CLEVELAND — Even when they dominated the stat sheet, the Browns couldn't make it easy Sunday on the lakefront.
Still, when you earn your eighth win of the season (against a fellow playoff contender, no less), you're not going to do much complaining.
Cleveland was able to overcome all obstacles this weekend in a 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kevin Stefanski's squad not only snapped a two-game losing streak, but improved its record to 8-5, currently the best among AFC wild card hopefuls.
As many of us expected, it was Joe Flacco starting at quarterback for the Browns, and the veteran more than delivered with 311 yards and three touchdowns. Cleveland becomes just the seventh team in NFL history to have four different starting QBs win a game in a single year, as Flacco joins Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Despite getting out-gained by nearly 100 yards, Jacksonville (8-5) was able to hang around thanks to three takeaways. A TD pass from Trevor Lawrence to Evan Engram cut the deficit to four with 1:33 left, but the Browns recovered the onside kick as Flacco knelt on the ball to seal the victory.
Early on, it looked as if Cleveland was going to roll, as the opening drive ended with a 34-yard scoring throw from Flacco to David Njoku. The tight end would hit paydirt again in the second quarter from 30 yards out, finishing the game with six catches on eight targets for 91 yards.
But the Browns' own mistakes turned a potential blowout into a tight battle, starting with a Flacco interception at the Jacksonville 31-yard line. Cleveland forced a punt, only to get the ball back and have the normally reliable Amari Cooper fumble it away, setting up the first of Engram's two touchdown grabs to make it 14-7 at halftime.
Still, the Browns' defense was able to force four takeaways of their own, including a Parker Washington fumble on the opening series of the second half that set up a Kareem Hunt TD run. Jags QB Trevor Lawrence — starting despite suffering an ankle injury last week — was also picked off three times, including twice by Martin Emerson Jr.
After Jacksonville cut the deficit to 21-14 (set up by a Flacco fumble), the big blow came early in the final quarter, when on fourth-and-3 from the opposing 41 Flacco hit David Bell in stride only to see the second-year receiver break away for his first career touchdown.
The Jaguars were able to score again and force a Cleveland punt, but turned the ball over on downs as Ronnie Hickman deflected the ball away. Dustin Hopkins then came through in the clutch again with a 55-yard field goal, giving the Browns breathing room and essentially making Jacksonville's final scoring drive moot.
Though he threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, Lawrence's passer rating fell to 65.2 thanks to the three picks, which occurred despite Cleveland being without Pro Bowl corner Denzel Ward for a third straight game. Up front, Jim Schwartz's unit held the Jags to a mere 57 yards rushing and tallied four sacks, including one by safety Grant Delpit just hours after reports of him signing an extension with the team.
Though 8-5 overall, the Browns are now 6-1 at home this season, out-scoring opponents 144-88 across those contests. As far as personal milestones go, Flacco not only earned his 100th career regular-season win, but also became the first Cleveland QB with three 30-yard touchdowns in a game since Brian Sipe's MVP season in 1980. His all-time record in Cleveland Browns Stadium is now 10-2, although the first nine of those victories came with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.
Back to the present, the Browns will look to ride this momentum into Week 15 against the Chicago Bears, who are just 5-8 but have won three of four and are coming off a 28-13 triumph over the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions on Sunday.