Browns Miss Chances, and Colts Win : Indianapolis: Interception returns and Bahr’s errant field-goal tries defeat Cleveland in overtime.

The Indianapolis Colts stayed alive when Cleveland missed a pair of field goal attempts and beat the Browns, 23-17, Sunday on Mike Prior’s 58-yard interception return in overtime.

“It was kind of scary. I figured the game was over,” said Prior, the Colts’ safety. “It didn’t seem like the field goals were too long, and they just barely missed. It gave us new life.”

Cleveland’s Matt Bahr missed on two field goal attempts that could have given the Browns the victory, including a 35-yard attempt with 6:05 to go in the overtime period.

“We were in a good position,” Bahr said. “There was no factor other than I missed. The holds were good, the snaps were good. The frustrating part of it was I let myself down, but more importantly, I let the team down.”

The Colts (7-7) were forced to punt two minutes after Bahr’s second miss, but Prior intercepted Bernie Kosar’s pass and ran in with the winning touchdown.

“It seemed farther than 58 yards,” Prior said. “After I caught it, I just looked up to see if anybody was around me and to see how tough it would be to get in. The next thought was just to get in the end zone.

“I can’t believe we won this game,” Prior said.

Bahr also missed a 39-yard attempt with 25 seconds left in regulation, forcing the overtime.

“I thought we were in good shape,” Cleveland Coach Bud Carson said. “I thought we were as far in as we needed to be with Matt. What can you say? I thought we were in a sure-shot position but, I don’t know, it just wasn’t to be.”

Another interception off Kosar, by Keith Taylor, was returned 77 yards and set up the Colts’ tying touchdown late in regulation.

“We had so many shots. It was a tough, tough, tough game to lose,” Carson said.

Kosar passed for a season-high 353 yards as the Browns dropped to 7-6-1, including 0-3-1 in the last four games. The Browns lead the NFL in overtime games this season, but are 0-2-1 in those contests.

Indianapolis tied the game 17-17 with 1:56 to go after Taylor returned an interception from two yards deep in the Colts’ end zone to the Cleveland 25.

With Tom Ramsey, the former UCLA quarterback playing in place of injured Jack Trudeau, the Colts reached the Cleveland one in seven plays and scored the tying touchdown as Ramsey flipped a pass to tight end Pat Beach at the back of the end zone.

The Browns had taken a 17-7 lead early in the second half when Keith Jones blocked a punt by the Colts’ Rohn Stark and Lawyer Tillman recovered the ball in the Indianapolis end zone. The Colts got a 35-yard field goal by Dean Biasucci midway through the period, but Trudeau, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Browns early last year, left the game on the next possession with a concussion.

After the interception by Taylor, the Browns had a chance to win in regulation.

Four straight passes by Kosar took Cleveland to the Indianapolis 34 but five plays later, Bahr missed the 39-yard field goal attempt.