Oakland, Calif. – Charlie Frye threw the ball up for grabs in the end zone and it looked as if another late mistake by the young quarterback would do in the Cleveland Browns.
Instead, the defense held tough and the Browns rallied from 18 points down and won for the first time this season, 24-21 over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
“This win is huge,” Frye said. “I thought it was a game we were supposed to win. I thought we were a better team than Oakland.”
Frye threw three touchdown passes to lead the Browns’ comeback, but it was the interception that almost cost him again. With Cleveland (1-3) leading by three points, Frye led the Browns down to the 6-yard line before throwing an ill-advised ball across the field that was intercepted by Nnamdi Asomu- gha with 3:58 left.
“I thought it was a bonehead play by me,” Frye said. “I forced it.”
Last week, Frye threw an interception in the end zone with 3:21 left with Cleveland leading Baltimore 14-12. The undefeated Ravens then drove for the winning field goal.
The Raiders were unable to do the same and are off to their worst start since losing their first three games in 1961.
A week off helped the Raiders (0-3) regroup after being outscored 55-6 in the first two games in Art Shell’s second stint as coach. It seemed like Oakland was poised for a win after taking a 21-3 lead.
“We got shut out in the second half,” said Oakland quarterback Andrew Walter, who was making his first NFL start. “That’s unacceptable. On offense we have to hit the gas pedal when we have them down.”
