The Morning After: Cincinnati

Bengals 23, Browns 20
Record: 4-9
Divisional record: 0-4

See how much more natural a quarterback transition can be when a team has nothing to play for?
Charlie Frye was poised, confident, alert and mostly impressive in his second NFL start. And all it took was to play a playoff-bound team on the road in a game nobody really expected the Browns to compete in, let alone win.
Frye couldn't pull off the latter, but the competitive part was alive and well. His stats were warm-but-not-hot (16-for-24 passes, 138 yards, 14 rushing yards) but his poise dwarfed that of Bengals QB Carson Palmer, a potential Pro Bowler of USC pedigree.
Frye led the Browns on two touchdown drives, scrambling for one of them and finding Steve Heiden for the other. He looked resourceful for a rookie, avoiding sacks to find Antonio Bryant downfield on two occasions.
He wasn't able to completely pull off the look of a seasoned veteran, getting sacked twice for 14 yards, a week after Jacksonville planted him in the Cleveland Browns Stadium turf five times. He forced one pass that was intercepted by Bengals corner Deltha O'Neal, and forced another that should have been.
O'Neal leads the NFL with nine interceptions, and the Browns coaches should have red-flagged him for Frye since Wednesday.
There are still three games remaining, and plenty of time for the luster to wear off, but based on the first half against Jacksonville and Sunday's effort against Cincinnati, the Browns might finally have a keeper at QB. Frye won't put up glossy stats, but seems to inspire confidence in his teammates. Making something out of nothing as Frye did on several occasions Sunday will do that.
Frye is heady and doesn't try to remedy difficult situations by throwing harder, as gunslinger Luke McCown did last year. Hopefully the rookie mistakes will be just that for Frye, something he'll outgrow.
With Frye and Reuben Droughns, the Browns might have found the cornerstone players they have lacked since re-entering the NFL. Foundation players are the first essential in building a winner. You only need one or two to get things going in the right direction.

Up next: at Oakland, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET.