Baltimore, Maryland (92.3 the Fan) – If it felt like the season might be on the line Sunday afternoon in Baltimore, you can relax now.
Nick Chubb ran for 165 yards and carried the Browns to a 40-25 win over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium to improve to 2-2 and move atop the AFC North for the first time since Nov. 28, 2014.
It was also the Browns’ first victory in the land of crab cakes since a thrilling 33-30 overtime win in 2015 that saw Josh McCown set the franchise record for passing in a game.
Sunday, it was Chubb who was sensational.
“Obviously he’s an unbelievable player,” quarterback Baker Mayfield, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 342 yards, said. “I think the o-line played great, but then you see some of the plays like, I don’t know which touchdown of his it was, the one where he made a bunch of people miss. You just open up a hole for him, he’s going to make a play.”
Jarvis Landry, who suffered a concussion, was equally sensational. He caught eight passes for a career-high 167 yards, including a 65-yard catch and run. It was the most yardage by a Browns receiver in a game since 2013.
Mayfield capped an impressive 13-play, 84-yard drive that included a first-and-25 and a trio of conversions on third down and ate up 8:31 off the clock with a nine-yard touchdown to tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, who was left wide open in the flat, for a 7-0 advantage late in the first quarter.
“He made some good throws,” head coach Freddie Kitchens said of his quarterback. “I thought he was in rhythm more today. I thought he trusted those guys up front. I thought he played well.”
Seals-Jones was left open again early in the third quarter and he turned it into a 59-yard catch-and-run that set up the Browns’ second touchdown of the afternoon.
Chubb finally got a red zone carry and he made four Ravens whiff as he made his way into the end zone for a 17-10 Browns lead with 9:41 to play in the third.
“I was just rolling,” Chubb said. “I made a play. I broke a couple tackles, but it starts with the O-line. They have to give me some kind of opening, which they've been doing a great job of. I've just got to finish the run and get in the end zone.”
Chubb was just warming up.
Chubb scored for two yards out with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The run was set up when Landry took a shovel pass from Mayfield, faked an option to Odell Beckham Jr. before taking it 29 yards down to the two.
After the Ravens pulled within 6, Chubb broke off an 88-yard touchdown run – untouched – as he blew by the entire Raves defense, leaving them in his dust. Kitchens went for two and it failed but the Browns had breathing room at 30-18.
“It was pretty wide open,” Chubb said. “I think our O-line did a great job opening it up for me. Great toss by Baker. The tight ends blocked it well. Anybody could have run through it. It was a pretty big hole.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh remained aggressive by going for it on the ensuing possession – a fourth-and-three from their own 31. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had a miscommunication with tight end Mark Andrews, who was less than pleased on the Baltimore sideline after the play.
Jackson completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in the loss, Baltimore’s second straight. He ran nine times for 66 yards.
Austin Seibert kicked a 43-yard field goal after a quick three-and-out that followed the stop to extend the lead to 33-18.
Mayfield threw his sixth interception of the season two plays after Kitchens dipped into his bag of tricks that saw Odell Beckham Jr.’s deep ball to Damion Ratley fell incomplete following a double reverse in the second quarter.
The Ravens took advantage, marching seven plays and 58 yards that included a 29-yard run by Jackson to tie the game at 7 on Jackson’s nine-yard TD toss to receiver Miles Boykin to even it at 7 with just under two minutes to play in the half.
Cleveland missed a golden opportunity at the end of the half despite converting a fourth-and-1 in the red zone, instead settling for a 24-yard field goal from Seibert and a 10-7 halftime advantage.
Baltimore climbed within 24-18 on Jackson’s eight-yard touchdown throw to a wide-open Mark Andrews in the back of the end zone. Myles Garrett jumped offsides to move the two-point try to the 1 and Mark Ingram ran it in to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive.
Safety Jermaine Whitehead and defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence sealed the victory by creating turnovers on back-to-back Ravens possessions. Whitehead caught a Jackson desperation heave to the end zone for an interception with just under 6 minutes remaining and Lawrence plucked a Jackson loose ball out of the air for an interception with 5:27 left.
“It was great to be able to create turnovers because I challenged myself this week,” Whitehead said. “Felt like I left some plays out there last week, left some plays out there today that I've got to correct, but challenged myself to be a football player and not worry about what y'all got to say and continue to do my job.”
Dontrell Hilliard iced the cake with a one-yard run at the 2:14 mark to make it 40-18.
With less than two minutes left, receiver Willie Snead caught a quick pass from Jackson and ran 50 yards for the Ravens to provide the final score.
