Orchard Park, N.Y.- As dress rehearsals go, the Browns' third exhibition game gave the club reason to feel better. That black cloud that hung over training camp officially has passed.

Receiver Braylon Edwards and linebacker Willie McGinest looked good in their first appearances of the preseason. Charlie Frye was 6-for-6 on an opening scoring drive. And Kamerion Wimbley was a force in the pass rush.

Derek Anderson took the lead in the backup quarterback derby when he engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives to pull out a 20-17 win over the Buffalo Bills.

Anderson hit Joshua Cribbs in stride for a 28-yard touchdown with 4:12 to go, and then moved the third-team offense 64 yards in the final two minutes for a 35-yard field goal by backup kicker Jeff Chandler as the clock expired.

Rookie running back Jerome Harrison had another good outing with 70 yards on nine rushes and two catches for 10 yards.

But the story of the night was Edwards' triumphant return to live action for the first time since he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 4.

Edwards caught only one pass for 9 yards, but in 16 plays, he got knocked around more than a few times and his knee held up.

"The knee felt good," Edwards said. "I took the knee brace off the second quarter. I got hit, gave some hits, I jumped, I got hit on a knee, got hit on a shoulder and I survived." 

Edwards was pummeled by cornerback Jabari Greer after his catch in traffic at the Buffalo 2. He jumped up and spun the ball to the ground.

Later, Frye hung Edwards out to dry with a high pass behind him, and cornerback Nate Clements' helmet hit into the back of Edwards' left knee upended him.

Edwards dished it out, too. He blindsided rookie safety Donte Whitner with a block on a Reuben Droughns run in the second quarter and later took on linebacker Angelo Crowell.

Edwards said he expects to play a full game in the season opener on Sept. 10.

"I've been doing this for three weeks now. I know the knee will be good [today]," he said.

Edwards' catch came on the opening drive and set up Frye's 2-yard touchdown throw to tight end Steve Heiden after a play-fake influenced half the Buffalo defense to follow Kellen Winslow Jr.

Frye was outstanding on the series, hitting six different receivers on the 68-yard drive. His first pass on third down showed his elusiveness. He wiggled a shoulder to avoid a sack and fired a 22-yard throw to Dennis Northcutt. Frye converted two other third downs on the march.

But that was it for the offense in the first half. Three successive three-and-outs followed before Frye moved the team late. That drive ended in a 56-yard field-goal miss by Phil Dawson.

"When we're aggressive, we're good," receiver Joe Jurevicius said, pointedly.

Edwards said, "We got a little lackadaisical. The enthusiasm wasn't there."

After his 6-for-6 start, Frye finished 12-of-16 for 76 yards. He was sacked twice.

The highlights defensively were McGinest's debut in a Browns uniform and Wimbley's continued development as a playmaker in the pass rush.

McGinest, who missed the first two games to give his left elbow more time to recover from June surgery, was active throughout the first half. He made the first two tackles of the game for the Browns' defense, though he jumped offsides on the second one.

"We knew what he'd bring to the table and he came out and did it," linebacker Andra Davis said.

Wimbley was a force. He drew a holding penalty after beating Bills left tackle Mike Gandy on a third-down scramble by quarterback J.P. Losman in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Wimbley swooped in and strip-sacked quarterback Craig Nall.

Crennel showered Wimbley with faint praise - a sure sign the rookie has impressed the hard-to-please coach.

"Wimbley is a young kid," Crennel said. "He makes some plays and he gives up some plays. Hopefully, he'll come around and make fewer bad plays."

For the third game in a row, the Browns' No. 1 defense stymied the running game. Willis McGahee rushed eight times for 28 yards with a long gain of 8 yards.

The Bills scored 10 points in the first half when Peerless Price beat cornerback Ralph Brown for a 54-yard touchdown and Lee Evans beat Brown and Daven Holly three times to set up a field goal.

It might've been a different story with mending regulars Gary Baxter and Daylon McCutcheon in there.

"Without a doubt, this is the best defense we've had since I've been here," Davis said.

In other developments:

Brodney Pool appeared to gain ground on Sean Jones for the starting strong safety spot. Pool led the Browns with five tackles and broke up a pass. Jones, who started the first two games, had one pass breakup.

Backup free safety Justin Hamilton had an interception in the end zone and returned it 27 yards to ignite Anderson's first touchdown drive.

Anderson persevered in the final two minutes despite having one shotgun snap whiz by him and fumbling a regular snap.

"It wasn't the prettiest two-minute drill you've ever seen," he said. "But the opportunity was there and I wanted it."

Anderson was 4-of-7 for 83 yards. Ken Dorsey, who has held the No. 2 position all summer, posted a 10-play field goal drive in two series in the third quarter. He was 3-of-6 for 34 yards.

"The competition will continue," Crennel said.

"That [backup] position is getting better every day," Cribbs said. "We've got good backup quarterbacks."

The Browns, 2-1, conclude their preseason Thursday at home against the Chicago Bears.

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