CLEVELAND — Folks, maybe it's time for us to have a little more optimism.
For even on this Sunday, when they looked to be dead in the waters of Lake Erie, the Browns snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and took an even firmer grip of their playoff hopes.
Despite a slew of penalties, defensive lapses, and three interceptions by Joe Flacco in his third start with the team, Cleveland overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Chicago Bears 20-17. Dustin Hopkins' 34-yard field goal with only 32 seconds left gave the club its only lead of the day, and followed some heroic catches from Amari Cooper and David Njoku.
The Bears did have one last last chance at the end, but Justin Field's Hail Mary pass went in and out of the hands of Darnell Mooney before being intercepted by D'Anthony Bell. The Browns' record improves to 9-5 with the win, clinching just their fourth winning season since returning to the NFL in 1999.
Flacco finished the afternoon with 374 passing yards, but the 38-year-old's three picks led directly to 14 Chicago points, including a 45-yard interception return by Tremaine Edmunds that resulted in a score. He also appeared to literally throw away Cleveland's remaining hopes late in the third, when down 17-7 but in the red zone he was intercepted throwing short to a wide-open Njoku.
But the Browns' defense, which had appeared gassed at times on the day, finally found its footing when Cam Mitchell tripped up Justin Fields on a fourth-down run. A field goal by Hopkins followed, and after three consecutive punts, Flacco had a chance to redeem himself.
On his own 49 with just over three minutes to play, Flacco threw the ball into a tight window and hit Cooper as he sprinted towards the sideline. What initially looked like an impressive first-down play soon turned into much more, as Cooper broke a tackle and tiptoed down the sideline to tie it up.
A quick three-and-out by the defense gave Cleveland possession back at their own 21, and Flacco went right to work with a 31-yard Njoku catch-and-run. The big play, though, came on third-and-15 from the Browns 47, as Flacco again hit Njoku in stride and the tight end spun his way to a 34-yard gain that set up Hopkins' winning kick.
With no timeouts, Chicago shockingly drove into Cleveland territory as Tyler Scott took a pass 30 yards off a whiffed tackle. However, the Bears could not get into field-goal range, and Fields' last-ditch throw put the scare of a life into the Browns Stadium crowd before Bell sealed the deal.
Cooper would finish the contest with four catches for 109 yards and his touchdown, while Njoku caught 10 passes of his own for 104 yards. The 27-year-old also got the Browns on the board in the first quarter with an incredible leaping catch for a two-yard TD.
The Browns certainly needed big performances from their receivers, as the running game managed a meager 29 yards. Flacco was also sacked four times (including 2 1/2 times by Montez Sweat) as the O-line had to get by not just without Bitonio, but without Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills Jr., Dawand Jones, and Ethan Pocic, as well.
Fortunately, Cleveland's defense also came up big, allowing just 196 total yards from Fields and sacking him three times. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was the star of the show, tallying seven tackles (two for a loss), a sack, and an interception on a Hail Mary attempt as time expired on the first half. That throw proved costly for Chicago, as head coach Matt Eberflus bypassed a potential 55-yard field goal try by Cairo Santos that could've ended up forcing overtime.
When it's all said and done, the Browns still have the best record among AFC wild-card contenders, and also remain alive in the race for the AFC North crown. Up next is a pivotal road matchup with another postseason hopeful, as they'll head down to Texas on Christmas Eve to face the 8-6 Houston Texans.