CLEVELAND — The Browns organization and its fans learned a pair of painful lessons Thursday night.
The Cleveland defense can blow a lead no matter who’s at quarterback. And “big-time” receivers can drop passes just as easily from a Notre Dame arm.
The Browns wasted a stellar performance from Brady Quinn in his first NFL start, falling 34-30 to the Denver Broncos. Quinn went 23-for-35 for 239 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 104.3 rating, but it all went for naught when Denver rallied from a third-quarter 23-10 hole and a 30-27 deficit with 4:57 remaining.
In a span of five days, the Browns blew a pair of double-digit leads at home. Instead of being 5-4 and in the thick of the AFC playoff chase, they are 3-6 and the leading candidate for the NFL’s most disappointing team.
“It’s disappointing the defense does some of the simple things wrong,” coach Romeo Crennel said. “The defense couldn’t make any plays. We let ’em throw it over our head, we couldn’t tackle. It’s just not good enough.”
It may not have the lasting effect of “The Drive,” but the winning possession left a mark.
Jay Cutler, who looked a lot like predecessor John Elway with a rocket arm and quick feet, marched the Broncos (5-4) 80 yards in 13 plays and 3:43 to put them ahead with 1:14 left. Receiver Brandon Marshall used his 6-inch and 50-pound advantage to beat cornerback Brandon McDonald for the 11-yard touchdown. McDonald, who broke up the same play the previous down, fell harmlessly to the ground as Marshall found room in the corner of the end zone.
Cutler finished with 447 passing yards and three touchdowns — all in the fourth quarter. The Broncos totaled a staggering 564 yards despite playing the second half without a healthy tailback.
Quinn had a final chance to make his memorable night a magical one. He got the ball at the Cleveland 33-yard line with 1:10 left and two timeouts.
After a 9-yard completion to tight end Kellen Winslow on first down, Quinn was pressured into an incompletion and threw low over the middle to an open Jason Wright. Left with fourth-and-1, Quinn threw a quick hook to Winslow, who watched it whistle through his hands.
“The young kid did a good job managing the team,” Crennel said of Quinn. “It’s unfortunate that the defense couldn’t hold on.”
For much of the night — the Browns dropped to 1-2 in prime time with two Monday nighters left — Quinn seemed destined to be carried off the field, either on the shoulders of his teammates or the cheers of the fans.
He received a huge ovation during introductions — the displaced Derek Anderson was the first in line to shake his hand and pat him on the behind — heard “The Mighty Quinn” play over the stadium speakers before his first play and saw flashbulbs light up Cleveland Browns Stadium as he took the snap from Hank Fraley and handed to Jamal Lewis for a 2-yard run.
Quinn was poised from the start, despite getting his first significant action after 24 games on the sideline.
“He’s real calm in the huddle,” Winslow said. “He calmed me down. I was excited.”
Apparently, waiting was the hardest part. He made playing look easy.
He led six scoring drives, including an impressive one for a touchdown and a 30-27 lead in the fourth quarter, and appeared to renew hope in a season that passed depressing weeks ago.
Then the defense fell apart.
After a Dave Zastudil punt pinned the Broncos at the 7-yard line with the Browns ahead 23-13 and 13:30 left, McDonald committed the cardinal sin for a cornerback. On first down, he let rookie Eddie Royal fake him out of his shoes with a move inside and a sprint down the sideline.
McDonald was beaten badly, but an underthrown pass gave him the chance to avoid disaster. However, McDonald whiffed as the ball went by his arms, and Royal pulled it in and finished the 93-yard score.
“I will stand up to the responsibility,” McDonald said. “Part of that loss was because of me.”
In 13 seconds, the comfortable lead had turned into tension. It would only get worse.
Just four days earlier, the defense blew a 14-point lead and Braylon Edwards dropped a key fourth-quarter pass to cost Anderson his job. On Thursday, it was Winslow who made the costly mistakes.
He finished with 10 catches for 111 yards and a career-high two touchdowns — Quinn loves the short, quick routes — but Winslow had an offensive pass interference wipe out a first down, lost a fumble and dropped the final pass, all in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t know what it is,” Winslow said. “Collectively, we don’t finish. We had Baltimore and we didn’t finish. This game, we just didn’t finish.”
Quinn finished the first half with a 131.1 rating and completed 10 straight passes between the second and third quarters. But he was in no mood to celebrate anything as the clock struck midnight.
“My thought right now is that we lost,” he said. “I didn’t do enough at the end to help us win. It falls on me.”
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. 

