• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Lewis leads Browns to first win

Sep 28, 2008 - 11:36 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Jamal Lewis helped Derek Anderson keep his starting job for at least one more week.

Lewis scored a 1-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter Sunday, leading the Cleveland Browns to their first win of the season, 20-12, over the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

Lewis, who rushed for 77 yards on 25 carries, capped a four-play drive to give the Browns a 17-6 lead moments after Cleveland's defense recovered a fumble by Bengals halfback Chris Perry on the Cincinnati 24-yard line.

"I'm not saying that we ran the ball great, but this was something to build on," Lewis said. "We talked all week about running the ball. The O-line was talking about getting a push and (fullback) Lawrence Vickers told me that he wasn't going to go around anybody. He said that he was going to run downhill and to follow him. Then I had my job to do."

Neither team could get into the end zone until beleaguered Anderson, the Browns' beleaguered quarterback, threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards that gave Cleveland (1-3) the lead for good with 13:05 remaining.

Anderson, whose starting job had been in question after the Browns' poor start, completed 15-of-24 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

"Don't go there. I stayed in the game," Anderson said when asked about the possibility of being pulled. "You're not going to score on every single drive. We missed some plays but those are going to happen. I told (coach) Romeo (Crennell) that I wasn't going to quit on him whatever the situation. I'm going to keep working no matter what happens.

"I've had bad games before, but I have never had three in a row that were horrible. This was a good beginning (for turning the season around)."

Leading up to the game, Crennel had said backup quarterback Brady Quinn would be ready to play in case Anderson struggled.

"(Anderson) was harassed on the interception," Crennel said. "I thought he deserved another chance. Brady Quinn is intelligent and works hard. He will be ready when the time comes.

"We feel relieved that we won a game, a division game and we know that we have a long hard road. We'll take the bye week and get to work."

Neither team could mount much offense in the first half as Cincinnati took a 6-3 lead into the break on the strength of two field goals by Shayne Graham.

Ryan Fitzpatrick started at quarterback in place of Carson Palmer for the Bengals and completed 21-of-35 passes for 156 yards. He was intercepted three times and threw one touchdown - to Chad Johnson late in the fourth quarter - to pull the Bengals within 17-12.

"I think that as the football game went, we did some good things but we're not making smart plays long enough," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Ryan Fitzpatrick did a lot of good things, but we have to take care of the football. We got a little careless with the ball at times."

Palmer did not start due to an elbow injury, forcing him to miss a game for the first time since 2004.

"Carson Palmer has an inflamed elbow and he's better," Lewis said. "It was precautionary to not allow him to play today. It went against his wishes but resting him today was the best thing to do long term."

Fitzpatrick also was Cincinnati's leading rusher, gaining 41 yards on four carries. Perry managed just 28 yards on 12 carries.