DETROIT — Eric Mangini was just plain sick. Eric Steinbach was sick, specifically to his stomach.

Eric Wright’s discomfort was in a more vital organ. He was heartbroken.

The Browns hadn’t suffered a crazy, it-can-only-happen-to-Cleveland loss in a couple of years. But the memories of Dwayne Rudd’s helmet fling and the bottles littering Cleveland Browns Stadium after Quincy Morgan’s overturned catch came flooding back Sunday afternoon inside Ford Field.

Hank Poteat, who plays only when the defense needs six defensive backs, was penalized for pass interference in the end zone on a desperation pass on what should’ve been the game’s final play. The penalty gave the Lions an untimed down from the 1-yard line.

Rookie No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford shook off a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury suffered when he was drilled by lineman C.J. Mosley on the Hail Mary to hook up with rookie tight end Brandon Pettigrew for a touchdown. Jason Hanson’s extra point gave the Lions a 38-37 victory in a half-empty stadium.

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At 1-9 the Browns remain in prime position for the first pick in the 2010 draft. The Lions improved to 2-8.

“I’m sick for our guys,” Mangini said.

“It pretty much makes you sick to your stomach,” Steinbach said. “Especially when it’s ended like that with a call.”

Poteat thought it was OK to push receiver Bryant Johnson out of the back of the end zone because Stafford was scrambling. But the shove came when the ball was in the air, so it’s a penalty. The Browns remained stunned that the officials would throw a flag on such a frenetic and desperate play.

“It’s very tough to have the game decided by the referee,” safety Brodney Pool said. “I don’t think it’s fair to the players or the guys who went out there and fought.”

The pivotal play began from the Cleveland 32-yard line with eight seconds left. Stafford scrambled left, avoided a sack and headed back toward the center of the field. He heaved the ball toward the left side, and Mosley planted him into the turf a split-second later. A leaping Pool intercepted the pass in front of Calvin Johnson, but the celebration was short-lived.

X-rays on Stafford’s shoulder after the game were negative, but the left arm was dragging. Daunte Culpepper replaced him for the play from the 1-yard line, but Mangini called timeout to set the defense. Stafford fought through the doctors to return.

“I was in some good pain, but the play goes on,” he said. “I knew I didn’t have to play too much. Just one snap and try to throw the TD.”

Pettigrew faked to the outside and cut back inside, leaving linebacker Jason Trusnik behind. Linebacker Kaluka Maiava was in the middle of the Lions logo in the end zone but didn’t get over in time.

That the Browns and Lions played an instant classic is improbable enough. That the Browns scored 37 points in one game qualifies as a miracle.

Wright, a cornerback, was asked what he would have said before the game if someone would’ve told him they would score 37 points and lose.

“I wouldn’t have said anything because I wouldn’t have believed them,” he said.

The Browns had scored 78 points and five offensive touchdowns in the first nine games, and 29 points in the previous five games combined. They scored four offensive touchdowns Sunday, all on passes from Brady Quinn, who had his best game as a pro.

Quinn went 21-for-33 for 304 yards, no interceptions, one sack and a 133.1 rating. The yards and rating were career highs, and he matched his career total for touchdown passes with three in the first quarter.

The Browns didn’t get past Baltimore’s 45-yard line on Monday night, yet blew by the Lions’ 45 on their first four possessions, all of which ended in points.

The Browns took advantage of the Lions’ last-ranked pass defense and finally threw deep. Quinn connected with Mohamed Massaquoi (five catches, 115 yards) for a career-long 59-yard touchdown completion and Chansi Stuckey (five, 76 yards) for a 40-yard touchdown. Both guys had gotten well behind the coverage.

Joshua Cribbs added his second career touchdown catch, giving the Browns their first three touchdowns by receivers this year. They’re still looking for the first from a running back.

“I knew that they like to load the box sometimes and shots down the field might work,” said Quinn, whose first four starts came against good defenses. “We felt we could utilize some more things against this team and we went out and executed.”

As would figure for a 1-9 team, the Browns couldn’t protect a 24-3 lead taken less than 13 minutes into the first quarter. The defense, which had played well two straight games, allowed 21 unanswered points to even the game in the second quarter.

Calvin Johnson got behind Pool for the 75-yarder to tie, celebrating with a two-handed reverse dunk over the goal post, and the game was on. Stafford led his first game-winning drive and finished with five touchdowns and 422 yards, adding two interceptions and a 112.7 rating.

“We gave him a lot of easy stuff. We made him look like Peyton Manning or something,” Wright said. “He’s definitely a good quarterback, but he’s still developing and I feel we didn’t do our job. It’s ridiculous.”

Calvin Johnson caught seven passes for 161 and running back Kevin Smith added four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s my fault. If you want to blame somebody, blame me,” linebacker David Bowens said. “I have to take ownership as a captain and as a defense’s signal-caller. The offense did a great job today, they scored enough points for us to win. Totally on us.”

The high-scoring, back-and-forth affair was the first “watchable” Browns game in more than a month.

But the finish made Browns fans look away. It was enough to make every body part hurt.

“Words can’t explain it,” Cribbs said. “I can’t imagine how hurt our fans must be. I apologize as a leader on the football team to all fans out there who are counting on us every week, die-hard fans, win or lose.

“I want to let them know we’re working hard in practice to win football games. We’re going to still give all our effort to winning football games.”

Read more

• Lions 38, Browns 37: Big day for offense, but bizarre loss for Browns
• Lions steal win, prove themselves less bad ballclub
• Decisions costly in Browns’ final moments against Lions
• Browns notes: Despite loss, a breakout day for Brady

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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