Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns recap: Deshaun Watson, defense play complete game to win home opener

It was a down-to-the-wire home opener for the Cleveland Browns. The defense was dominant in the first half, while the offense made some plays to have a 10-3 lead. Cleveland got cold in the second half, though, allowing Carolina to chip away and eventually take the lead. In the fourth quarter, QB Deshaun Watson had a shot at leading a game-winning drive, with the Browns in the red zone. He found TE Harold Fannin for his second touchdown of the game to give Cleveland a 21-18 lead. With two minutes

to go, it was QB Bryce Young’s chance to lead another late-game rally. The defense came up big and the Browns won!

Let’s get to the full game recap.

1st Quarter – Panthers vs. Browns

The Panthers got the ball first this week. After QB Bryce Young completed one quick hitter for a first down, the Browns’ defense clamped down by getting pressure on him and forcing an intentional grounding. Carolina ran the ball on third down as a give up play before punting it away. On the punt return, an illegal block in the back penalty forced QB Deshaun Watson to start his first drive back at the 8 yard line.

Watson used his legs to pick up a pair of first downs, including somehow dodging a free blitzer on 3rd-and-6 to take off up the middle.

Watson then tried throwing, but overshot TE Harold Fannin deep, and then was nearly picked off on a short pass to WR KC Concepcion. On third down, Watson again dodged pressure, but his completion to RB Raheim Sanders was short of a first down, leading to a punt.

P Corey Bojorquez’ punt was fair caught at the 19 yard line. Young again got one first down through the air before the Browns’ defense came up with several nice stops again, including S Ronnie Hickman coming up with a nice third down tackle on a crossing route to force another punt. Carolina’s punt was downed at the 9 yard line.

The Browns strung together a nice-looking drive for the rest of the quarter, with Watson getting a few completions, and then the ground game getting going with RB Quinshon Judkins. A pass interference penalty on a route by WR Jerry Jeudy also gained 17 yards. Cleveland then faced a 3rd-and-short in field goal range, but RG Austin Barber and RT Tytus Howard had back-to-back false starts. After a completion to Sanders, the Browns faced a 4th-and-3 to end the quarter from the 37 yard line.

2nd Quarter – Panthers vs. Browns

The Browns went for it to start the fourth quarter, and Watson hit Concepcion on the quick out to move the chains. The offensive line continued hurting the offense, this time with LT Spencer Fano committing a hold that negated a downfield completion to WR Denzel Boston. On 2nd-and-20, Watson tried to buy time but was sacked. However, instead of being 3rd-and-22, a defensive hold was signaled on the Panthers to give Cleveland a fresh set of downs.

Two plays later, Johnson had another false start in a drive that was getting ridiculous now. Facing 2nd-and-14, Watson tried firing a pass to Boston, but he couldn’t hang on amidst the tight coverage. On 3rd-and-14, Watson threw the ball away and the punt unit had to come on, ending a drive that took up nine minutes of game clock but led to nothing. Bojorquez’ punt was out of bounds at the 16 yard line.

The Panthers’ third drive started like the others — a first down completion, and then a run play that was stuffed. Young evaded pressure and found a tight end that just barely got beyond the sticks. Young then found WR Jalen Coker to midfield as the passing game continued to find success. Facing a 3rd-and-3, Young dropped a nice pass to Coker up the left sideline, but he couldn’t haul it in. On 4th-and-3, the Panthers lined up to go for it at the 43 yard line. Carolina took a timeout, but still kept the offense out there to go for it. Young took the snap and was pressured, with DT Mason Graham notching his third sack of the season for a 10-yard loss, all the way back to the Panthers’ 47 yard line with 8:33 to go in the second quarter.

Cleveland began their drive with a screen pass to Judkins that was good for 9 yards. Two plays later, a quarterback sneak moved the chains. Then, on 2nd-and-10, Watson hit Fannin for 8 yards to set up 3rd-and-2. The pressure came and the defense would’ve drilled Sanders on a run. Watson kept it, and the defense still got to him for a loss of 3 yards. K Andre Szmyt came on for a 48-yard field goal, and it was good right down the middle to give Cleveland a 3-0 lead with 5:43 left in the half.

