Lelie No Longer Missing

Ashley Lelie was missing from Denver’s offense for more than two months. The Broncos found him just in time.

Lelie made a leaping 46-yard catch to set up Jason Elam’s 36-yard field goal with six seconds left, then Elam made a 25-yarder in overtime, giving Denver a 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

“I didn’t look up and go, ‘There’s Ashley, he’s dropped some balls, I better not throw it there,’ ” said Bronco quarterback Jake Plummer, who threw for 269 yards. “I stepped up and said, ‘There’s Ashley, he’s going to make this catch.’ ”

Lelie was Denver’s big-play receiver early in the season, averaging 22 yards on his first 12 catches. But he caught only 14 passes for an average of 11 yards per catch over the next eight games, including three along with several drops in the last three.

Lelie’s fortunes changed on Denver’s final drive in regulation, when he caught three straight passes and set up Elam’s tying field goal by bumping Cleveland cornerback Michael Lehan off the ball at the Browns’ 17.

“They never lost confidence in me. I never lost confidence in myself,” said Lelie, who had four catches for 71 yards. “You’re going to make mistakes. It’s how you bounce back from it.”

Denver (9-5) has won three in a row and four of five to stay at least a game ahead of Miami. The Broncos hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Dolphins, who play host to Philadelphia tonight. But it may have come with a price: Star running back Clinton Portis had to be helped off the field after spraining his right knee and ankle the play before Elam’s winning kick.

X-rays were negative, and he will have an MRI today. Portis rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, his sixth consecutive 100-yard game.

Cleveland (4-10) made Portis earn every yard -- he had a career-high 38 carries -- but it wasn’t enough to prevent its fourth consecutive loss and seventh in eight games.

The Browns started their seventh different offensive line combination and were coming off a game in which they lost four starters.

“To fight their guts the way they fought today and play every single play with the heart they played, they deserved a better fate,” Brown Coach Butch Davis said.

Cleveland went ahead, 20-17, on Brett Conway’s 48-yard field goal with 1:11 left, but left Denver with too much time to set up Elam’s tying field goal.