CLEVELAND -- Brian Hoyer threw the game-clinching touchdown pass, turned and sprinted up the field as more than 70,000 fans roared. Robel Garcia Jersey . It was the same way he used to do it in his backyard as a boy, pretending to lead his beloved Browns to victory. On Sunday, he became a hometown hero for real. Hoyer, the local kid who grew up dreaming of one day being Clevelands quarterback, threw two touchdown passes in his first start at home to lead the revived Browns to a 17-6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Hoyer tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Chris Ogbonnaya with 4:54 left to give the Browns (2-2) an 11-point lead before Cleveland turned it over to its vastly improved defence to put the Bengals (2-2) away. Before the ball even dropped into Ogbonnayas hands, Hoyer took off running toward Clevelands helmet logo at the 50-yard-line with his index finger extended in the air. Once he neared mid-field, Hoyer stopped and pumped his fist in celebration as he did years ago after throwing a TD while playing with his brother and friends behind his familys home in North Olmsted, Ohio. "Its awesome," Hoyer. "Its cool to play in front of the hometown crowd in this stadium, where I grew up 15 minutes away from and obviously its a good day because the Tribe is winning, too." Not long after the Browns knocked off one of their division rivals, the Indians clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2007. Suddenly, Clevelands beleaguered sports teams are winning. In his second start in place of injured Brandon Weeden, Hoyer finished 25 of 38 for 269 yards and no interceptions. He threw a 2-yard TD pass in the first half to tight end Jordan Cameron, who had 10 catches for 91 yards. But for the second week in a row, he came through in the clutch. Last week, Hoyer threw a 7-yard TD pass to Cameron with 51 seconds left as the Browns rallied to stun the Minnesota Vikings. "Certainly hes been the spark that I had hoped for and has led us to two games -- winning two games," said first-year coach Rob Chudzinski, who also spent his childhood pulling for the Browns. The Bengals (2-2) couldnt get anything going on offence and quarterback Andy Dalton was intercepted by Buster Skrine with 3:43 left, ending any chance of a Cincinnati comeback. Cleveland limited the Bengals to 63 yards rushing and cornerback Joe Haden contained wide receiver A.J. Green. "We didnt make enough plays," said Dalton, who finished 23 of 42 for 206 yards. "I didnt play well enough. I expect better out of the offence. To not score a touchdown, weve got too good of players and too good of a team not to do that. We have all the ability in the world on this team and we didnt get it done." Hoyer began the season as Clevelands No. 3 quarterback. But after Weeden sprained his right thumb, Chudzinski tabbed Hoyer as his starter. Last week, Hoyer threw three touchdowns and three picks in the win at Minnesota. And although Weeden began throwing this week, hes not well enough to play. Now, he could be relegated to watching Hoyer for the rest of the season. Chudzinski would not commit to Hoyer starting on Thursday against Buffalo, but it would be stunning for there to be any other choice. "Im still going to go through the same process," Chudzinski said. "Were going to go in and evaluate the tape. I thought he (Hoyer) did a great job, particularly managing some of the things early. I think guys settled in, he settled in, made some great decisions and throws and made big plays." Clinging to a 10-6 lead, Hoyer drove the Browns 91 yards in 12 plays for the clinching score. Hoyer showed gorgeous touch on a 31-yard pass to Cameron to put the Browns at the Cincinnati 24. Willis McGahee, who promised a "dramatic" improvement in Clevelands running game this week, carried three times to the 1 and Hoyer took it from there, throwing his TD to Ogbonnaya. Even before Ogbonnaya crossed the goal line, Hoyer was overcome with emotion. "I was just telling Obie, by the time you caught it, I was at the 40," Hoyer said, smiling. "Its just good because you know youre capping off that long drive with a touchdown and thats what you need to win games." The Bengals were out of rhythm from the start on both sides of the ball. Cincinnati was missing two starters in its secondary -- cornerback Leon Hall and safety Reggie Nelson -- because of injury and the Bengals offence sputtered for all 60 minutes. Mike Nugents two field goals were all the Bengals could muster against