CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Dustin Hopkins went from goat to hero in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Browns stole one from the Baltimore Ravens Sunday, 33-31.
The Browns improved to 6-3 for the third time since 1999, matching their best starts to a season in 2014 and 2020.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites as the Browns keep their AFC North hopes alive and set up a showdown with the Steelers next weekend in Cleveland.
There is one word to describe this Browns team: resilient. The season could’ve jumped the tracks weeks ago when Deshaun Watson suffered a right rotator cuff injury, but they hung tight and were 4-3 when Watson returned. Sunday’s game could’ve gone down the drain after the first quarter when they fell behind 14-0 in the first and also trailed 17-3 in the second, 24-9 in the third, and 31-17 in the fourth, but they fought back to score the final 17 to win a game they used to always lose.
For the Browns are just lucky crowd, you have to be lucky sometimes to be great, but Sunday’s win had nothing to do with luck. It was hard-nosed, big boy football at its best and the Browns have some big boys that can play football at an elite level. Cleveland has wins over the Bengals, 49ers and now Ravens on the resume.
Based off 1 p.m. results, if the playoffs began now, the Browns would still be the sixth seed in the AFC at 6-3. Pittsburgh the fifth at 6-3 after beating Green Bay and Baltimore remains No. 2 behind top seed Kansas City. Houston bumped the Bengals to the bubble with their last-second win in Cincinnati and the 5-4 Texans are suddenly in at No. 7.
Watson, who left M&T Bank Stadium with a walking boot on his left foot, recovered from a forgettable first half that saw him complete just six of 20 passes for 79 yards. On the second play of the game, Watson had his pass batted in the air and picked off by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton and returned 18 yards for a pick-6 and a quick 7-0 Baltimore lead just 40 seconds into the game. Even had Hamilton not deflected the pass, the Ravens appeared poised to jump the route in from of David Njoku. Watson was sensational in the second half completing all 14 of his pass attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown. He ran three times for 18 yards and ran in a two-point try. Resiliency. Wins like this are exactly why the Browns forked over six picks and $230 million for him.
Greg Newsome II picked the perfect time for his first career interception, and pick-6 in the fourth quarter. Newsome grabbed the football, which was batted by Ogbo Okoronkwo, out of the air and ran it in from 34 yards out that should have tied the game at 31 with 8:16 to play.
To Hopkins, who had already hit field goals from 36 to cut the Ravens lead to 14-3, 28 and 23 to make it 17-6 and then 17-9, pushed the PAT after Newsome’s score wide left to keep Baltimore in front 31-30. Myles Garrett was among several players to greet Hopkins on the sideline to pick him up with words of encouragement. With three seconds on the clock and a chance to win it from 40, Hopkins drilled it perfectly for his 12th career game winning field goal. Resiliency.
Tight end David Njoku and running backs Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt would not be denied in the second half. Hunt plowed in for his sixth touchdown of the season in the third quarter to give him a score in a fifth consecutive game to cut into the Ravens lead at 24-17 with 2:20 left in the third quarter. Njoku ran through and carried defenders after catches all afternoon to finish with six catches for a hard-earned 58 yards. Ford has 107 yards on 17 carries, including a key run on the final field goal drive.
The drive that seemed to change the tone of the game came in the third quarter that saw the Browns chew up 10:08 off the clock while marching 75 yards in 17 plays capped by Hunt’s touchdown to pull the Browns within 7.
Give right guard Wyatt Teller some love. Teller delivered at least a half dozen hellacious pancake blocks and his recovery of a strip sack as Watson got hit from behind from Ravens edge rusher Odafe Oweh on the final possession saved the day for the Browns wit 3:02 remaining.
Cleveland quickly went 3-and-out and punted on their second possession. It took five plays for the Ravens to go 79 yards for a 14-0 lead on rookie running back Keaton Mitchell’s 39-yard TD run, virtually untouched. Mitchell didn’t do much after that as he finished with 34 yards on three carries. The 17 first quarter points were the most scored by Baltimore in the opening quarter since September 2019 spanning 75 games. The Browns have now allowed 69 points in the opening quarter this season.
The Browns defense began to turn the tide late in the second quarter. Defensive ends Za'Darius Smith and Newsome combined for a third down sack before Jordan Elliott blocked Justin Tucker's 55-yard field goal try. Anthony Walker picked it up and returned 27 yards to the Baltimore 38 for the Browns.
Receiver/returner James Proche muffed a punt early in the fourth quarter that saw Devin Duvernay recover it for Baltimore at the 12. Newsome and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were called for defensive holding, which set up Gus Edwards’ 1-yard touchdown run for the final Ravens score of the day with 11:34 remaining.
Myles Garrett blew up a Ravens drive with a sack and a half on back-to-back plays giving him 11.0 on the season. Garrett joined Reggie White, John Randle, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor as the only players to record six consecutive seasons with at least 10 sacks.
Former Browns Jadeveon Clowney got a sack on third down to force a punt in the second quarter and Odell Beckham Jr. caught a 40-yard touchdown on a slant that saw him run by the Browns secondary to make it 24-9 in the third quarter.
Injury report – Cornerback Denzel Ward, amid another Pro Bowl caliber season, was evaluated for a concussion in the first quarter and did not return due to a neck injury. Safety Juan Thornhill suffered a calf injury and was ruled out.