Three straight runs to Hubbard made it 4th-and-short, but at Carolina’s own 40 yard line. They lined up to go for it again, and off of the play fake by Young, pressure came in his face, forcing an erratic throw to an open receiver and a turnover on downs.

Judkins got the carry to begin Cleveland’s drive, and found a hole right up the middle for 11 yards and a first down. After a short run by Judkins, Sanders came on and got the handoff from Shotgun, finding open space for 17 yards to the 10-yard line at the two-minute warning.

After the two-minute warning, Judkins gained 3 yards and the Panthers took a timeout. On 2nd-and-goal from the 7 yard line, the call was a quarterback draw, but it was stopped after a gain of just a yard. On 3rd-and-goal from the 6 yard line, Watson took off again, but only got to the 3 yard line. On 4th-and-goal from the 3 yard line, Cleveland went for it. The initial read wasn’t open, but Watson stayed patient and found Fannin breaking open to the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown and a 10-0 lead with 1:37 to go in the half.

Carolina threw two straight incomplete passes before Young got a completion to the sideline for a first down. Then, a bogus roughing the passer penalty called on DT Mike Hall gave Carolina new life. A couple plays later, Young got a dumpoff to Hubbard, who broke free for 30 yards, with another roughing the passer penalty tacked on, to set up 1st-and-goal at the 8 yard line. The defense held tight after that, including DE Isaiah McGuire getting a sack on third down to hold Carolina to a 35-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 game at the half.

3rd Quarter – Panthers vs. Browns

It was a bad start to the second half for Cleveland. On the opening kickoff, a penalty was called on Carolina, so the Browns opted to have them re-kick. On the second return, WR Malachi Corley fumbled and the Panthers recovered.

Starting in Cleveland territory, the Panthers have two short plays to Hubbard to set up 3rd-and-2. On third down, Young had another poor throw off of a rollout. Instead of going for it again, the field goal unit came on from 41 yards out to cut the Browns’ lead to 10-6, at least minimizing the damage.

On the Browns’ opening drive of the half, on 3rd-and-6, Watson tried to escape from pressure, but a defender got a clear rip of the facemask. Even though the official had a clear line of sight of the play, the flag never came, and Watson was sacked, leading to a punt. The three-and-out led the Panthers to take over at the 20 yard line.

Carolina’s momentum started to build on offense. After several plays, they got into Cleveland territory. Then, just past midfield, a screen pass was stuffed for a loss of 4 yards, and then a miscommunication led to an incomplete pass to set up 3rd-and-14. Young checked it down to TE Darren Waller, but he couldn’t hang on to it. Carolina punted and got the ball downed at the 5 yard line.

Two runs by Judkins gave the offense some breathing room to set up 3rd-and-5. On third down, though, Watson’s pass was too high for an open Concepcion, leading to another quick punt. Bojorquez got off another good punt to get the ball down to the 34 yard line after a return.

Young threaded a pass between a few Browns defenders for 14 yards to get the ball near midfield. Cleveland nearly came up with a pick a few plays later, but the Panthers receiver caught it behind him to secure the catch. A few plays later, facing 3rd-and-3, Young airmailed another deep pass to no one. K Ryan Fitzgerald came on for a 54-yard field goal, and it was good to trim Cleveland’s lead to 10-9 now.

Corley returned the kickoff to the 33 yard line, with the offense needing to get going. Watson stayed inaccurate, though, missing Concepcion again on a shallow route that was open. On second down, a screen play was covered, so Watson just threw the ball away after trying to scramble. On 3rd-and-10, a false start by Howard pushed them back five more yards. On 3rd-and-15, Watson could only find Hannin for a short gain, leading to another quick punt. Bojorquez’ punt went out of bounds at the 13 yard line.

