CLEVELAND — When Jim Donovan became the "Voice of the Browns" in 1999, he did so for a club technically making its NFL debut as an expansion team, a necessity born from the original franchise being swiped from Cleveland by Art Modell.
Thus began this city's long and enduring hatred for the Baltimore Ravens, a rivalry that has been very one-sided for the past 25 years. But on Sunday, an emotional day at Huntington Bank Field, perhaps the Dawg Pound got a little help from above to vanquish the "Ratbirds."
In their first game following Jimmy's death at the age of 68, the Browns pulled off one of the NFL's biggest upsets of the season by beating the first-place Ravens 29-24. James Winston tossed three touchdown passes — including the game-winner with less that a minute to go — and the defense stopped Lamar Jackson one last time to help Cleveland get its first win since Week 2 of the season.
Divine intervention? It might depend on your belief system. However, you'd be hard pressed to find a Browns fan who didn't feel Jimmy's presence in that stadium today.
"I had a lot of reasons for wanting to win this game, but one of them was so I can give that game ball to Cheryl Donovan and Meghan Donovan," head coach Kevin Stefanski said of Jimmy's wife and daughter. "Jim was so important to this organization. He was a friend of mind, I'm going to miss him, but his enthusiasm, his spirit will never be lost on me, it won't be lost on this football team."
Cleveland entered the afternoon not only as 7 1/2-point underdogs, but also following a week of turmoil that saw quarterback Deshaun Watson lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles, players lash out at fans who booed and cheered as Watson was carted off the field with his injury last Sunday, and Stefanski give up play-calling duties in favor of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. It wasn't exactly a recipe for success, especially against a club in Baltimore viewed by most as a Super Bowl contender.
Yet in a season where it seems like everything has gone wrong for the Browns, there was a decided flip-flop on this day. Again, divine intervention? We'll let you be the judge.
After Dustin Hopkins' 48-yard field goal somehow went through after clanking off the right upright, Cleveland led 23-17 with 4:55 to play. But Baltimore would not go quietly, and Lamar Jackson led one of his patented scoring drives that ended with a 2-yard TD run by Derrick Henry.
Trailing 24-23 with 2:36 to go, the Browns' hopes rested in Winston, named the starter after Watson went down. The veteran led the offense into Ravens territory before overthrowing a ball to Elijah Moore, seemingly into the waiting hands of All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton.
Hamilton dropped it, a gift to the Browns few would've thought possible. On the next play, Winston found a wide-open Cedric Tillman for a 38-yard touchdown.
Besides his three TDs, Winston finished the afternoon with 334 yards, higher that any single-game number Watson has put up in his Cleveland career. Tillman had seven catches for 99 yards and two scores, while David Njoku caught five passes for 61 yards and hit paydirt with an incredible grab early in the second half.
Yet even with a five-point advantage following a missed 2-point conversion, the Browns' highly touted defense would have to stop the Ravens one more time. Though Jackson was able to get his team to the Cleveland 24 in just 38 seconds, the front seven was able to pressure him on the ensuring two snaps, forcing two shots at the end zone that both landed incomplete.
Though Jackson finished with 335 total yards and a pair of touchdown passes, he was sacked three times and hampered by a number of inexplicable drops from his receivers. Legendary kicker Justin Tucker also hooked a 50-yard field goal try.
Potentially some assists from the "Voice of the Browns?"
"Sure, absolutely," Stefanski admitted. "I think Jim would appreciate that."
Prior to kickoff, the team played a special video montage of Donovan's calls up on the scoreboard before holding a 10-second moment of silence. Several players could be seen applauding during the tribute, including Myles Garrett.
"He's been calling plays since my first sack to some of the very last ones," Myles Garrett said. "It's definitely a hard loss, and we all felt it, and we appreciate everything that he's brought to being a Brown and being a part of this organization, because there's no one like him."
Now 2-6, the Browns haven't quite rescued their season yet, but this is a good start. They'll host Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday on the lakefront.