Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns cornerback Jordan Poyer grabs the ball from defensive end Billy Winn after he intercepted a Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton pass in the third quarter. Poyer ran the ball in for a touchdown but the play was ruled down.

(Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer)

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – The Browns' defense had plenty of reasons for anger Sunday, starting with their performance in a 17-13 loss to the Panthers.

They surrendered 209 yards rushing and allowed a 66-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown drive right after the Browns' offense gave them the lead.

The defense, however, also believed it was robbed of a third-quarter TD after a diving interception from Billy Winn. The defensive lineman secured the Cam Newton pass, rolled over in search of a teammate and handed the ball to Jordan Poyer who ran 64 yards to the end zone. The TD would have tied the game at 10.

Instead, referee Ed Hochuli explained the play was blown dead because Winn had "given himself up" after the interception. The ruling is not reviewable.

The Browns were stunned by the call.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life," said linebacker Karlos Dansby, who slapped Newton's arm as he released the pass. "Talking about he was down and he gave himself up. How? He had to dive to catch the ball. It should have been a touchdown. They'll send us a letter or something and saying, 'should have never called him down.' But, (crap), that's what they always do when they mess up."

No pool reporter spoke to the officials to get an explanation, but according to Rule 7, Section 2 Article 1: "an official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended when a runner is out of bounds or declares himself down by falling to the ground or kneeling and making no effort to advance."

Winn believes he made ample effort.

"They said I gave myself up," Winn explained. "No, I rolled over and gave Poyer the ball. It should have been a touchdown. Go back and look at it . . .

"I protected the ball, rolled over and looked for a guy to give it to. Obviously, I'm not going to get up and run it in. Give it to a fast guy who can run it in."

Three weeks ago, the Browns saw Bills linebacker Jerry Hughes strip the ball from halfback Terrance West, fall to the ground and get up to run 16 yards for a touchdown.

Winn certainly wasn't touched and neither was Poyer who made sure to trot all the way down the field.

"I feel like at the end of the day nobody touched (Winn) and (the officials_ didn't give him enough time to actually react to it," Poyer said. "It' a bang-bang play, the refs made the call, that's just what it is."

The Browns got a field goal on the drive, reducing the deficit to 10-6, but thought the game should have been tied.

Although upset, Dansby said the call doesn't excuse the Browns' defensive performance in allowing 404 yards total offense.

"(The officials) made it and you have to play through it," he said. "There was still plenty of time and we didn't make enough plays."