To end the third quarter, Young finally got a downfield completion as he lofted the fade up the left sideline to WR Brycen Tremayne for 31 yards, out to the Browns’ 35 yard line.

4th Quarter – Panthers vs. Browns

The Panthers faced a 3rd-and-9 early in the fourth quarter, and Young hit WR John Metchie right along the boundary and the toe tap to move the chains. The defense came up with a stop, but Fitzgerald came on for a 37 yard field goal to give the Panthers their first lead of the day. He connected to put Carolina on top 12-10 with 11:41 remaining in the game.

Cleveland finally had their first positive play of the half as Watson found Boston for 28 yards into Carolina territory.

A short pass to Concepcion got 4 yards, and then Judkins moved the chains with an 8 yard gain. Then, after a playfake as Watson was backing up, he was brought down by a defender for a loss of 10 yards, pushing Cleveland on the verge of field goal range. A quick pass to Sanders in the flat saw him break a tackle and gain those sack yards back, setting up 3rd-and-10. Watson scrambled up the middle for a yard to set Szmyt up for a 45-yard field goal to try to re-take the lead. Szmyt nailed it down the middle to put the Browns back on top 13-12 with 7:30 left in the game.

Carolina began their drive at the 28 yard line. Young ran a playaction fake and immediately found a target in stride for a catch-and-run of 19 yards to near midfield. Hubbard broke free on a run two plays later for 11 yards, already into field goal range, and then for 16 more yards down to the 23 yard line. The chunk plays kept coming, as Young found another tight end for 15 yards to set up 1st-and-goal at the 9 yard line. Young ran another playfake and found Metchie for the 9-yard touchdown to put the Panthers up 18-13 with 4:25 left in the game.

Carolina went for the two-point conversion, but it was fumbled, making it no good. Now, it was up to Watson to try to lead a touchdown drive for the win. Corley’s return came out to the 35 yard line. The drive started with a checkdown to Boston for 12 yards. Two plays later, Cleveland faced 3rd-and-3, and Watson took off up the left side for 20 yards. After one incompletion, an illegal shift made it 2nd-and-15. He launched a pass to Concepcion in the end zone, but it deflected off him and was intercepted — but Watson was drilled for a roughing the passer to keep the game alive.

Watson went to the sideline and QB Shedeur Sanders entered the game. Sanders did a swing pass to Judkins for no gain, and then Watson returned as the clock ran down to the two-minute warning, facing 2nd-and-10 at the 14 yard line. Carolina brought pressure, and Watson threw it away in the direction of Boston. On third down, Watson bought time, rolled to his left, and found Fannin again for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Browns back on top 19-18!

The Browns went for two again, and Watson hit Boston over the middle to give the Browns a 21-18 lead with 1:48 to go. Could Young have another late-game rally?

Carolina began their drive at the 22 yard line. After two defensive stops, Graham busted right up the middle for his second sack of the game to make it 4th-and-16. On fourth down, Young had nowhere to go and just dumped it down to Waller, who was gang tackled for a turnover on downs at the Panthers’ 24 yard line.

Carolina still had two timeouts, so Cleveland still had the job of closing out the game. The Browns had an illegal formation on the next run, which was huge because it saved the Panthers from having to burn a timeout. On 3rd-and-1, it was still up to Cleveland to finish things off. Watson kept it, but the Panthers stopped him for no gain and burned their final timeout with a minute to go. Instead of going for a field goal, the Browns’ offense stayed on the field to go for the win. Instead, Judkins was stuffed for a loss for a turnover on downs.

Now, the defense still had to step up, just to prevent a field goal. Starting at the 17 yard line with no timeouts, the Panthers got to their own 42 yard line with 0:21 left. An incomplete pass over the middle left 0:16 left, which which now required a sideline pass in order to have time left for a field goal. Young threw up a duck as he was hit, and Hickman intercepted it to seal the game.