The word “finish” has been a popular one in Cleveland this season. It has usually been spoken in the context of what the Browns could not do. They were playing close games and finding some galling way to lose them.

That began to change with a close win against San Diego and followed with tight defeats of Pittsburgh and Oakland. The young Browns were learning how to win.

But why must it take big plays at the end of a game to emerge with a victory? The next step in the development of the Browns had to be blowing out an inferior opponent. They did just that Sunday in dismantling Kansas City 30-7 for their third straight win. The Browns (5-8) have won four home games this year for the first time since 2007.

Most encouraging is that the team won easily despite playing only one good half of football. The Chiefs crumbled once they were faced with adversity, but the Browns took advantage of it and achieved their largest margin of victory since 2003.

Offense: C+

The Browns moved the ball only sporadically, featured back Trent Richardson averaged just 2.3 yards per carry, and they had successive passing touchdowns negated by penalties. But they still managed their second-highest point total of the season. QB Brandon Weeden was on target most of the game and continued to develop an encouraging on-field relationship with top receivers Josh Gordon (8-86) and Greg Little (4-69). The Browns also succeeded on several gadget plays to befuddle the Chiefs. The offense is taking longer to mesh than the defense and Richardson needs to aggressively attack holes rather than dance in the backfield, but the unit is starting to come together. One note of caution: The Browns are in the midst of a three-game stretch against porous defenses that concludes Sunday against Washington. They finish the season at Denver and Pittsburgh. Previous game’s grade: B-

Defense: B+

The Browns yielded an 80-yard touchdown run to RB Jamaal Charles on the first play from scrimmage and blanked the Chiefs the rest of the way. The loss of WR Dwayne Bowe (ribs) took away the biggest receiving threat and Charles still ran successfully after his jaunt into the end zone. But the Browns dialed up a ferocious pass rush when they knew QB Brady Quinn had to throw the ball and the result was five sacks by six different players. Included were DEs Frostee Rucker and Juqua Parker, who now leads the team with five. The two free-agent acquisitions give GM Tom Heckert more ammunition in his case to stick around. The Browns are 5-3 when top CB Joe Haden has played and 0-5 when he has not. Previous game’s grade: B+

Special teams: A+

This was easily the best performance of the season from this group. PR/WR Travis Benjamin sprinted 93 yards for the longest punt return touchdown in franchise history, fellow KR Josh Cribbs nearly broke one later in the game, and the Browns held the Chiefs to just five total yards on three punt returns. PK Phil Dawson booted three more field goals, including the 300th of his career. Dawson has missed just one this season -- and that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. P Reggie Hodges continued to struggle, but that has become a given in 2012. Previous game’s grade: C-

Coaching: A

Aside from a silly challenge by Pat Shurmur on a play in which Cribbs was clearly down at the 1-yard-line, this was a well-coached game. Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress opened up a bag of tricks unseen in Cleveland since Chiefs Brad Daboll held the same position with the Browns. And this team performed those plays with far more success. Included was a flip to WR Little and double reverse to Benjamin. The punt return touchdown by Benjamin also featured some trickery as he swapped places with Cribbs at the last second. The play was designed to give Cribbs a shot at blocking the punt, but it also occupied the gunner and gave Benjamin more room to run. Also important from a coaching standpoint is that a team that was once 2-8 has continued to play with passion. That is a reflection on Shurmur. Previous game’s grade: B

Stay dialed in on the Cleveland Browns on Twitter at @CBSBrowns throughout the season with on-site updates from CBSSports.com RapidReports correspondent Marty Gitlin.

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