Browns beat Chiefs, 16-12

08.11.2007

The good thing about preseason games is just about anyone can be the hero.

Saturday night in the preseason opener against Kansas City, that hero was first-year running back Chris Barclay, whose 88-yard kick return for a touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining gave the Browns a 16-12 win.

"Having a victory helps the attitude and confidence of the players, so we're going to try and build on that for the rest of the preseason," head coach Romeo Crennel said.

The Browns were paced by their defense, who held the Chiefs to no points, 3 first downs and 83 total yards in the first half. Chiefs QBs Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard combined to complete 7-of-12 passes for 68 yards with a pair of interceptions for a 34.7 passer rating.

Overall, the defense allowed only three points coming on a field goal by Justin Medlock with 1:48 to play. The Chiefs' other 9 points came on a fumble recovery for a touchdown during the second quarter and a safety during the third frame.

Squandered opportunities early on offense cost the Browns points and nearly contributed to a loss, but Barclay changed the team's fortune late.

The Browns offense held the ball for more than 20 of the first half's 30 minutes and out-gained the Chiefs by almost three-to-one, but managed only six points in the first two quarters.

"I thought we gave away too many points," Crennel said. "We have to improve on that."

The Browns opened the scoring following an interception by Leigh Bodden off Croyle midway through the first quarter.

Frye then moved the team downfield on a 9-play, 49-yard scoring drive that finished with a 27-yard Phil Dawson field goal. Browns running back Jamal Lewis rushed three times for 19 yards and caught a pass for 12 yards on the drive.

In his first game as a Brown, Lewis rushed 4 times for 20 yards including a 15-yard long. He also caught 3 passes for 16 yards.

Early in the second quarter, the Browns got their second interception of the day, this time by Daven Holly off Huard. The Browns then took a 6-0 lead when Derek Anderson led the team on an 8-play, 30-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 38-yard field goal for Dawson.

The drive was propelled by a 21-yard catch and run for running back Jason Wright that brought the Browns to the 19-yard-line.

The Browns regained possession of the ball after a Chiefs three-and-out, but on the fifth play of the drive Frye dropped back and threw an overhand lateral to running back Jerome Harrison that fell for a fumble.

It was picked up and returned 56 yards for a touchdown by Chiefs cornerback Benny Sapp to give the Chiefs a 7-6 lead.

Frye then took over and led the team on a 12-play drive taking the team from their own 33-yard-line to the Chiefs 5. However, with time winding down and no timeouts remaining, Frye ran the ball for 3 yards as time expired in the half, leaving the Browns with nothing to show for their long drive.

Despite the apparent clock mismanagement, Frye finished the first half having completed 12-of-15 passes for 122 yards for a 100.6 passer rating.

"I tried to be sharp with my passes and make good decisions," Frye said. "I thought we were moving the ball pretty well, but we needed to punch it in the end zone."

After sharing duties with Frye in the first half, fellow quarterback Derek Anderson played two drives in the third quarter. On his final drive midway through the frame, he led the team to Dawson's third field goal of the game -- this time from 32 yardsout -- giving the Browns a 9-7 lead.

Frye had the better showing statistically of the team's two quarterbacks battling for the club's starting role, however. Anderson finished with 7 completions on 16 attempts for 76 yards.

"We'll go and evaluate the tape and see how (the quarterbacks) did with their reads and how they handled the offense and then we'll make an evaluation and go from there," Crennel said.

The Chiefs tied the game at 9 on a safety early in the fourth quarter when a Ken Dorsey fumble in the end zone was recovered by Browns offensive lineman Rob Smith.

The score remained there until Medlock's 42-yard field goal gave the Chiefs a 12-9 lead.

Barclay then took the ensuing kickoff for the game-winning score.

Chiefs quarterback Casey Printers led his team to the Browns' 4-yard-line, but a fumbled snap with 37 seconds remaining was recovered by Browns linebacker Clifton Smith to secure the victory.

Printers was the Chiefs leading passer on the day, completing 8-of-17 passes for 64 yards for a 57.0 passer rating. The Chiefs were led by running back Michael Bennett's 28 yards on 3 carries.

Harrison led the Browns with 33 yards on 8 carries and also caught 3 passes for 6 yards. Buck Ortega led the Browns with 4 receptions for 39 yards, while rookie Syndric Steptoe had 36 yards on a pair of catches.

First-round pick Joe Thomas started at left tackle, while second-round pick Eric Wright started at cornerback and recorded a breakup of a long pass during the first quarter.

The team's other first-round pick, quarterback Brady Quinn, did not appear in the game.

"We got a chance to look at a lot of players and we got a chance to look at the offense and I thought they moved the ball," Crennel said. "There were some good things and some bad things but overall I was proud of the way they kept fighting, particularly when it looked pretty bleak."