CLEVELAND — 7:35 p.m.-Browns fall to Patriots, 27-13, in New England
The Cleveland Browns wanted to start strong in the post-bye week part of the 2019 regular season, but the New England Patriots had something to say about that when the two teams played an inter-division game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts Sunday evening.
The Patriots (8-0) turned a Nick Chubb fumble and quarterback Baker Mayfield interception into a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and rode the momentum of a 17-point start to a 27-13 victory over the Browns (2-5) in front of the home fans, pushing their streak of wins over first and second-year quarterbacks to 21 straight.
Quarterback Tom Brady completed 20 of his 36 attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns against no turnovers, outdueling what Mayfield accomplished. Mayfield completed 20 of his 30 passes for 194 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman turned his eight receptions into 78 yards and two touchdowns, while running back James White helped set up one of those scores with a 59-yard reception. White finished the game with 75 yards on four receptions.
Chubb led the Browns’ offense with 131 yards on 20 carries, a 6.6 yards-per-rush average, but lost fumbles on back-to-back offensive plays.
In addition to the Browns’ three turnovers on three consecutive snaps, they committed 13 penalties for 85 lost yards.
Sunday’s win over the Browns marked the 300th in the legendary career of Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Ironically enough, Belichick’s first win as a head coach came with the Browns against the Patriots at old Foxborough Stadium on September 8, 1991.
7:01 p.m.-Patriots tack on a field goal
After forcing a punt from the Cleveland Browns, the New England Patriots made it a three-score lead, 27-10, when veteran kicker Mike Nugent converted a 29-yard field goal with 7:43 to play in the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Nugent’s kick capped off an 11-play, 62-yard drive that took more than five minutes off of the fourth-quarter clock.
6:24 p.m.-Brady TD pass to Edelman extends New England lead
It did not take the New England Patriots long to respond to the Cleveland Browns’ scoring drive out of the halftime break at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Thanks to a 59-yard pass to running back James White, the Patriots needed just seven plays to cover 84 yards, the final 14 of which came when quarterback Tom Brady found wide receiver Julian Edelman open on a crossing route for the touchdown.
Edelman’s touchdown was his second of the game, and the ensuing extra point gave the Patriots a 24-10 lead over the Browns with 6:11 to play in the third quarter.
On first-and-10 from the Cleveland 14-yard line, Brady took the shotgun snap and waited for Edelman to break free on the right side of the field before slipping a quick pass to the reigning Super Bowl MVP, who after securing the catch, fought his way into the end zone.
Earlier in the drive, the Patriots faced a third-and-10 from their own 16-yard line when Brady flared a screen pass to White. After turning upfield and gaining the first down, White cut back across the field and flipped field position with the big gainer.
6:16 p.m.-Browns cut into Patriots lead
The Cleveland Browns came out of the halftime break and promptly mounted their second scoring possession of the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The Browns travelled 55 yards in 11 plays and took more than six minutes off of the third-quarter clock before stalling at the New England 20-yard line, but rookie kicker Austin Seibert salvaged points on the drive when he converted a 38-yard field goal.
Seibert’s ninth straight field goal this season cut down the Patriots’ lead to 17-10 with 8:37 to play in the third quarter.
5:27 p.m.-Browns get on the board with Baker Mayfield TD pass
After their first five possessions resulted in three turnovers and two punts, the Cleveland Browns finally mounted a scoring drive against the vaunted New England Patriots defense in their inter-division matchup at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
On second-and-nine from the New England 21-yard line, quarterback Baker Mayfield took the shotgun snap, went through his progressions and found tight end Demetrius Harris in the left side of the end zone for the touchdown. Rookie kicker Austin Seibert added the extra point.
With the touchdown, the Browns cut New England’s lead down to 10 points, 17-7, with 7:44 remaining in the first half.
5:05 p.m.-Edelman TD puts Patriots up by 17 points
The third consecutive Cleveland Browns drive to end in a turnover led to another New England Patriots score.
