With one inefficient goal-line series highlighted by a horrid trick play, the Cleveland Browns did more than change the outcome of a game. They changed the way they do things on offense, everything from their makeup to their approach.

	More Steelers Coverage: Steelers Notebook: Staley practices, might play Gerry Dulac's NFL Forecast: 10/7/04 COMING UP What: Browns (2-2) at Steelers (3-1) When: 1 p.m. Sunday Where: Heinz Field TV/Radio: KDKA/WDVE FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970) and the Steelers radio network The Skinny: The Steelers are 33-13 in October since Bill Cowher was named head coach.

The dreaded moment came last season in November in Cleveland when the Browns had second-and-goal at the Steelers' 1 and failed to score on three plays, a defining moment for a franchise tortured by its poor success rate against the Steelers.

Running back James Jackson, who gained 5 yards on first down to set up the sequence, was stopped on the first two attempts from the 1, each time by Kendrell Bell.

Then, on fourth down, the Browns disdained the field goal and opted for the touchdown, even though they were trailing, 10-6, early in the third quarter. The decision backfired, in theory and in execution.

The Browns tried a double reverse -- quarterback Kelly Holcomb handing off to wide receiver Quincy Morgan, who handed off to Dennis Northcutt -- but the play was snuffed by cornerback Chad Scott, who tackled Northcutt short of the end zone.

"We weren't expecting that," Scott said. "But we were ready for just about anything."

The Browns ended up losing to the Steelers, 13-6, and losing their next four games to finish 5-11. Worse, they did not score an offensive touchdown the next week against Seattle and were shut out three weeks later by the Baltimore Ravens.

Their failure to score touchdowns against the Steelers and Ravens -- their AFC North rivals -- forced Browns coach Butch Davis to overhaul his offensive

approach, a style that should be evident when Cleveland (2-2) comes to Heinz Field for a 1 p.m. game tomorrow against the Steelers (3-1).

"That's what happens when you play division teams," said safety Troy Polamalu. "What you see them do against the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys is not always what they do against you."

For the past couple years, the Steelers feared the Browns as a passing team that would spread the field with four wide receivers -- Kevin Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, Quincy Morgan and Andre Davis -- a group Bill Cowher considered the deepest in the league. That's how the Browns easily handled the Steelers, 33-13, last October at Heinz Field, and how Cleveland almost beat the Steelers in a 2002 playoff game, 36-33.

"We felt, with four wides, that was a good matchup," said Steelers receiver coach Bruce Arians, who was the Browns' offensive coordinator the past three years. "That was one of our strengths. The quarterback liked the field spread and you try to do things that your players are comfortable doing."

But the Browns have scrapped that offense and tried to retool their attack to feature running backs Lee Suggs -- a Rudi Johnson type -- and William Green. In the offseason, they went out in free agency and signed 350-pound guard Kelvin Garmon (San Diego) to bolster the right side of their line and fullback Terrelle Smith (New Orleans) to serve as a lead blocker.

In other words, they wanted an offense that can punch it in on three plays from the 1.

"Oh, they'll still throw the ball," cornerback Deshea Townsend said. "They'll still try to throw against us. They always have."

Perhaps.

If inside linebacker James Farrior didn't stop Jackson near the goal line on first down from the Steelers' 6, the Browns might still be using four wide receivers, one running back and an H-back. Perhaps they might have even drafted Ben Roethlisberger with the sixth overall pick in the first round instead of tight end Kellen Winslow.

Instead, after signing former Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia in free agency, the Browns had already begun to arrange the pieces of a restructured offense.

Problem is, the Browns haven't scored a first-half touchdown in four games this season. That means they haven't been able to fully utilize their running game to protect a lead. Mainly because they haven't had one.

"I'd be lying if I told you [the offense] was exactly the same," Davis said. "It is not. We have tried to tailor it to, not just Jeff Garcia, but to fit the personnel we have available, the running backs we have, the receivers we have, things that the quarterback can do. There are some growing pains that you go through anytime you transition from the previous quarterback to any new quarterback."

To be sure, Garcia will not attempt to stretch the Steelers' defense, not like Holcomb did in the Browns' playoff defeat two years ago, not like Couch did last year at Heinz Field when he completed 20 of 25 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Garcia's leading receiver -- Northcutt -- averages 5.3 yards on 15 catches. Morgan, his best deep threat, has just seven catches. On top of that, Winslow is out for the season with a fractured fibula, which happened two weeks ago.

The changes can be traced to one botched goal-line sequence against the Steelers.

"It's a work in progress," said Garcia, who has completed 58 of 103 passes for 626 yards and three touchdowns. "I feel like I'm still developing, but I think things are getting more natural for me on the field. It has to be a read-and-react type situation. And I think at times I have found myself thinking a little too much on the field."