AFC Late replay reversal gives Browns new life

Cleveland's rookie quarterback Charlie Frye won his first NFL game.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The ball popped loose, the officials huddled and the referee signaled that Oakland had possession.
Just when it seemed as if the game was over, a replay review overturned Reuben Droughns' fumble to give Charlie Frye his first NFL win and deal the Raiders another devastating loss.
Phil Dawson's 37-yard field goal two plays after the replay helped the Cleveland Browns snap a three-game losing streak with a 9-7 victory Sunday.
"The encouraging thing is we fought and made the play at the end of the game to win," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "We haven't made this play at other times this year. We made some progress, and hopefully we can build on that through the last two games and into the next year."
Has the tools
Frye, a third-round pick out of Akron, is giving the Browns (5-9) hope he can be the quarterback to lead them, calmly engineering the last-minute drive to win it. It didn't come without some tense moments.
After Droughns lost the ball at the Oakland 19 with less than a minute left, the Raiders (4-10) ran off the field thinking they had won. But after looking at the replay, referee Mike Carey ruled Droughns was down before the ball came loose.
"It was tense," Droughns said. "Even though I knew I was down, they might not have been able to see I was down because there were so many people around me."
The Raiders, predictably, had a different view, saying the ball came loose before Droughns was down and adding that there wasn't enough video evidence to overturn the call on the field.
Major disappointment
"Every time the Raiders have an opportunity to change the whole situation around, it goes against us," linebacker Danny Clark said. "It was a huge play for us to get the ball turned over to our offense and essentially win the football game. For it to get overturned, it was one of biggest disappointments of the year."
After Cleveland got the reprieve, Frye took a knee to let the clock run down to 5 seconds. Holder Kyle Richardson then deftly handled a low snap and Dawson kicked his third field goal of the game to win it.
Frye went 4-for-5 for 32 yards on the drive that started after Alvin McKinley blocked Sebastian Janikowski's 46-yard field goal attempt with 3:15 to play. The drive was aided by a personal foul facemask penalty against Derrick Burgess after he sacked Frye on third-and-3.
Collins struggles
Frye's comeback spoiled Kerry Collins' return as Oakland's starting quarterback. Benched after throwing seven interceptions in a four-game span, Collins was given the job back after Marques Tuiasosopo turned the ball over four times in last week's 26-10 loss to the New York Jets.
Collins struggled in the rain, going 14-for-30 for 132 yards and an interception as Oakland lost its fourth straight. He threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss late in the first half for Oakland's only score.
Frye wasn't much better but made key plays when he needed to down the stretch of his third career start. He finished 21-for-32 for 198 yards and an interception.
Drive drew cheers
Collins got some cheers when he led an 89-yard drive late in the first half that ended with the perfect pass to Moss in between three defenders. Collins completed five straight passes and also converted on a fourth-and-1 sneak on the drive.
The Browns answered after Joshua Cribbs returned the ensuing kick 46 yards to the Cleveland 49. Frye completed three passes to move the ball to the Oakland 27, leading to a 44-yard field goal by Dawson on the final play of the half to make it 7-3.
Dawson added a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 7-6.
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