Browns TE Aaron Shea makes a 37-yard pass reception in Cleveland's loss to Denver.(AP)

Griese, who has torn cartilage in his shoulder and doesn't practice on Wednesdays to ease strain on the joint, broke a 3-3 tie with back-to-back TD passes to Smith in the second quarter.

Deltha O'Neal's 62-yard kickoff return set up Mike Anderson's 26-yard scoring burst midway through the third quarter, making it 27-10. Griese then hit Smith on a 32-yard scoring pass on fourth down with 4:48 left in the period, helping the Broncos end a rare two-game losing streak at home.

The Broncos (4-3) were without starting running back Terrell Davis and fullback Howard Griffith, who were sidelined with ankle and knee injuries, respectively. Griffith's backup, Detron Smith, was limited to special-teams duty because of a leg injury, and Anderson's backup, KaRon Coleman, was inactive because of a sprained foot.

Still, the Broncos generated 499 yards compared to 278 for the Browns (2-5), who dropped their fourth straight game.

"We went into the game with just one fullback, two running backs and three wide receivers," coach Mike Shanahan said, explaining the Broncos' decision to go with a one-back offense without a fullback and using four tight ends. "Detron was beat up from last week. If he goes down, obviously you have nowhere to go."

Griese said the Broncos "didn't have a fullback, basically, so it was a new offense for us."

The Browns' decision to stack the line of scrimmage and force Denver to throw backfired.

"I think this is the most aggressive that anyone has tried to play us defensively," Griese said, "and we had to make them pay."

Griese, the AFC's top-rated passer, completed 19 of 34 passes with no interceptions before leaving the game with a 34-10 lead late in the third quarter. Smith finished with five receptions for 111 yards.

Cleveland's Tim Couch was 24-for-40 for 266 yards with one touchdown. The Broncos sacked him five times and intercepted three of his passes, one of which was returned 36 yards for a TD by Denver safety Billy Jenkins.

"I thought when we scored to make it 20-10, we would make it a little bit of a game," Cleveland coach Chris Palmer said. "Then they had the return past midfield, and that was demoralizing. Griese threw the ball well, they ran it when they had to and they blitzed us heavily."

In the first half alone, Griese threw for 304 yards as Denver had 364 total yards in taking a 20-3 halftime lead.

On the game's second play from scrimmage, Ed McCaffrey turned a short pass into a 61-yard jaunt, setting up Jason Elam's 22-yard field goal.

Couch hooked up with tight end Aaron Shea on a 37-yard pass play later in the quarter, but two holding penalties set the Browns back and Phil Dawson kicked a 45-yard field goal.

After Elam, who aggravated a lower-back injury last week and did limited kicking in practice, was wide on a 45-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter, Denver scored on three straight possessions.

Griese hit McCaffrey on a 36-yard pass, setting up his 22-yard scoring toss to Smith with 8:47 left in the half.

Tight end Desmond Clark caught three passes for 41 yards, and Griese hit Smith again on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 4:29 to go.

Travis Prentice's 16-yard run helped move the Browns past midfield, but Couch was intercepted by Jenkins at the Denver 21 with 1:45 left in the half. Despite having no timeouts left, the Broncos went 53 yards in nine plays for Elam's 45-yard field goal.

Cleveland went 80 yards with the second-half kickoff for its only TD. Couch passed 37 yards to Dennis Northcutt, setting up his 3-yard scoring toss to Prentice to cut the deficit to 20-10. Denver then countered with two scores.

Notes

• On Saturday, the Broncos signed placekicker Scott Bentley because of Jason Elam's lingering back problems. Bentley handled kickoffs only, and Elam kicked 3-of-4 field goals.
• Cleveland receiver David Patten left the game in the second quarter with a bruised left shoulder. He returned but left again in the third quarter with a sprained right big toe. Defensive tackle Darius Holland strained his left quadriceps, and receiver Darrin Chiaverini has a knee injury.
• Denver linebacker Glenn Cadrez twisted his back in the third quarter. O'Neal sprained his right shoulder in the second quarter, but returned.
• The Broncos had a 100-yard rusher (Anderson), two 100-yard receivers (Smith, McCaffrey) and a 300-yard passer for the second time in their history. It also happened Oct. 17, 1999, against Green Bay.