BALTIMORE — The shouts were again loud enough to escape the walls of the visitors locker room at M&T Bank Stadium.
They were screams of joy, followed by blaring music. Last season, they were yells of frustration.
So much has changed in a year for the Browns.
So much changed within the course of three-plus hours Sunday afternoon.
The Browns were down all day but were never out. After trailing from the second snap, they completed the comeback from a pair of 14-point deficits with a 40-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal as time expired.
Browns 33, Ravens 31.
“We never had a doubt that we was going to win that game at all,” defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo said.
Deshaun Watson shakes off terrible start, ankle injury to lead comeback win with perfect second half
Hopkins had missed an extra point wide left after Greg Newsome II’s interception return for a touchdown to leave the Browns down 31-30 with 8:16 left.
“I feel a bit like an arsonist that put out his own fire and then gets a pat on the back,” Hopkins said.
Commentary: Browns play their worst game and best game in the same game … and get signature win
The Browns improved to 6-3, matching 2014 and 2020 for the best starts since 1999. They’re in the thick of the AFC North race, snapping the winning streak of the Ravens (7-3) at four games.
The Browns trailed 17-9 at halftime, and quarterback Deshaun Watson remained in the locker room longer than usual to have his injured left ankle retaped after it was hurt in the second quarter. Watson was a different player when he jogged onto the field.
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After going 6-for-20 with an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the first half, he was 14-for-14 for 134 yards in the second half as the Browns got two touchdowns and the winning field goal on their three possessions. Watson finished 20-for-34 for 213 yards, a touchdown, an interception and a 74.8 passer rating.
“He’s a warrior,” coach Kevin Stefanski said.
Watson exited the stadium with his left foot in a walking boot but said he always knew he’d finish the game and guaranteed he’d be ready for next Sunday when the Steelers visit Cleveland Browns Stadium.
#Browns Deshaun Watson on huge second half for him and team. pic.twitter.com/eNOMx69rMB
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“It’s about us,” he said. “It’s not one individual. It’s not the quarterback, it’s not the safety. It’s about us.”
The Browns got the ball with 4:55 left down 31-30 and went 58 yards in 12 plays to use all the time on the clock.
Watson was 3-for-3 for 30 yards on the drive and scrambled for 16 yards to the Baltimore 39. Right guard Wyatt Teller jumped on a Watson fumble from a sack and said there was no way he was going to let the Ravens recover. Jerome Ford carried three times for 21 yards, including a 12-yarder when the offense kept pushing him for crucial yards to make the kick easier.
“That was my favorite play of the game, honestly,” Stefanski said. “We talked about this one, you’re going to have to play hard, you’re going to have to play for 60 minutes. To see all 11 in the frame, pushing their buddy, pushing their brother, that’s what this team is about. They’re about that fight, and that was on display right there.”
The Browns won with resilience, determination, big plays and contributions from across the roster.
Notes: Greg Newsome II gets TD to go with first INT
The stars made an impact. Defensive end Myles Garrett had 1.5 sacks to give him 11 for the year. Receiver Amari Cooper caught six passes for 98 yards. Ford rushed for a career-high 107 yards on 17 carries for a 6.3 average. Tight end David Njoku rebounded from a bad drop in the red zone for six catches and 58 hard-earned yards.
With starters Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee) and Dawand Jones (knee/shoulder) out, Geron Christian made his Browns debut as the starting left tackle and James Hudson III filled in at right tackle. Watson was sacked four times, but the protection was good enough, and the Browns rushed 36 times for 178 yards and a 4.9 average.
When cornerback Denzel Ward left the game in the first quarter with a neck injury sustained on a questionable hit by Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley, Mike Ford Jr. came off the bench and played extensively. He got his first career interception at the end of the first half after delivering a big hit to quarterback Lamar Jackson at the end of a run the previous play.
Jackson was 13-for-23 for 223 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions, three sacks and a 67.8 passer rating. He rushed eight times for 41 yards.
Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott blocked a 55-yard field goal try by future Hall of Famer Justin Tucker, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. recovered and returned it 27 yards to set up one of three first-half field goals by Hopkins. The touchdowns came in the second half.
Kareem Hunt scored for an NFL-best fifth straight game, capping a marathon drive with a 3-yard run. The Browns covered 75 yards in 17 plays and took 10:09 off the clock, calming things and wearing down the Ravens defense after former Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. opened the second half with a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a slant.
The Ravens made it 31-17 early in the fourth quarter after James Proche II muffed a punt and they recovered on the 12-yard line. Two third-down holding penalties extended the drive. An illegal contact penalty extended a field goal drive in the first half.
“I had to have a conversation with the ref,” safety Grant Delpit said. “He said it was blatant, and you got to respect that decision, but we got to be cleaner.”
The Browns weren’t going away. Watson finished a six-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Elijah Moore. It was Moore’s first touchdown since being traded to the Browns in March. Then came Newsome’s 32-yard interception return for a touchdown down the left sideline. Jackson’s throw deflected off Okoronkwo’s helmet, hung in the air and Newsome grabbed it. The Browns have benefited from two of the three helmet deflections the last three weeks.
“This one’s even sweeter just because it was two great defenses and we were looking forward to just playing harder for longer,” Garrett said. “That was the motto for the week.”
#Browns Myles Garrett said in matchup of great defenses, goal was to play harder for longer. pic.twitter.com/lA5ySovWZ8
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The Browns entered as the No. 1 defense in yards allowed (234.8 per game) and the Ravens were tops in points allowed (13.8). The Ravens finished with 306 yards, and 14 of their points were off turnovers.
“This defense just keeps getting better every week and we feel like the sky’s the limit,” Okoronkwo said. “It was a battle of the defenses today and our defense won us the game.”
The Browns improved to 6-19 in Baltimore and 7-25 vs. coach John Harbaugh. They avenged a 28-3 loss Oct. 1 in Cleveland when Watson didn’t play. Before that game Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said they were going to beat the Browns in front of their wives and children.
“That’s something we kind of held on to personally,” Elliott said. “Did us dirty. The energy in here was crazy after the game, unmatched, because it was something that we did hold onto a little bit.”
The Browns have eight games left and Stefanski wants the focus on one at a time. No one denied this was a big one.
“Things like that define you,” Garrett said. “They help set the tone for a season and a team, knowing that there’s no game that we’re out of it.”
The Ravens are the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to lose after leading within the first minute and not trailing until the final minute of regulation, per Elias Sports Bureau.
“When teams have gotten behind here at this place, it’s hard to fight back, but I know the type of team we have,” Stefanski said. “We knew they were going to fight back.”
The Steelers are 6-3 and tied with the Browns in second place in the North. The Browns lost 26-22 in Pittsburgh in Week 2.
“We can’t wait to see the Steelers at home,” Okoronkwo said. “I can’t speak on the teams in the past, but this team, we’re trying to make history. We love each other. We love the game, and we’re trying to go as far as we can.”
