A bizarre week of twists, turns and turbulence in Cleveland was made more memorable by its ending.
Derek Anderson threw five touchdown passes Sunday, Jamal Lewis rushed for 216 yards and the Cleveland Browns, so desperate after losing their home opener that they traded their starting quarterback, outlasted Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals, 51-45.
Palmer threw a career-high six touchdown passes, but his final chance to rally the Bengals (1-1) ended when he was intercepted at the Browns’ 27 with 21 seconds left by cornerback Leigh Bodden.
The interception capped an eventful seven days and a rollicking afternoon for the Browns, who had a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers (Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow) for the first time since joining the N.F.L. in 1950. “For the first time in a long time, I’m excited to go home and watch our highlights,” said Edwards, who had eight catches for 146 yards.
The teams combined for 96 points and 1,085 yards of offense.
Even Browns fans, who bolted the stadium early a week ago, had a chance to party, not long after a few of them dumped beer on Bengals receiver Chad Johnson after he jumped into the stands to celebrate his second touchdown.
Last Sunday, Anderson came off the bench to replace Charlie Frye during the first half of a 34-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Less than 48 hours later, the Browns (1-1) traded Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the first team since the merger with the American Football League to trade its season-opening quarterback before Week 2.
Cleveland’s plan was for Anderson to hold down the starting job until the rookie Brady Quinn was ready. That plan, too, may be scrapped after Anderson’s breakout performance.
Cleveland had 554 yards of offense, scored its most points since returning to the league in 1999, and for the time being, took some of the heat off Coach Romeo Crennel, who improved to 11-23 in his third season.
“A division win, how about that?” said Crennel, playfully mocking his 2-12 record against American Football Conference North opponents.
The clips will be dominated by Anderson. He went 0 for 5 on Cleveland’s first two possessions, but finished 20 of 33 for 328 yards and the 5 touchdowns, tying a team record.
A former sixth-round draft pick from Oregon State, Anderson has had the physical gifts but has been plagued by bad decision-making. This time, he was strong and smart.
“I wouldn’t say I was nervous,” Anderson said of his fourth career start. “I was happy with the way things turned out.”
It was only the third time in league history that two quarterbacks threw at least five touchdown passes in the same game. Oakland’s Tom Flores (6) and Houston’s George Blanda (5) did it on Dec. 22, 1963, and Billy Kilmer of New Orleans (6) and Charley Johnson of St. Louis (6) did it on Nov. 5, 1969.
Joe Jurevicius caught two touchdown passes and Winslow had one touchdown catch for the Browns.
Johnson’s second touchdown catch pulled the Bengals to 34-31 in the third quarter. As promised, he jumped headfirst into the Dawg Pound, where he was baptized in a shower of beer by Cleveland’s rowdiest fans.
“That was cool,” Johnson said. “It was fun and it was cold.”
Out of timeouts, the Bengals got the ball at their 9 with 1 minute 3 seconds left. After two completions got them to the 20, Palmer threaded a 30-yard pass between two defenders to Johnson.
One play later, Palmer tried to feather another pass down the sideline to Johnson, but Bodden intercepted it.
“I don’t think anybody expected this game to shake out like this,” Palmer said. “If anything, it’s a good reminder for us that it doesn’t matter who you play.
“This is one of the tougher losses. I thought we had this win. I feel like I’m mourning over a loss. I’m just going to try and shake it off.”
