. We're not giving up on the season. I think Quinn will represent himself and represent the Browns very well. This is a lifetime opportunity for Brady to be the quarterback of the Browns."

BENGALS: The Bengals will have an extra seven days to savor their first win of the 2008 season, a 21-19 home triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Cincinnati's bye - originally scheduled for Week 8 but moved as part of a series of alterations around the postponement of the Houston/Baltimore game due to Hurricane Ike back in Week 2 - will also keep the Bengals from immediately building on the encouraging victory.

The question now becomes, will the Bengals win another game in 2008?

The schedule says "probably," though victory number two might not come until Week 17, when the Kansas City Chiefs (currently 1-7) travel to Paul Brown Stadium. Another realistic chance for a triumph could come the week prior, when Cincinnati travels to meet fading Cleveland (12/21).

The Bengals' next five games are all against teams that have records of .500 or better at the moment, including home dates with the Eagles (5-3), Ravens (5-3) and Redskins (6-3), and trips to meet the Steelers (6-2) and Colts (4-4)

Though for now, Cincinnati will just try to enjoy victory number one.

"It certainly feels great to get a win, relief is one of the biggest words," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick following Sunday's triumph. "Especially with how hard that we work. We're still playing and practicing hard every week, and to see no results is a tough thing. It's tough to win in the NFL, so any time you can get a win you gotta be happy about it. It was a team effort, and it just feels great to get that out of the way."

RAVENS: Don't look now, but the defense-first Baltimore Ravens have arguably become...brace yourself...dangerous on offense.

The notion of Baltimore winning a game in which it allowed 27 points would have previously been deemed highly unlikely, but the Ravens were 10 points better than that against Cleveland on Sunday.

And while the defense played its usual significant role, including Suggs' game-capping pick-six, John Harbaugh's team would have never moved to 5-3 without the play of the offense.

On Sunday, the heroes were two young guns - quarterback Joe Flacco and his fellow rookie, running back Ray Rice (21 carries, 154 yards) - along with veteran wideout Derrick Mason (9 receptions, 136 yards, 1 TD) and mainstay Mark Clayton (4 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD).

The quartet helped Baltimore rebound from a 14-point deficit in the final 20 minutes.

"You've got to tip your hat to the offense," said Suggs. "Amazing what they did. They put up 14 points fast when we were down 27-13. They scored twice, and you could feel the sense of team being formed, what we've been searching for all year."

Baltimore is now an impressive fourth in NFL rushing offense (148.8 yards per game), and a respectable 19th in total offense (322.5 yards per game).

"It is a great statement about the maturation of the offense," said Harbaugh of Sunday's win. "And the fact that we keep finding new weapons and we keep expanding ourselves, I think it's a tribute to the creativity of our offensive coaching staff and the willingness of the guys to learn what we're trying to do and put themselves in situations where they do things they're not used to doing. We've got to find new and inventive ways to move the football every week. You have to in this league or they catch up to you pretty quick."

The Ravens are just 25th in passing offense (173.8 yards per game), but for the first time all year are about to enter a week not ranked last in touchdown passes. Flacco's two touchdown strikes on Sunday gave Baltimore five for the season. The only NFL team with fewer scoring strikes? You guessed it, the unbeaten Tennessee Titans, who have four.

STEELERS: If you're making a short list of the NFL's best defenses, the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are among those that must be on it.

But after their display in Monday's 23-6 win at the Washington Redskins, it would be difficult not to put the Pittsburgh Steelers at the very top of that chart.

The Steelers assaulted Washington quarterback Jason Campbell from start to finish, sacking him seven times to bring Pittsburgh's NFL-leading sack total to 32 for the year. Outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley combined for 3.5 of the sacks in the game.

Dick LeBeau's unit also forced Campbell into his first two interceptions of the year, which went to cornerback DeShea Townsend and safety Tyrone Carter.

Against the run, Pittsburgh limited the NFL's top rusher, Clinton Portis, to 51 rushing yards on 13 carries.

And, of course, a Washington offense that had been dependable all season never found the end zone, with Pittsburgh's defensive performance helping to cover up the inconsistency of an offense that again had its problems and saw starting quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger knocked from the game with a shoulder injury.

"That's our defense and why we don't fear being aggressive," said head coach Mike Tomlin after the win. "The first call of the game [an onsides kick] was on me. I wanted to have an opportunity to let these guys know that we were coming and coming to win. It didn't work out for us, but we have a good defense. Every week these guys get faced with a test, the number one rushing offense the week before and came back against the number two offense [with] Clinton Portis tonight. That is a great offensive unit and he is a great back, but our guys responded to the challenge tonight."

For the year, Pittsburgh now ranks No. 1 in total defense (234 yards per game), passing defense (164 yards per game), sacks (32), touchdowns allowed (10), and is No. 2 in rushing defense behind Baltimore and second in scoring defense (14.5 points per game) behind Tennessee.