Two plays after quarterback Baker Mayfield was intercepted by defensive lineman Lawrence Guy on an attempted shovel pass to wide receiver Jarvis Landry, Patriots signal-caller Tom Brady found slot receiver Julian Edelman on a crossing route, and after catching the ball just beyond the line of scrimmage, the reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player hustled his way across the goal line for the touchdown.
Edelman’s touchdown and the ensuing extra point gave the Patriots a 17-0 lead over the Browns with 1:47 to play in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
4:47 p.m.-Patriots return fumble for touchdown
The New England Patriots’ defense is known for its ability to generate turnovers, and they did just that on the Cleveland Browns’ second possession of the inter-division game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
On second-and-seven from the Cleveland 23-yard line, quarterback Baker Mayfield handed off to a normally sure-handed running back, Nick Chubb, but New England’s dogged pursuit of the football generated a fumble.
Veteran linebacker Dont’a Hightower scooped the ball up at the Cleveland 26-yard line and with a convoy of blockers in tow, hustled untouched into the end zone for the touchdown.
With the extra point, the Patriots took a 10-0 lead over the Browns with 5:45 to play in the first quarter.
4:43 p.m.-Mike Nugent puts Patriots in front
The New England Patriots offense stalled inside the Cleveland Browns’ five-yard line, but kicker Mike Nugent rescued the drive with a 20-yard field goal.
With Nugent’s kick capping off a 12-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off of the first quarter clock, the Patriots held a 3-0 lead over the Browns with 6:35 to play in the period at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Earlier in the drive, the Patriots faced a fourth-and-seven from the Cleveland 33-yard line, but veteran quarterback Tom Brady stood comfortable in the pocket and threaded a pass into small window for wide receiver Julian Edelman, good enough for a 10-yard gain.
Also, Brady completed a 33-yard pass to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to turn a third-and-six from the New England 31-yard line into a first-and-10 at the Cleveland 36.
To put the Patriots in a goal-to-go situation, second-year running back Sony Michel rushed for a 16-yard gain to move the ball from the Cleveland 23-yard line to the seven.
3:02 p.m.-Ward, Williams to return for Browns
The Cleveland Browns will have half of their starting secondary back on the field when they take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts later this afternoon.
After missing four consecutive games because of hamstring injuries, cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams will make their long-awaited return to the starting lineup.
Both Williams and Ward were full participants in practice throughout the week after sitting out losses to the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, as well as a road win over the AFC North Division-leading Baltimore Ravens.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Ward has registered seven total tackles, four solo stops and three assists, in his second season. Williams, whom the Browns traded up to select in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of LSU, has made five total tackles with four solo stops and one assist in his first two games.
Although the Browns got good news with Williams and Ward, starting safety Damarious Randall will not play today because of a hamstring injury.
Along with Randall, the Browns deactivated wide receivers Taywan Taylor and Damion Ratley, safety Sheldrick Redwine, defensive end Chris Smith, offensive tackle Kendall Lamm and defensive tackle Eli Ankou.
3:00 p.m.-Browns return from bye week to play at Patriots
The Cleveland Browns (2-4) return from their annual bye week break and face one of the Nation Football League’s best teams, the undefeated New England Patriots (7-0), at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts today.
For two weeks, the Browns have heard all about the struggles of the team following their inconsistent start to the 2019 season, especially after surrendering a double-digit lead in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13.
But with one win this week against the Patriots would not only cure a lot of ills, but also, change the narrative into a positive one.
“They're ranked one or two in the league and they move the ball as well as anybody,” defensive end Myles Garrett said. “Their defense is playing with their hair on fire. So if we're able to move the ball on them and stop them from moving the ball, it proves that we are for real and that we can put this thing together.”
Quarterback Baker Mayfield added, “It could be huge for us. Coming off the bye week and the momentum it could have for us going forward for the rest of the season and this long stretch we have, it could be huge for us.”