CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns looked like a different football team Sunday.
Jameis Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns, including his second of the afternoon to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds remaining, to lead the Browns to a 29-24 win over Ravens Sunday afternoon at Huntington Bank Field.
Here’s a a healthy helping of Brownie Bites from Week 8.
Win for Jim – The Browns paid tribute to former play-by-play radio broadcaster and WKYC-TV 3 sports director Jim Donovan prior to kickoff with a tribute video and moment of silence. Donovan passed away following a lengthy battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. “A lot of my memories are hearing him making the calls and about going to the playoffs – you hear Chubb, Chubba Wubba, all those plays go back to his voice,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I’ve only been here 11 years, so I know a lot of people had him for 25, but it was very cool that we could get that win for him... He is truly a part of this family and it was awesome to get the win for him.” The team also set up a nice memorial in the press box honoring Donovan, who was on the player's mind all day. “As long as I’ve been around, he’s been the voice of the Browns,” Defensive end Myles Garrett said. “He’s been calling plays since my first sack to some of the very last ones. So it’s definitely a hard loss and we all felt it and we appreciate everything that he’s brought to being a Brown and being part of this organization because there was no one like him.” Head coach Kevin Stefanski and other members of the organization planned to deliver Sunday's game ball to Donovan's family Sunday evening. “I had a lot of reasons for wanting to win this game, but one of them was so I can give that game ball to Cheryl Donovan and Meghan Donovan,” Stefanski said. “Jim was so important to this organization. He was a friend of mine. I’m going to miss him. But his enthusiasm, his spirit will never be lost on many and won’t be lost in this football team. But these guys fought like crazy. So, I’m proud to say that I can go give them a game ball.”
Help from above – It’s hard not to believe Jim Donovan gave the Browns a helping hand from above Sunday. “I think Jim would appreciate that,” Stefanski said. “Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed a 50-yard field goal, and he never misses. Dustin Hopkins banked in a 48-yard field goal that would normally bounce out that gave the Browns a 23-17 lead. The Ravens missed out on a couple of opportunities to pick off Winston, including safety Kyle Hamilton bobbling then dropping the pick that could’ve sealed the win and allowed Winston to throw the game-winning touchdown to Tillman on the very next play. “I started praying instantly. It was only by the grace of God,” Winston said. “And I think when situations like that happen, you always sit back and you’re like, ‘Man, I still got the stuff to work on,’ right? Because it could have been a matter of whatever. Who knows how we would feel right now if that would have happened. But I’m so grateful that that was an ‘if’. And ‘ifs’, and ‘shoulds’, and ‘would’ve, could’ves’ don’t mean nothing in this game.” And then the Browns defense hung on in the closing seconds to deny Lamar Jackson and the Ravens a sixth straight win. “We just knew the game was on us,” safety Grant Delpit said. “They had to drive that long field and score, so we knew that we wouldn’t want it any other way, it’s on us. I was supposed to end the game with a pick, I dropped it, I don’t know what was wrong with my hands today. That’s probably my first drop of my career so that’s not going to happen again, I promise.”
What a difference a QB makes – Winston helped the Browns check off a trio of season highs Sunday: scoring (29 points), passing yards (321) and total yards (401). The Browns can say what they want, but it is undeniable – the problem all along has been the quarterback. “I don’t really get wrapped up in it, honestly,” Stefanski said. “I want to make sure that we’re doing everything in our power to score points on offense to help this football team. That’s a great team win there. I think all three phases did their job. Again, did all three phases play perfect? Nope, we didn’t. But we fought like crazy.” The last seven regular season games started by someone not named Deshaun Watson has seen 300-yard passing games in five of them, and that includes last season’s throwaway, play the backups game against the Bengals. Nobody wants to say it, but the writing is on the wall as plain as day – the ruptured Achilles shouldn’t end Deshaun Watson’s career in Cleveland. Winston’s performance Sunday should.
Seesaw third – Tight end David Njoku regained the lead for the Browns on their opening possession of the second half by hauling in a 23-yard touchdown from Winston over Ravens safety Eddie Jackson to give Cleveland a 13-10 lead. The grab capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive. Jackson countered by finding tight end Mark Andrews for a 7-yard touchdown that put Baltimore on top 17-13 with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter to cap a six-play, 62-yard drive. Cedric Tillman’s 22-yard touchdown catch with 2:01 left in the third quarter put the Browns back in front, 20-17.
Henry the 11th – Ravens running back Derrick henry scored his 11th touchdown of the season – a two-yard run with 2:36 to play in the fourth quarter to put Baltimore in front 24-23. Henry has scored in every game this season.
Turnover to points – Baltimore took a 10-6 lead into halftime thanks to a strip sack of Winston by Kyle Hamilton off a safety blitz from the left side that was recovered by linebacker Trenton Simpson at the 25. Jackson found Nelson Agholor on the second play of the possession for an 11-yard TD
Counter trey – The Ravens wasted little time waltzing down the field on their opening drive but ran into a brick wall of brown and orange on fourth-and-1 from the seven. Henry took the direct snap and was dropped by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Maurice Hurst at the 10. Cleveland went 14 plays and 81 yards to set up Hopkins’ 28-yard field goal with less than a minute to play in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead.
Climbing the ladder – With 52 rushing yards on 16 carries, Nick Chubb passed Mike Pruitt for the third-most rushing yards in Browns history.
I’ll be back – Myles Garrett continued his annual tradition of wearing a Halloween costume into the stadium. Sunday Garrett, who finished with a tackle and QB hit, dressed as The Terminator. “Walking into the game as myself or as a Terminator, I come in to back up everything I say and do,” Garrett said. “So there’s no difference. Me and Arnie (Arnold Schwarzenegger) are one of the same.”
Another combo – Wyatt Teller returned at right guard while Dawand Jones played left tackle to mark the sixth consecutive week the Browns fielded a shuffled offensive line. Winston was sacked just twice and the line looked cohesive for the first time this season.
Inactives – QB Bailey Zappe (3QB), S Ronnie Hickman, RB Jerome Ford, LB Jordan Hicks, T Jedrick Wills Jr., DT Quinton Jefferson
Injury report – Defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (knee), cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion), and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (neck) suffered injuries Sunday.