CINCINNATI -- All Corey Dillon wants is another three weeks of health, a few more wins and a smidgen of recognition as one of the NFL's top running backs.

	Corey Dillon ran for 192 yards and three TDs in just three quarters of work against the Browns.

His latest game against Cleveland satisfied that last wish.

Dillon tore through the Browns' porous defense for 192 yards and three touchdowns in less than three quarters of the Cincinnati Bengals' 44-28 victory Sunday on rain-slicked artificial turf.

It was the best performance by an NFL back this season and the second-best of Dillon's career, trailing only his rookie-record 246 yards against Tennessee in 1997.

"I just want to finish strong and hopefully get a couple of votes for the Pro Bowl," Dillon said. "I just want to be recognized a little bit."

Until the game got out of hand Sunday, Dillon was on pace for one of the best performances in NFL history. A lot of Bengals fans were hoping to see him make a run at Walter Payton's NFL mark of 275 yards against Minnesota in 1977.

Once the Bengals got comfortably ahead, coach Bruce Coslet decided to rest Dillon, who publicly supported the move. But newspaper columnists and talk-show callers roasted Coslet for not allowing Dillon to take a shot at Payton's record in the final NFL game at Cincinnati's stadium.

Coslet testily defended his decision Monday, pointing out that the game was lopsided, Dillon was still far from the record and there was a chance of injury.

"I'd do the same thing again," Coslet said, growing angry in mid-answer. "It's stupid to even talk about it, to tell you the truth. I mean, if I leave him in and he gets his leg broke, then you guys are all over (me)."

Coslet noted that Payton's yards came in a close game, won by the Bears 10-7. The Bengals led 44-21 when he took Dillon out with 3:15 left in the third quarter.

"Well, if that game was 10-7, Corey would have gotten the ball 15 to 20 more times," Coslet said. "So it's not even the same."

Until the last three games, Dillon had been overlooked in another dismal season for the Bengals, who started 1-10 before going on their customary late-season run. They've won three in a row for the first time since 1997, and Dillon has been a big factor in all three.

He picked up 120 yards in a 27-20 victory at Pittsburgh, then followed with 133 yards in a 44-30 victory last week over San Francisco. Against Cleveland, Dillon became the first Bengals running back to string together three 100-yard games since Pete Johnson in 1980.

Dillon doesn't approach it from a triple-digit perspective. He goes more on a carry-by-carry basis.

"My whole motto is to get four yards, and if I get more than four, that's fine," Dillon said.

Against the Browns, Dillon averaged 6.9 yards per carry. He ran the ball on 28 of Cincinnati's first 55 plays.

Dillon also ran for 168 yards on 28 carries in an 18-17 victory in Cleveland two months ago. Both times, he used his cutback ability to exploit the Browns' tendency to leave open running lanes.

"They have a quick defense, and they kind of flow to the ball," offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. "We knew that if we stayed on our blocks and kept pushing, Corey would find a hole."

The Browns (2-12) have the worst run defense in the NFL, giving up 174 yards per game. The Bengals piled up 279 overall, the second-best total in franchise history.

"We knew that they have a fast-flowing defense and like to flow to one side and if you cut back, you can get a gash," Dillon said. "We took advantage of that."