CLEVELAND — Hello from frantic FirstEnergy Stadium, and yes, I mean frantic.
What a battle it turned out to be between the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens, with the Browns seemingly ready to coast in this game with a big halftime lead. Instead, they hang on in the dying seconds to win over Baltimore by a score of 24-22.
The Ravens recovered an onside kick to get a last possession at their own 41 when the Browns had the ball glance off the right arm of fullback Andy Janovich. But on offense, Baltimore had a big play go against them when Jadeveon Clowney sacked Tyler Huntley, then on fourth-and-6 a pass to Rashod Bateman ended with a tackle by Denzel Ward short of the first down.
The Browns were able to get into victory formation, and keep their division as well as their wild-card chances alive, as they go to 7-6 on the season.
It really was a tale of two halves. In the first, the Browns' offense started to get on a roll, beginning with a touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry (his first of the year) followed by another to Austin Hooper.
Then, a huge play defensively: A huge strip-sack and scoop and score — all ion the same sentence — by the great Myles Garrett, and the Browns had the big 24-6 lead going to the locker room at halftime.
They also knew that the Ravens would be without their all-everything quarterback Lamar Jackson, who went out early in the game with an ankle injury and did not return. Though his backup Tyler Huntley looked a little off-beat when he came into the game in the first half, he was tremendous in the second, slippery in the pocket with some zig-zagging runs for big yardage runs along with some pretty good throws.
He had the Ravens going once again. Remember, Baltimore has been a team that has rallied late all year long and won games like this, but not today.
Offensively, in the second half, the Browns really did very little. They couldn't get first downs and couldn't stay on the field, and that was a problem as they tried to squeeze the clock down with the lead. That lead kept withering and withering down to a dangerously close two points, and if Baltimore had gotten into field-goal range, they have the best kicker in the world in Justin Tucker. He had three long field goals in this one.
Once again, it was not a complete game for the Browns, but a big one. Their defense carried them through, and when they needed big plays, they made big plays all afternoon long.
So here we go another week, but it's great to still be in it. The Browns will be back here Saturday afternoon to host the Raiders, who got walloped this afternoon to the tune of 48-9.
The parameters will be the same: It will be a must-win situation at FirstEnergy Stadium, and we hope to see them come out with a big crowd to give us another playoff atmosphere and, hopefully, more of a complete performance. That's what it will take, because all of a sudden you're getting down to an important time where the plays are magnified in importance.
The Ravens drop to 8-5, and the Browns head to a Victory Monday, as you do, too.
Listen to Jimmy's top calls from today's game in the player below: