Sep 16, 2007, 21:24 GMT
Cleveland, OH - Derek Anderson threw for 328 yards and a franchise record-tying five touchdowns, and Jamal Lewis rushed for 215 yards and a touchdown, as the Cleveland Browns overcame a franchise-record six TD passes from Carson Palmer for a 51-45 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The game featured 1,085 yards of offense.
On Cincinnati's final drive, Palmer was intercepted with 20 seconds remaining by Browns cornerback Leigh Bodden, who made a diving catch near Cleveland's sideline and managed to stay inbounds at the 27-yard line, sealing the win.
Anderson, starting in place of Charlie Frye, who was traded to Seattle earlier in the week, completed 20-of-33 passes and was picked off once.
'We didn't start off to well but once we got rolling and we were able to run the ball things started going well,' said Anderson. 'Hopefully we can keep this going.'
Braylon Edwards had eight receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Joe Jurevicius caught two touchdown passes for the Browns (1-1), who finished with 554 total yards and 23 first downs. Kellen Winslow had six receptions for 100 yards and a TD.
Palmer went 33-of-50 for 401 yards and was picked off twice. Chad Johnson caught 11 balls for 209 yards and two touchdowns for the Bengals (1-1), who tallied 531 total yards and 33 first downs.
'Obviously, that was not a very good performance,' said Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis. 'We didn't fare well in any of the three fazes. We allowed them to rush for over 200 yards and we weren't very sharp.'
Rudi Johnson ran for 118 yards and T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught two touchdowns for Cincinnati.
Anderson made a rare mistake in the game on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, throwing an interception by Dexter Jackson. The Browns, though, held the Bengals to a 20-yard field goal by Shayne Graham, keeping Cleveland ahead 27-24.
The Browns then capped a 78-yard drive when Anderson connected with Edwards on a stutter-and-go route for a 34-yard touchdown.
Cincinnati again pulled within three midway through the third quarter when Palmer hit Chad Johnson over the middle for a 14-yard touchdown.
On the next play from scrimmage, Lewis ran 66 yards for a touchdown to make it 41-31.
Cincinnati, though, would not go quietly. On its next possession, Palmer punctuated a 63-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Houshmandzadeh, who beat his man on a slant route.
Following a turnover on downs by Cleveland and a punt by the Bengals, Anderson threw a a 37-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Edwards, who made a diving catch and rolled into the end zone for a 48-38 lead.
The Browns added an 18-yard Phil Dawson field goal with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 13.
The Bengals then marched down the field and scored when Palmer hit Glenn Holt in the middle of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown with 3:39 left to play.
Cleveland punted the ball back to the Bengals with 1:13 showing on the clock. Cincinnati started on its own nine-yard line and advanced the ball to midfield before Bodden picked off a Palmer pass intended for Chad Johnson with 21 seconds left.
Cincinnati began the scoring barrage on Rudi Johnson's 13-yard touchdown run but Dawson drilled two 39-yard field goals before the end of the quarter to pull within 7-6.
In the second quarter, Anderson threw two touchdown passes to Jurevivius and one to Winslow, while Palmer tossed one to Houshmandzadeh and another to Chad Johnson.
Chad Johnson became the Bengals all-time leading receiver passing Isaac Curtis' mark of 7,106 yards.
Game Notes
It was just the third time in NFL history that two QBs threw five TD passes in the same game. Oakland's Tom Flores (6) and Houston's George Blanda (5) did so on December 22, 1963, and Billy Kilmer of New Orleans (6) and Charley Johnson of St. Louis (6) also accomplished the feat on November 5, 1969...Cleveland traded Frye during the week, becoming the first team since the AFL/NFL merger to trade its season-opening quarterback before Week 2...Palmer also set Cincinnati's club record for touchdown passes...Cleveland's 51 points are the most since the franchise returned in 1999.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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