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Cribbs' punt return lifs Browns past Bears

Aug 31, 2007 - 3:22 AM By Dennis Sheehan and Bill Marquard PA SportsTicker Contributing Writers

CHICAGO (Ticker) - Joshua Cribbs returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown to spark the Cleveland Browns to a 19-9 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday night in the preseason finale for both teams.

The Browns and Bears plumbed their depth charts at Soldier Field, with starters from both squads seeing limited action.

Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel slotted Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson into two possessions each in the first quarter. Bears starter Rex Grossman saw 2:01 of action on the first series of the game, giving way to Brian Griese for two series.

Rookie tight Greg Olsen, the Bears' first-round draft pick, left the game in the first half with a knee sprain, according to coach Lovie Smith.

Olsen is schedule to undergo an MRI exam on Friday.

Grossman was surprised by his limited stint at quarterback. "I thought I was going to play on two or three series, so I was kind of surprised I only go three plays."

Both teams went to their No. 3 quarterback s by the start of the second quarter.

Browns rookie Brady Quinn finished the first half with 5-for-7 passing for 32 yards. He engineered a nine-play, 50-yard TD drive on the final possession of the second quarter, completing 4-of-4 passes for 27 yards.

Chicago's Kyle Orton threw for 102 yards on 12-for-19 passing in his second-quarter appearance. The Browns scored first, capping an eight-play, 47-yard drive with Phil Dawson's 24-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Browns struck again 8 seconds later when Chicago's Danieal Manning muffed the ensuing kickoff and batted it out of the end zone for a safety.

Return specialist Cribbs made a strong case to be the team's top return man, returning four punts for a total of 111 yards in the first half, including the 70-yd TD burst.

The Bears scored on Robbie Gould's 21-yard field goal on the last play of the first half, capping a 12-play, 73-yard all-passing drive that featured seven straight completions by Orton.

Fourth-string Bears signal-caller Chris Leak connected with Mike Hass for a 9-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, but was intercepted on the attempted two-point conversion.