THUMBS UP

Jay Cutler, Broncos quarterback

His throws weren’t always perfect, or decisions smart, but he was great, especially when it counted most. He threw for three touchdowns and 204 yards in the fourth quarter, on his way to 447 yards and a 107.9 rating for the game.
He threw the ball up for grabs a couple of times, but it never came back to bite him. And he looked as comfortable out of the pocket as inside it. That’s probably because he has a cannon for a right arm.

THUMBS DOWN

Brandon McDonald, Browns cornerback

In the three days between the latest losses, he vowed to learn from his mistakes, which included allowing a deep touchdown against the Ravens on Sunday. He needs to go back to school.
McDonald allowed rookie Eddie Royal to run by him for a 93-yard touchdown, then gave up the winner when he was outclassed by Brandon Marshall.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The Browns were clinging to a 23-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, but they had the ball at the Denver 46-yard line. On third-and-6, Brady Quinn zipped a slant to Kellen Winslow for a first down.
But there was a problem. Winslow had the ball ripped from his hands by Dre Bly, above, and the Broncos recovered. Eight plays later, Denver had the lead.

STAT OF THE GAME: 564

Yards allowed by the Browns defense. In the span of five days, it allowed 993 yards in a pair of home losses.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

“He is a great talent. He is very athletic, he can run and he can throw. He’s going to have many good years in this league.” Broncos linebacker Louis Green, on Brady Quinn.

MATCHUPS

Offense

Brady Quinn was good in his debut, but Jay Cutler was better. Kellen Winslow had 10 catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns, but he dropped the final pass of the game.
EDGE: Broncos

Defense

For the second straight game, the Browns blew a double-digit lead in the second half. The Broncos stunk, too, but they made a stop when they needed one.
EDGE: Broncos

Special teams

Joshua Cribbs had four tackles and a 43-yard kickoff return. Phil Dawson was true on a 52-yard field goal.
EDGE: Browns

Coaching

Romeo Crennel’s decision to go to Brady Quinn looked good, but his defense looked pitiful. Denver’s Mike Shanahan botched a drive to end the first half, but overcame injuries on both sides of the ball to snap a three-game losing streak.
EDGE: Broncos
— Scott Petrak

Broncos 34, Browns 30

Denver                7    3    3    21    —    34
Cleveland            7    13    3    7    —    30
First Quarter
Den—Torain 1 run (Prater kick), 7:03.
Cle—Winslow 5 pass from Quinn (Dawson kick), 3:38.
Second Quarter
Cle—FG Dawson 24, 12:45.
Cle—Winslow 16 pass from Quinn (Dawson kick), 10:29.
Den—FG Prater 35, 5:48.
Cle—FG Dawson 52, 1:09.
Third Quarter
Cle—FG Dawson 33, 10:21.
Den—FG Prater 30, 5:37.
Fourth Quarter
Den—Royal 93 pass from Cutler (Prater kick), 13:30.
Den—Graham 28 pass from Cutler (Prater kick), 9:50.
Cle—Lewis 1 run (Dwason kick), 4:57.
Den—Marshall 11 pass from Cutler (Prater kick), 1:14.
A—73,141.
TEAM STATISTICS
    Den    Cle
First downs    26    20
Total Net Yards    564    399
Rushes-yards    28-123    29-160
Passing    441    239
Punt Returns    1-2    1-5
Kickoff Returns    5-90    5-135
Interceptions Ret.    0-0    1-13
Comp-Att-Int    24-42-1    23-35-0
Sacked-Yards Lost    1-6    0-0
Punts    1-29.0    2-44.5
Fumbles-Lost    0-0    1-1
Penalties-Yards    3-30    3-20
Time of Possession    27:51    32:09
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Denver, Torain 12-68, Cutler 7-29, Hillis 8-24, S.Young 1-2. Cleveland, Lewis 19-60, Harrison 5-48, Cribbs 3-48, Quinn 1-3, J.Wright 1-1.
PASSING—Denver, Cutler 24-42-1-447. Cleveland, Quinn 23-35-0-239.
RECEIVING—Denver, Royal 6-164, Marshall 6-89, Scheffler 4-92, Graham 3-50, N.Jackson 3-36, Stokley 2-16. Cleveland, Winslow 10-111, Stallworth 4-48, Heiden 3-24, Lewis 2-24, Edwards 1-15, Harrison 1-9, Steptoe 1-7, Ali 1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOAL—Denver, Prater 38 (WR).

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