Browns’ offense comes alive under Jameis Winston, as they defeat Ravens 29-24

The offense explodes under Winston, even if he dodges a bunch of interceptions.

The Browns had the lead for much of the game, but it was always close. The offense was much better under Jameis Winston, and the defense had their moments — but then Baltimore went fast-paced and got a go-ahead touchdown with 2:36 to go. With a shot at a game-winning drive, Winston delivered — sort of. After a game-ending interception was dropped, he came back with a go-ahead touchdown pass to give the Browns a 29-24 lead. Then, the defense held with a minute to go and the victory. Let’s get to the full game recap.

1st Quarter

The Ravens were moving the ball with ease on their opening drive, getting a mix of good pass and run plays. After getting into a 4th-and-1 at the 7 yard line, Baltimore opted to go for it. They put RB Derrick Henry in the Wildcat, giving the Browns’ defense an advantage since they knew he was going to run it. They stuffed Henry for a loss of 3 yards and a turnover on downs.

QB Jameis Winston took over at the 10 yard line. The first play was a handoff to RB Nick Chubb that went for three yards, and then on second down, Winston ripped a pass to TE David Njoku for a gain of 20 yards.

Winston was threading the ball and being a gunslinger, narrowly avoid picks but passing for 73 yards on the first drive. However, down near the goal line, he had a ton of time to throw and then nearly threw a pick with no receiver in the area. On third down, the Ravens stopped the quick screen to WR Cedric Tillman, forcing the Browns to settle for a 28-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 0:37 left in a very quick first quarter.

2nd Quarter

After a run by QB Lamar Jackson for a first down to open the quarter, Henry broke free on the next play as CB Greg Newsome missed the tackle on the edge. S Juan Thornhill eventually brought Henry down after a gain of 39 yards.

On second down, Jackson felt pressure and was sacked by DE Ogbo Okoronkwo.

Then, on third down, Jackson had time to throw, and missed an open WR Zay Flowers in the end zone. K Justin Tucker came on for a 49-yard field goal, which he hit to tie the game at 3-3.

Chubb had a burst of 15 yards to open the Browns’ next drive. After a quick pass made it 2nd-and-4, the Ravens brought a corner blitz. Cleveland had the right play on with a quick swing to Njoku, but it was thrown at an angle that didn’t allow him to catch it cleanly. On third down, the defensive line batted away Winston’s pass, leading to a punt that was fair caught at the 13 yard line.

The defense responded with a three-and-out, including CB Denzel Ward doing a tremendous job on third down and nearly coming up with an interception. After the punt, Cleveland’s offense took over again at the 33 yard line. Winston opened with a playaction fake and a 19-yard strike to WR Elijah Moore up the left sideline.

With Baltimore down two defensive linemen in the game, Chubb got a handoff for 8 yards to the 35 yard line. RB D’Onta Foreman then had a nice gain to advance it to the 27 yard line. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-4, a false start on LT Dawand Jones pushed it to a 3rd-and-9. A quick slant to Tillman got nine yards and moved the chains. Another 3rd-and-8 was set up then, from the 15 yard line. Winston tried the high out route for TE Jordan Akins, but he couldn’t hang in on the way down from the tackle. Hopkins came on for a 33-yard field goal to give the Browns a 6-3 lead with 3:41 left in the first half.

After a penalty on the kickoff, the Ravens began their drive from the 19 yard line. Cleveland’s defense was looking for another three-and-out as Baltimore faced a 3rd-and-14. The defense pursued Jackson well, and he rolled out and tried to throw back to the middle of the field, with the defense knocking the ball away again. Cleveland returned the punt to the 42 yard line heading into the two-minute warning, and a full slate of timeouts.

The drive didn’t start well as Chubb was hit for no gain on the first play, they drained the clock, and then RG Wyatt Teller had a false start. On 2nd-and-15, Winston threw downfield and the ball deflected off of both Jeudy and Moore for an incomplete pass. Then, on 3rd-and-15, the Ravens brought a blindside blitz and no one felt it, including Winston. He was drilled for a sack and also lost the football, with the Ravens recovering at the 25 yard line.

Just like that, Baltimore was in position to take the lead heading into the half. WR Nelson Agholor began with a 14-yard catch over the middle, setting up 1st-and-10 at the 11 yard line. After draining clock, Jackson hit Agholor for a touchdown to give the Ravens a 10-6 lead with 0:27 left in the second quarter.

3rd Quarter

The Browns got the ball to begin the second half and was putting together another effective drive — but they needed a touchdown. This time, they got it. After a sneak by Winston picked up a first down, Winston found Njoku for a 23-yard touchdown pass to give Cleveland a 13-10 lead.

The defense sacked Jackson with LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to open the next drive, but then Baltimore got to midfield. The defense came up up with a nice stop after that, though, forcing a punt that began the next possession at the 13 yard line. On second down, Winston zipped a sideline pass to Njoku for 11 yards and a first down — however, as they got to the line, the replay assistant buzzed down and called it incomplete, despite the replay showing it as a fine catch. On third down, Winston tried to launch it deep to Tillman, but he couldn’t find the ball, leading to an incomplete pass and a punt.

Baltimore took over with good field position, and on first down, Jackson found WR Zay Flowers wide open for a 25-yard gain. A few plays later, a false start set up a 3rd-and-6, and then Cleveland’s defense wasn’t ready for it. Jackson still faced pressure and got the ball off to TE Isaiah Likely, who made defenders miss for a 25-yard catch-and-run to the 8 yard line. CB Martin Emerson was down after the play, meaning two cornerbacks left the field (Denzel Ward too with a concussion).

