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Anderson rallies Browns past Chiefs in overtime

Dec 3, 2006 - 9:32 PM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Derek Anderson pumped some life into the Cleveland Browns.

The untested Anderson came off the bench to play like a seasoned veteran in rallying the Browns to a 31-28 overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Having never thrown a pass in his two seasons, Anderson started the second half in place of Charlie Frye, who suffered a right wrist injury.

Anderson gave the Browns (4-8) an emotional boost, rallying them from a 28-14 fourth-quarter deficit with touchdown passes of three and six yards to tight end Steve Heiden. The second came with 35 seconds remaining.

"I know the preseason is not the regular season, but when he had an opportunity in preseason, he was able to move the team," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "You just hope that what he was able to do in preseason would carry over to the regular season."

On the Browns' ensuing possession of overtime, Anderson used his legs, shaking off a tackle from free safety Greg Wesley on his way to a 33-yard run to the Kansas City 12.

"That's the longest run I've had since high school, and everybody's going to give me hard time about it," Anderson said. "It was (supposed) to be a quick throw, a three-step drop, and all of a sudden it was open."

"That really was the play that won the game for us," Browns tight end Kellen Winslow said. "I was impressed to see that he didn't run out of bounds."

Three plays later, Phil Dawson kicked a 33-yard field goal with 7:25 left in the extra session, giving the Browns a surprising victory.

"We haven't given them (fans) a lot to cheer about, but this one is for the diehards who showed up today," Dawson said.

Anderson completed 12-of-21 passes for 171 yards and two TDs with an interception. Frye was 11-of-13 for 122 yards and a TD before departing.

The victory also had to be sweet for Crennel, who received a vote of confidence from owner Randy Lerner last week. Crennel is just 10-18 in two seasons as Browns coach.

"I think it shows that everyone is behind Romeo," Heiden said about the positive feel the win created.

Trent Green threw for four touchdowns and Larry Johnson rushed for 110 yards for the Chiefs (7-5), who fell three games behind San Diego in the AFC West.

"We scored enough points in my estimation to win the game," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "Defensively, we took a big step backwards today. Their offense was better than our defense. They deserved to win. They played better than us."

Green enjoyed his best game since returning from a concussion that forced him to miss eight games. He completed 24-of-32 passes for 297 yards and an interception.

"Offensively, we had a couple of chance to put them away," Green said. "We just didn't get it done. After they scored to get within a touchdown, we had to make sure they didn't get the ball back. That was our job as an offense and we didn't succeed."

Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez was Green's favorite target, catching nine passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. His 23-yard TD catch with 12:19 remaining in the fourth quarter had given the Chiefs a 28-14 lead.

But Anderson brought the Browns back, engineering scoring drives of 81 and 70 yards in the final 8:55 of regulation.

Frye got the day off to a good start for the Browns, throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Braylon Edwards less than seven minutes into the contest.

In last week's 30-0 home loss to Cincinnati, Edwards confronted Frye on the sidelines.

"This was the best team game that we've played," Frye said. "You saw on the sideline, a lot of offensive guys cheering for the defense, and the defense was cheering for the offense. We needed this win, with everything that was going on around coach (Romeo Crennel)."

Green threw touchdown passes of 22 yards to Eddie Kennison and nine yards to Gonzalez in the second, giving the Chiefs a 14-7 lead. Kennison had seven receptions for 117 yards.

Reuben Droughns' one-yard TD run with 19 seconds left in the first half pulled the Browns even.

Green found tight end Kris Wilson for six-yard score with 10:08 left in the third quarter to give the Chiefs a 21-14 lead.