Steinbach, Lewis only Browns' bright spots

Eric Steinbach is living his childhood dream, though as a kid his dream was to play for the Bears. And Jamal Lewis climbed to 21st on the all-time rushing list on what was pretty much a lost day for the Cleveland Browns in Chicago Sunday.

Lewis, in his 10th year, passed Eddie George and Tiki Barber while running for 69 of the Browns 191 total net yards. Five turnovers, including three interceptions by the Bears, did in the Browns.

“This is very hard,” Lewis said. “To me, I think this is my last year.”

“You can’t turn the ball over five times and win,” Browns’ coach Eric Mangini said. “I think we came up well in the second half [after falling behind 16-0 in the first half]. We had opportunities but just couldn’t do anything. Going into the bye week, we are going to look at everything, coaching and personnel to get the right combination.”

Steinbach, the Browns starting offensive guard dreamed about playing in the NFL “ever since I was a kid.” The 29-year-old Lockport native, who was a high school star at Providence and later at Iowa said Sunday’s trip to Chicago was “special.”

“I was a big Bears fan as a kid,” Steinbach said. “In college [Iowa] it started to fall off. You think about the draft and anyone can draft you. You just don’t know. But it’s always great to come here.”

Steinbach was drafted in the second round with the 33rd pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003. The seven-year pro had the 100th start in his 101st NFL game Sunday.

“We thought we could be in the game if we could limit the bad football,” Steinbach said. “Turnovers, especially that many [three lost fumbles, two interceptions] will kill any team at this level. We didn’t limit mistakes.”

“We’re not going to win any games turning the ball over four or five times, I don’t care how good your defense is,” Browns quarterback Derek Anderson, who was lifted late for former Notre Dame star Brady Quinn said. “If you turn it over you lose.”

In high school, Steinbach was a tight end-defensive end and a Sun-Times All-Area and All-State selection. He was a big part of a remarkable 50-game winning streak and three state championships.

Lewis said that the Browns 1-7 first half in not Mangini’s fault. “I’m not judging the coaching,” Lewis said. “He’s not the one who is responsible. We’re all responsible too.”