CLEVELAND (AP) – Derek Anderson and the Cleveland Browns came out of nowhere.

Cleveland’s backup quarterback threw two touchdown passes in the final nine minutes of regulation and ran 33 yards in overtime to set up Phil Dawson’s 33-yard field goal, giving the Browns an improbable 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Anderson had never thrown an NFL pass and had taken only one snap before Sunday. However, he replaced injured starter Charlie Frye and rallied the Browns (4-8), who capped a dysfunctional week with only their second December win at home since 1999.

Dawson’s winning kick with 7:25 remaining in OT came after the gangly Anderson scrambled right, broke a tackle and lumbered his way down the Browns sideline to the Kansas City 12.

The Browns ran the ball twice to move between the hash marks for Dawson, who then booted Cleveland to its first OT win since 2002.

Trent Green threw four TD passes – two to Tony Gonzalez – for the Chiefs (7-5), who had their AFC playoff hopes damaged. Kansas City led 28-14 with 8:55 to play in regulation after Green hooked up with Gonzalez on a 23-yard strike.

But Anderson, who started the second half because Frye hurt his right wrist, brought the Browns back. He finished 11-of-21 for 171 yards.

Green, making his third start after missing eight games with a concussion, was 24-of-32 for 297 yards.

The win was totally unexpected from the Browns, who were embarrassed 30-0 by Cincinnati last week. The ugly loss was compounded by wide receiver Braylon Edwards arguing with his teammates on the sideline, a disturbing scene that led to speculation that coach Romeo Crennel was on the brink of losing his job.

Things didn’t look much better when Frye went out with an injured wrist in the first half and then came out after halftime wearing a brace and without his shoulder pads. But Anderson, Cleveland’s third-stringer last season, rode in to the rescue.

With Cleveland down by 14, Anderson first hooked up with Steve Heiden for a 6-yard score to pull the Browns within 28-21.

Cleveland’s defense, dissected by Green for most of the afternoon, finally forced a punt and Anderson drove the Browns to a tying score, hitting Heiden from 3 yards to tie it with 35 seconds left.

The Browns got the ball back 20 seconds later, when Simon Fraser stripped Green and linebacker Willie McGinest recovered at Kansas City’s 42. But Anderson threw his only interception to linebacker Kawika Mitchell, who returned it to the 46.

The Chiefs needed only about 10 to 15 more yards for a field-goal try, but by the time Green tossed a 6-yard pass to Gonzalez, time expired before Kansas City could line up for another play.

Kansas City got the ball first in OT, but a dropped pass and an overthrow by Green gave it to Cleveland.

Anderson opened the winning drive with a 26-yard pass to tight end Kellen Winslow – his first reception – and the backup QB alertly avoided trouble with a shovel pass to Reuben Droughns. Following a sack, the 6-foot-6 Anderson rolled right, and without anyone to throw to, took off.

As he neared the sideline, Anderson shook free from a tackle by Chiefs safety Greg Wesley and went off “on the longest run I’ve had since high school,” setting up a win the Browns needed badly.

When Dawson’s kick sailed through the uprights, Cleveland’s players stormed from the bench with several of them heading to the Dawg Pound to celebrate with Browns fans.

AP-ES-12-03-06 1646EST


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