NFL EXHIBITION Two rookies propel Browns past Chiefs

Luke McCown's TD pass to Richard Alston gave the Browns a 21-19 win.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- It was a night for rookies and second-team players to take center stage -- especially on the last play.
Rookie quarterback Luke McCown hit rookie Richard Alston with a 34-yard TD pass with no time left Saturday night, lifting Cleveland past Kansas City 21-19.
McCown, a fourth-round pick out of Louisiana Tech, engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive in the final 1 minute, 39 seconds. He also hit C.J. Jones for 37 yards in the drive.
The Browns also got a 7-yard TD pass from McCown to backup tight end Darnell Sanders with 3:40 to go.
Before McCown's final march, Kansas City's second team offense had come to the top after the starters failed for the first time in three exhibition games to score a TD.
Collins delivers
Backup quarterback Todd Collins hit 12 of 14 passes for 145 yards and engineered two third-quarter TD drives to put the Chiefs on top 19-14.
Collins found rookie wide receiver Richard Smith on a 21-yard strike to fuel a nine-play, 64-yard march on his first possession, capped by a 9-yard scoring pass to Derrick Blaylock.
A few minutes later, he hooked up with Chris Horn on a sideline pattern that went 50 yards. An additional 15 yards were tacked on for a roughing-the-passer penalty against Sherrod Coates, setting up a first down on the 15.
Four plays later, Collins found fullback Omar Easy wide open in the corner for a 4-yard TD strike that made it 19-7 with 54 seconds to go in the third period.
The Chiefs (1-2), weakened by injuries to starting wide receivers Eddie Kennison and Johnnie Morton, lost backup Marc Boerigter to a knee injury in the first half.
Boerigter was helped off the field, as was Browns tight end Steve Heiden, who sustained a sprained knee a short time later.
Running-back competition
In their summer-long battle to see who'll be Cleveland's starting running back, William Green had 53 yards on just three carries and Lee Suggs had 31 on four.
The Cleveland offense, which has emphasized the run throughout the preseason, rushed for 90 yards in the first half. In the first team's only touchdown drive, Green broke loose for 42 yards to the Kansas City 23.
Then following a 5-yard penalty, Suggs got an outstanding down-field block from wide receiver Quincy Morgan and went 28 yards for the TD.
"These two guys are great kids and they're busting their tails to be the best players they can be," said Cleveland coach Butch Davis.
In three exhibition games for the Browns (2-1), Green has 100 yards and Suggs 118.
"It's a dynamic duo for us and it's one of the real strong parts of our football team," Davis said. "I'm really proud of them and the way they are handling the running back competition. I thought it was a really good, solid first half."
Green sparkles
Chiefs starter Trent Green was 12-of-22 for 167 yards, including a 37-yard strike over the middle to tight end Tony Gonzalez. But the offense that led the NFL in scoring each of the past two years and scored TDs on four of six possessions in the first two exhibition games could not dent the Cleveland defense.
"Too many dropped passes and too many penalties," said coach Dick Vermeil. "We stopped ourselves that way."
Lawrence Tynes, in a close battle with longtime NFL star Morten Andersen, was 2-for-3 on field goals.
Tynes, who starred in the Canadian Football League for two years after failing to unseat Andersen in 2002, drilled first-half field goals of 28 and 48 yards. But he hit the left upright on a 47-yard attempt late in the second period.
Cleveland starter Jeff Garcia was 4-for-8 for 37 yards, but the Browns' offense continually stymied itself with penalties. Altogether, Cleveland's first-team offense was penalized five times.