Clevelands swarming defence. Green had seven catches for 51 mostly meaningless yards as Haden blanketed him all afternoon. It was a discouraging loss for the Bengals, who overcame four turnovers last week to beat Green Bay and wasted a chance to take early control in the AFC North. "It wasnt lack of effort," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Today we didnt play well enough to win. Its part of what weve got to do. Weve got to keep growing and win." NOTES: Hoyer is the first Browns quarterback to win his first two starts since Mark Rypien in 1994. ... Pro Bowl LT Joe Thomas made his 100th straight start, extending his consecutive snaps streak to 6,125, the NFLs longest active streak. Thomas has not missed an offensive play since he was drafted third overall in 2007. ... Browns K Billy Cundiff made a 51-yarder after missing from 37 and 49. He missed most of the week with a quadriceps injury. ... Camerons 30 receptions through four games are the most for a tight end in Browns history. ... Browns rookie LB Barkevious Mingo started in place of injured Jabaal Sheard and recorded his third sack in three games. Ron Santo Jersey . Cilic cruised to victory, beating the seventh-seeded Seppi 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. He faced only one break point, winning 24 out of 29 points played on the first serve. Kosuke Fukudome Jersey Large . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season.ROME -- Serena Williams kept the crowd from being a factor in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 10th-seeded home favourite Sara Errani to win the Italian Open for the third time Sunday. Errani was bidding to become the first Italian to win the tournament in nearly 30 years but the top-ranked Williams quickly took control in both sets and Errani appeared slowed by a left thigh problem. Errani left the court for an injury timeout while trailing 5-3 in the opening set and came back with her thigh bandaged. On the final point before she left the court, Errani pulled up and let a shot from Williams pass by her without even attempting to get to it. "Im sorry. You were unbelievable all week," Errani told fans during the victory ceremony, as she brushed back tears. "I tried to do my best and stayed on the court only for you." Williams other Rome titles came in 2002 and last year -- and she went on to win the French Open on both occasions. "Im also sorry for Sara today," Williams told the crowd in Italian. "She really played great all week." Later, seven-time champion Rafael Nadal was facing Novak Djokovic in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting in the mens final of the last key clay-court tuneup for Roland Garros, which starts next weekend. A left thigh problem prompted Williams to withdraw before her quarterfinal match at the Madrid Open last week but now she appears back on track for the French. "Im not 100 per cent but Im just kind of going on adrenaline," Williams said. Organizers attempted to whip up patriotic fervour by having the Italian anthem sung before the players walked out onto the court, and fans continuously chanted "Sara, Sara" to try and encourage Errani in an atmosphere that more resembled a Davis Cup or Fed Cup setting. Ernie Banks Jersey. But Williams jumped out to a 3-0 lead and while Errani had a few chances to get back into the first set, Williams overpowered the Italian with her serve -- she had seven aces to Erranis none -- and overall attacking game. Still, Errani could console herself by becoming the first Italian runner-up in the tournament since Raffaella Reggi took the 1985 title in Taranto. The last Italian man to win was Adriano Panatta back in 1976. When former Italian player Lea Pericoli asked Errani during the trophy presentation if she was "disappointed" with her showing, the crowd responded with boos and whistles. Pericoli then acknowledged that Erranis appearance in the final was an accomplishment by itself. Injury permitting, Errani was slated to play the doubles final later with partner Roberta Vinci against Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. It was the 60th title of Williams career, and a large portion of those trophies have come in recent years for the 32-year-old American. Martina Navratilova holds the record with 167 titles and Williams needs seven more to match Billie Jean King for sixth place on the all-time list. "Im like a fine wine, I guess -- at least my tennis is," Williams said. "My game gets better with age." ' ' '