If the Browns want to avoid a disastrous 0-2 start today against the Kansas City Chiefs, they need to maximize their talent, and it starts with their best players.

Cleveland quarterback Jake Delhomme fires a pass against Tampa Bay on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. Delhomme is questionable for today’s game against the Chiefs.

Sure, they need a better performance from whomever plays quarterback. And they also need to stop the bleeding when it comes to those dreaded self-inflicted wounds — penalties, missed assignments and turnovers.

But those flaws are already on everyone’s radar, so what else do the Browns need?

They need their elite players to perform like elite players. They don’t have enough talent to compensate for lackluster performances from the likes of return specialist/wide receiver Joshua Cribbs and offensive tackle Joe Thomas.

If you need proof, look back to the Browns’ regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Browns’ only Pro Bowl selections from last season didn’t look so hot in Week 1.

Cribbs wasn’t Cribbs. Thomas wasn’t Thomas. And the Browns were losers.

Of course, Cribbs and Thomas didn’t give a winnable game away by themselves. Jake Delhomme’s two interceptions and Peyton Hillis’ lost fumble were the main offenders, but the Browns also needed more from their top guns.

Last week, Cribbs had three kickoff returns for 46 yards (15.3 average) and three punt returns for 29 yards (9.7 average). Heading into this season, his career averages for kickoff and punt returns were 26.6 and 11.1 yards, respectively. The drop-off falls on the other special-teams players, too, but Cribbs needs to rally his troops today against the Chiefs, whom he crushed last season with two kickoff returns (100 and 103 yards) for touchdowns.

After Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay kicked off. Cribbs caught the ball about six yards deep in the end zone, chose not to take a knee and returned it about 24 yards to the Browns’ 18-yard line. Marcus Benard, though, was called for holding during the return, so the Browns started the drive at their six. Three plays later, Delhomme threw his second pick of the game.

“It’s important for me to do my part on special teams to help the team get great field position,” Cribbs said. “Every unit on this team relies on another unit. … When special teams doesn’t do well, it does affect the game.”

Cribbs said the Browns’ return units have gone through significant personnel changes since last season. Several young guys are still learning what to do.

Thomas can’t use the same excuse, especially about the left side of the offensive line, where he and guard Eric Steinbach have been together since 2007. The Browns didn’t allow a sack against the Bucs, but in the second half, Delhomme encountered a ton of pressure, and the Browns couldn’t run the ball.

Even before that, Delhomme injured his right ankle late in the second quarter. During the play, Bucs defensive end Stylez G. White lunged from the ground and swiped toward Delhomme’s legs after Thomas pushed him down. Meanwhile, rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy bull-rushed Steinbach and ran straight at Delhomme as the latter leaned right and threw an interception.

“I don’t see any one thing that really stood out, like this is why Jake was getting hit,” Thomas said. “But overall, we’ve just got to improve the pass protection.”

Cribbs and Thomas must rebound today because that’s what great players do. Anything less will result in poor field position and a quarterback in distress.