CLEVELAND - Despite that awful collision with the Steelers, the Browns’ defense can rest with some peace of mind.

The Browns contained Jamal Lewis and confounded Kyle Boller during Sunday’s 20-16 win over the Ravens.

The unit kept the season finale close until the offense woke up. In the process, Cleveland defenders got the previous week’s 41-0 collapse out of their craw.

“This was exciting, because no one expected us to win,” said linebacker Andra Davis, who had 11 tackles Sunday to fall just short of 200 for the season. “A lot of people probably expected us to play like we did last week. We proved everybody wrong.”

Even after the Pittsburgh game, the Browns ranked 11th in the league in scoring defense.

Coordinator Todd Grantham’s first year on the job was fairly promising.

The run defense allowed 129 yards, but forced the Ravens to use 32 carries.

The pass defense forced Boller to throw 36 times to net 138 yards. Boller threw two interceptions and had a miserable 31.1 rating.

“From (Daylon) McCutcheon on down to Ray Mickens, we have corners who can cover,” safety Chris Crocker said. “Our secondary has versatile guys. We want to be the strength of the defense.”

The defense allowed only three field goals. Baltimore’s lone touchdown came on a return of a Charlie Frye fumble.

“It was one of the most fun games we had,” linebacker Kenard Lang said. “There was nothing we could do about that Pittsburgh game today.

“Nobody shut it down in that game. Nobody shut it down all year. ... For the most part, we got better every week.”

Linebacker Ben Taylor, who finished the year as the team’s No. 2 tackler behind Davis, said the game was a reflection of why he hopes the Browns will bring him back.

“Guys were just having fun,” he said. “We were blitzing. It was an all-around great game.”

With 16 games in the books, the Browns allowed 137.6 rushing yards a game. That’s an improvement over last year’s 144.6.

The pass defense gave up 179.2 yards a game. Last year’s figure was 181.3.

Bottom line: The 2005 Browns allowed 301 points. The 2004 Browns gave up 390.

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