Two plays later, Jackson ran a playaction fake and zipped it to TE Mark Andrews against Newsome for a touchdown, as Baltimore re-took the lead 17-13 with 4:42 to go in the third quarter.

Chubb got two carries to begin the next drive and move the chains. Then, after a playaction fake, Jeudy had a big catch-and-run for 30 yards. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-5, the Ravens’ defense wasn’t ready, and Winston capitalized with a quick pass to Tillman, who had a lane and then broke a tackle for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Browns a 20-17 lead and their first game with 20 points this season.

The Browns’ defense looked to be in good shape to start the next drive, but LB Mohamoud Diabate’s second-down stop included a facemask, which pushed the ball up to midfield for Baltimore. Diabate made up for it on the next play, though, as he darted in and sacked Jackson for a big loss of 12 yards. On 2nd-and-22, Henry got the handoff for 11 yards, but Henry’s shoulder collided with JOK, who was down with an apparant head or neck injury, as he was then carted off.

A 12-yard completion to Flowers on third down got the Ravens a first down to the Browns’ 45 yard line heading to the final quarter.

4th Quarter

Baltimore moved the ball into field goal range on the first two plays, setting up another first down. Henry got the next handoff for 7 yards, setting up a 2nd-and-3. A false start by the left tackle made it 2nd-and-7. DT Shelby Harris deflected a pass on second down, and DE Myles Garrett couldn’t find it, otherwise it could’ve been a pick six. On third down, the Ravens couldn’t convert, setting up a 50-yard field goal by Tucker, and he hooked it wide left! Cleveland kept their 20-17 lead with 12:58 to go and taking over at the 40 yard line.

Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t continue their momentum. Chubb was hit for no gain on first down, and then on second down, Winston tried to go deep for Tillman, but it was almost intercepted. After a short third down pass, P Corey Bojorquez came on with a nice punt to pin Baltimore back to the 6 yard line.

Cleveland appeared to almost have a three-and-out, but with Baltimore going up-tempo, they were caught with 12 men on third down, leading to a first down by penalty. A few plays later, though, the Browns sacked Jackson again, leading to a 3rd-and-14. Jackson scrambled and had all day to throw, and he launched it deep for a wide open WR Ronald Bateman. He couldn’t see because of the sun, though, and the ball bounced off his head for an incomplete pass.

Baltimore had to punt, and a decent return meant the Browns would begin at the 38 yard line. The Browns quickly had a 3rd-and-1 situation, and another Winston sneak moved the chains with under eight minutes to go now. Winston then found Moore down the left side for a 16-yard gain, into Baltimore territory. A quick pass to Njoku set up a 3rd-and-2, but they ran it quick with Chubb, who was stuffed for a loss. Hopkins came on for a 48-yard field goal that doinked off the upright, but was still good, to make it a 23-17 game with 4:55 to go.

On the kickoff, the Ravens were flagged for an illegal block in the back, which means they began their drive at the 9 yard line. Jackson ran a playaction pass and was lingering in the end zone, but then broke free up the middle on a scramble, getting out to the 31 yard line. After anothe run by Jackson, he found Flowers up the left sideline for a big gain of 29 yards. A few plays later, a crossing route — similar to what Newsome was beat on a few weeks ago — went for 23 yards, down to the 2 yard line. On the next play, Henry punched it in for a touchdown to give the Ravens a 24-23 lead with 2:36 to go.

Now, it was up to Winston to engineer a game-winning drive. He would begin at the 31 yard line. A quick slant to Tillman, who broke a tackle, picked up 13 yards to get it to the Browns’ 46 yard line at the two-minute warning. Winston completed a first-down pass to Jeudy, and then a quick hitter to Njoku to set up 2nd-and-7 on the edge of field goal range. On third down, Winston threw a perfect pass to Moore on the sidelines with pressure to move the chains.

A false start on Teller then made it 1st-and-15, pushing it back to a 56-yard field goal range. On the next play, Winston overthrew his receiver and it went right to a Raven, who dropped the interception big time. On the next play, Winston found Tillman wide open for a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it a 29-24 game!

After that came the important two-point conversion, which the Browns did not convert. That means the defense had 0:59 left to prevent a touchdown, with the Ravens just having one timeout to work with.

The Ravens got 15 yards and then clocked it with 0:44 left at the 42 yard line. Another pass got the Ravens to the Browns’ 37 yard line, as Baltimore burned their final timeout with 0:35 to go. Baltimore then had it at the 24 yard line with 0:21 left after clocking it again. An incomplete pass made it 3rd-and-10 with 0:14 left. Jackson almost was sacked, then escaped, then lofted it to the end zone, with the pass broken up.

That gave Baltimore one more play with only 0:03 left, needing a touchdown. He escaped again, and threw it up, but no one was there — the Browns win!

Up next, the Browns have one more game at home before the bye week, as they host the Los Angeles Chargers.

Quick Hitters

• QB Jameis Winston: 27-of-41 for 334 yards, 3 TD.
• RB Nick Chubb: 16 carries, 52 yards.
• WR Cedric Tillman: 7 catches, 99 yards, 2 TD.
• WR Jerry Jeudy: 8 catches, 85 yards.
• TE David Njoku: 5 catches, 61 yards, 1 TD.