CLEVELAND — Saturday proved to be a Winter Wonderland along the shores of Lake Erie.
With the snowflakes falling, the Browns grabbed a hard-fought win over the rival Ravens. Deshaun Watson had his best game since arriving in Cleveland while making his debut in front of the home fans, and the defense held firm against a Baltimore club that was without former MVP Lamar Jackson.
Though lacking any real big plays, Watson finished the evening 18-of-28 for 161 yards and a touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones, good enough for a passer rating of 91.5. Nick Chubb also ran for a tough 99 yards on 21 carries, making him just the fourth man in Browns history to rush for more than 6,000 yards in his career.
Cade York made two field goals in the first half, while Baltimore's Justin Tucker missed a 48-yard attempt to keep Cleveland (6-8) ahead 6-3 at intermission. Tucker also had a 50-yarder blocked in the third quarter, capping a rare poor performance for one of the NFL's venerable kickers.
Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley struggled to find a rhythm, completing only 17-of-30 passes for 138 yards and a crucial red-zone interception out of the half that eventually let to the game's only TD. Demarcus Robinson also fumbled twice and lost one, although the Browns did struggle to stop the run and were out-gained 324-283 overall.
York missed two second-half kicks to keep the Baltimore (9-5) around, but on his final possession, Huntley took a pair of sacks, with Myles Garrett accounting for 1 1/2 of them. A fourth-and-13 pass then landed incomplete, and Chubb picked up a first down to put the game on ice.
The Browns slim playoff hopes remain alive, although they will need a lot of help to reach the postseason. This also marks just the second time since 1999 that they have beaten the Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cincinnati Bengals at least once in the same season (Baltimore won 23-20 back in Week 7).
Cleveland will host the New Orleans Saints a week from Saturday on Christmas Eve afternoon.
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