CINCINNATI — Braylon Edwards bounded through the tunnel and into the locker room, the smile plastered to his face. Derek Anderson wore flip-flops and expressed his love for left tackle Joe Thomas, who recovered a botched handoff inside the 5-yard line. Joshua Cribbs was so overjoyed, he said tears nearly ran down his cheeks.
The Browns beat the Bengals 20-12 on Sunday in a battle (pillow fight might be a better description) of winless Ohio teams. It was their first win in Cincinnati in five tries and first victory of any kind since the 2007 finale, including an 0-4 preseason.
“Yeah. December. It was forever (ago),” said Anderson, who played the whole game despite an awful three quarters and rallied the team with 17 fourth-quarter points.
While it wasn’t a pretty display of football — seven turnovers, 15 penalties, four timeouts taken to correct mistakes — it was one to be enjoyed by the Browns. It saved them from an 0-4 start, a bye week of questions about the future of the coach and quarterback and a complete loss of hope for 2008.
“If you’re 0-4 in the bye, it’s gonna be a long week and a long way the rest of the season,” said left guard Eric Steinbach, a former Bengal who made a surprise return from a sprained shoulder.
The Browns remain a disappointing 1-3, but there’s an interruption in the doom and gloom that dominated September. They won a division game after two losses and made enough plays Sunday to stop a bumbling Bengals squad that was missing quarterback Carson Palmer, who was a late scratch with an elbow injury.
Harvard alum Ryan Fitzpatrick got his first start since 2005 and went 21-for-35 for 156 yards, a touchdown, three interceptions and a 44.5 rating.
“We had the same game plan that we practiced all week. It didn’t change,” said safety Mike Adams, who had an interception and a fumble recovery. “If Palmer was in there, we would have gotten after him as much as we went after Fitzpatrick.
“He is the backup quarterback, so I think he got frazzled a little bit and just started chucking it.”
The week leading up to the game was dominated by speculation about Anderson’s present and coach Romeo Crennel’s future. That was in the outside world. In the locker room and on the practice field, the Browns recommitted themselves to each other and had fun while working.
“It almost put tears in my eyes to see us play as a team, a complete team,” Cribbs said. “It was offense helping defense, defense helping offense. There was so much teamwork going on. That’s why we can laugh about it now.”
Backup Brady Quinn never left the sideline, but Crennel considered the move after Anderson threw an interception to open the third quarter and followed with a three-and-out.
“D.A. was harassed a little bit, particularly on the interception,” Crennel said. “So I decided to give him another chance.”
Anderson took advantage of Crennel’s faith and Cincinnati turnovers. With 4:43 left in the third quarter and trailing 6-3, Anderson led an 80-yard drive in which he went 6-for-7 passing for 46 yards and scrambled for 11 yards. Edwards capped the drive with a one-handed catch in the end zone, which was followed by some serious celebratory air guitar.
“It was important for the team,” Edwards said of Anderson’s turnaround. “There will be adverse situations. He came out and had a nice two series and he put us in a situation to win the game.”
After Kamerion Wimbley forced a Chris Perry (12 carries, 28 yards) fumble on the next play, Anderson hit tight end Kellen Winslow for 20 yards down the middle. Thomas recovered the fumble on the next play — “I love Joe. I love him,” Anderson said — and Lewis jumped over the pile for a 17-6 lead two plays later.
Lewis’ plunge was the deserved conclusion to a game-long commitment to the run. Coordinator Rob Chudzinski called seven runs to start the game, leading to a field goal, and the Browns finished with 40 rushes to 24 passes.
“I never have been a selfish player. It’s not about getting me the ball,” said Lewis, who had been critical about getting just 12 carries the week before. “I just felt this is what this team needed, something to get ’em going early.
“Just go out there and play physical, get a good tempo going and get this offense rolling.”
“We imposed our will today. Everything we wanted to do, we pretty much had,” Edwards said.
The defense also did its part. The Bengals were held to 211 yards and committed five turnovers.
“It’s definitely a big relief,” said cornerback Eric Wright, who had an interception but fumbled on the return. “We have the weapons and firepower to win every game.
“We expect to win.”
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

Browns 29, Bengals 12

Cleveland    3    0    0    17    —    20
Cincinnati    0    6    0    6    —    12
First Quarter
Cle—FG Dawson 25, 9:29.
Second Quarter
Cin—FG Graham 42, 10:22.
Cin—FG Graham 45, :08.
Fourth Quarter
Cle—Edwards 4 pass from Anderson
(Dawson kick), 13:05.
Cle—Lewis 1 run (Dawson kick), 11:06.
Cin—Ocho Cinco 4 pass from Fitzpatrick
(pass failed), 7:46.
Cle—FG Dawson 29, :32.
A—65,541.
    Cle    Cin
First downs    19    14
Total Net Yards    261    211
Rushes-yards    40-134    16-69
Passing    127    142
Punt Returns    2-10    1-9
Kickoff Returns    3-58    4-122
Interceptions Ret.    3-39    1-12
Comp-Att-Int    15-24-1    21-35-3
Sacked-Yards Lost    1-11    3-14
Punts    4-43.0    4-43.3
Fumbles-Lost    2-1    2-2
Penalties-Yards    9-52    6-55
Time of Possession    34:02    25:58

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Cleveland, Lewis 25-79, Harrison
4-20, Wright 5-18, Anderson 4-11, Vickers 1-6, Cribbs 1-0. Cincinnati, Fitzpatrick 4-41, Perry 12-28.
PASSING—Cleveland, Anderson 15-24-1-138. Cincinnati, Fitzpatrick 21-35-3-156.
RECEIVING—Cleveland, Winslow 5-54, Edwards 3-22, Steptoe 2-24, Lewis 2-15, Wright 1-10, Vickers 1-8, Harrison 1-5. Cincinnati, Houshmandzadeh 6-50, Perry
5-15, Ocho Cinco 3-28, Kelly 3-21, Chatman 2-32, Utecht 2-10.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.