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Cutler outduels Quinn as Broncos stun Browns

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:24 AM By Jeff Brewer PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- On a night when all eyes were focused on Brady Quinn, Jay Cutler stole the show.

Cutler threw for a career-high 447 yards and three touchdowns as the Denver Broncos rallied from a 13-point, second-half deficit to post a 34-30 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.

After the Browns took a 30-27 on a 1-yard TD run by Jamal Lewis with 4:57 left, Cutler staged a reenactment of "The Drive," leading the Broncos on a 13-play, 80-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard scoring pass to Brandon Marshall with 1:14 to go.

Cutler finished 24-of-42 with one interception, carrying the Broncos after they lost two more running backs.

Rookie Ryan Torain left midway through the second quarter with a knee injury, and Selvin Young left moments later after aggravating a groin injury. Denver (5-4) entered the game without Michael Pittman (neck) and Andre Hall (hand).

"Obviously, Jay threw the ball well," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "We had to make some adjustments after losing our running backs."

Cutler accounted for most of the Broncos' 564 yards of total offense. Rookie Eddie Royal caught six passes for 164 yards - most of which came on a 93-yard TD that began the comeback.

"It was a big, big win for us," Cutler said. "To be down 13 and have an empty backfield and to come back like this, it means a lot."

Meanwhile, it was another disappointing loss for the Browns (3-6), who blew a 14-point lead to Baltimore last week. It is the first time in franchise history the Browns have blown back-to-back games they led by 13 or more points in the second half.

Cutler and the Broncos spoiled the much-anticipated debut of Quinn, the former Notre Dame star Browns fans have claimed is their savior.

Quinn, who was named the starter in place of a Derek Anderson on Monday, shone in his first career start. The 22nd overall pick of the 2007 draft completed 23-of-35 passes for 239 yards and a pair of scores.

"It's unfortunate that we couldn't hold on and win the game for him," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said.

"I thought Brady did a great job," Shanahan said. "He was poised and made a bunch of big plays. For his first game, I thought he did probably as well as he could do."

But it wasn't good enough. The Browns gained nine yards on first down, but failed to get one yard on three attempts from their own 42-yard line. Cleveland turned the ball over on downs with 50 seconds left when Kellen Winslow let a fourth-down pass slip through his hands.

"I just can't get that last play out of my head," Winslow said. "The great ones, the legends make those plays. That's where I want to be."

Winslow caught 10 passes for 111 yards and two scores, but also had a key fumble in addition to the drop.

"They did a good job of stripping it," Winslow said. "I knew it was going to cost us and it did."

Quinn also took blame for the loss.

"I didn't do enough at the end to give us an opportunity to win," Quinn said. "It falls on me."

Cleveland seemed in control for most of the game behind Quinn, who played like a seasoned pro. He hit Winslow for a pair of first-half scores, and Phil Dawson's third field goal made it a 13-point game with 10:21 left in the third quarter.

Cutler and the Broncos then began the stunning comeback.

Matt Prater kicked a 30-yard field goal to cut the lead to 23-13 with 5:37 left in the third, and Cutler hit Royal for a 93-yard TD pass on Denver's next drive. Brandon McDonald whiffed on an attempt to swat the pass, and there was nothing but green grass in front of Royal.

"We saw that they were playing man coverage and we felt we needed to take advantage of it," Royal said. "We called a double-move play and Jay put the ball out there."

It was the longest TD pass by the Broncos since 1981 when Craig Morton hit Steve Watson for a 95-yard score. Winslow then fumbled at the Denver 46, opening the door for the Broncos to take a 27-23 lead on Daniel Graham's TD with 9:50 remaining.

"We let them throw the ball over our head, couldn't tackle and let the game get away," Crennel said. "It's disappointing that your defense can't do some simple things and does some other things poorly. A 93-yard touchdown pass should never happen - ever."