NFL history repeats; Browns lead then flop

Denver quarterback Jay Cutler engineered a late touchdown to spoil Brady Quinn’s start.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jay Cutler turned Brady Quinn’s big night into his own prime-time showcase.

Cutler passed for a career-high 447 yards, throwing three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter — the last an 11-yarder to Brandon Marshall with 1:14 remaining — to rally the broken Denver Broncos to a 34-30 win over the Cleveland Browns, spoiling Quinn’s highly hyped debut as an NFL starter.

The Broncos (5-4) entered the fourth quarter trailing 23-13, but Cutler, borrowing a page out of John Elway’s comeback playbook, brought Denver back. He recorded his fifth career fourth-quarter comeback victory despite losing two more running backs to injuries and only having his fullback to carry the ball.

Cutler threw a 93-yard TD pass to rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal, a 28-yarder to tight end Daniel Graham and then finished off the Browns like so many Denver teams have done in the past with his toss to Marshall in the corner of the end zone.

The Broncos have beaten Cleveland eight straight times and been the Browns’ longtime nemesis, beating them three times in AFC title games.

Cutler finished 24-of-42 with three TDs and one interception. He piled up 204 yards passing in the fourth quarter.

Quinn threw two TD passes to Kellen Winslow and went 23-of-35 for 239 yards.

Cutler led Denver on an early 86-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 1-yard TD run by rookie Ryan Torain, also making his first career start.

Torain left midway through the second quarter with a sprained left knee. He was replaced by Selvin Young, who then went out with a groin injury — the fourth Broncos running back hurt this week.

Starter Michael Pittman (spinal cord) and backup Andre Hall (hand) sustained season-ending injuries in the Broncos’ loss to Miami on Sunday.

The loss was the Browns’ second in five days after leading in the second half.

Quinn, the former Notre Dame star drafted in the first round by the Browns in 2007, got a big ovation when he was introduced with the starting offense for the first time.

The cheers got louder when he hit Winslow in the center of the end zone with a pinpoint pass from 5 yards out, helping Cleveland tie the score at 7 with 3:38 to go in the first quarter.

A popular backup, Quinn started in place of struggling quarterback Derek Anderson, who made the Pro Bowl last season. The Browns announced the move late Monday.

With the attention of fans and a national cable-TV audience on Quinn, Cutler was sharp early. He completed seven of his first nine passes for 128 yards, including a 39-yard toss to a wide-open Tony Scheffler on the game’s first play. Denver’s first drive stalled and Matt Prater missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt, giving the ball to Quinn at the Cleveland 20.

His first pass attempt to Winslow fell incomplete before he connected on a 7-yarder to Syndric Steptoe on third-and-8.

Cleveland came right back from the Broncos’ first score, helped by a 37-yard kickoff return by Joshua Cribbs.

Quinn quickly completed an 18-yard pass to Donte Stallworth, then let Jamal Lewis carry the load. Lewis ran three times for 40 yards to the Denver 1 before being tackled for a 4-yard loss. Quinn then found Winslow to tie it.