CLEVELAND — FirstEnergy Stadium was roaring in the fourth quarter, when the Browns staged a heroic comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders to the point where they took a 14-13 lead late.
They then came up with a huge turnover, when Greedy Williams intercepted Derek Carr on a long-ball thrown for wide receiver Zay Jones. But after that, the Browns could not get a first down that could've iced the game and run the clock out. They gave the ball back to the Raiders, and Carr — without timeouts — maneuvered down the field with his receivers and tight end to set up a 48-yard field goal try with three seconds left to go in the ballgame.
Daniel Carlson nailed it, and the Raiders sent the Browns home with a 16-14 loss Monday night.
It was heroic in so many ways for the Browns, especially when you consider who wasn't here, notably their head coach Kevin Stefanski and their top two quarterbacks. Nick Mullens was under center as the No. 3 QB, and actually got them going offensively in the second half.
There were so many others who weren't able to play, as you know. After all, that's why this matchup was on Monday evening rather than on Saturday afternoon.
In the wake of the COVID outbreak in Berea, the Browns' defense came in here and held serve all night long until that offense could it going. It did, with Nick Chubb scoring a touchdown to get the Browns within a score, and then Mullens engineering an 80-yard drive.
On fourth down, he hit Harrison Bryant after scrambling around and getting away from pressure in the pocket. The tight end ended up flashing wide open and caught it, giving the Browns the lead. Unfortunately, they could not hang on to it.
Now it is a slippery slope this late in the season when you lose, as time is running out. The Browns go to 7-7, and if they had won tonight, they would've been in first place in the AFC North with three games to play.
But with a loss, they fall all the way down to last place in the division, with a tough game coming up on Christmas Day at Lambeau Field against the best team (at least right now) in the NFL: the Green Bay Packers. They've already won their division, and are certainly looking for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
So yes, the game on Christmas Day means a lot. For the Browns, the question now becomes, "Who will be back among the players who missed this game because of COVID, and will the head coach be back and able to run the game?"
As for the thousands who came in here during a strange kickoff time of 5 o'clock on a Monday, this crowd almost willed the Browns to an amazing win. Instead, it's a heartbreaking loss.
Listen to Jimmy's top calls from this evening's game in the player below: