CLEVELAND — Four times in five career games against the Browns, Bengals tailback Corey Dillon has rushed for more than 100 yards. It's no coincidence the Bengals won those four games, and their chances of winning today depend on whether Dillon does it again.

        They're 3-0 this season when Dillon gets 100-plus yards and 1-5 when he doesn't. The Bengals are 13-8 in Dillon's career when he hits the century mark.

        Dillon was held to 58 and 38 yards the past two weeks, both losses, and he had just 17 carries in each game.

        “In the last two games, he just didn't get many touches in the latter stages of the game,” Bengals coach Dick LeBeau said. “And let's be honest about it, those are the carries that Corey builds to. He's a body puncher. He wears them down. He makes a lot in the fourth quarter.”

        When he gets 22 or more rushing attempts, the Bengals are 16-5.

        “We can always use 100 yards from our running back,” LeBeau said. “If you check the law of averages, when a team rushes a running back for 100 yards, you'll find that team is a winning team. Is that an absolute? No.”

        In Week 9, 12 NFL teams had running backs who rushed for at least 100 yards, and they were 10-2.

        Browns coach Butch Davis has seen enough of Dillon in one game — Dillon had 140 yards on 31 carries in the Bengals' 24-14 victory Oct.14 — to know Dillon is the Bengals' key.

        “He's going to get some runs; the ones that kill you are the times that he goes 96 (against) Detroit, or he goes 50 or 40 or 60 and, God forbid, if he does it more than once in a ballgame,” Davis said.

Dillon key to Battle of Ohio Browns favored for first time Balanced offense worked the first time Who's got the edge? Players to watch Bengals-Browns by the numbers NFL power ratings Today's NFL predictions

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