We weren’t even expecting it, and then a little after the start of the second half, the announcers suddenly said, “We’re hearing Dillon Gabriel is still in the locker room with a head injury,” as they
show Shedeur Sanders gathering his stuff to make his NFL debut.
Be careful what you wish for. The Browns’ offense could do worse than nothing in the second half, as the offense kept going backwards and allowing Baltimore to chip away, eventually turning a 16-10 halftime lead for the Browns into a 23-16 win for Baltimore. Let’s get to the full game recap.
1st Quarter – Browns vs. Ravens
The Browns received the opening kickoff on a windy afternoon. A couple of short completions to start the game set up a 3rd-and-2 situation. Cleveland lined up big, but the Ravens packed the line too and were ready to stop RB Quinshon Judkins for a gain of only a yard. On 4th-and-1, Cleveland went for it at their own 39 yard line. The handoff went to Judkins and would have gotten just enough for a conversion, but LT Cam Robinson was flagged for illegal formation. Facing a 4th-and-6, the punt unit came out. P Corey Bojorquez boomed it down to the 2 yard line, and WR LaJohntay Wester returned it 19 yards out to the 21 yard line.
The Ravens faced a 3rd-and-11 quickly, but QB Lamar Jackson flipped a pass forward to a crossing receiver and CB Denzel Ward missed the tackle to allow a first down. Baltimore then picked up two more first downs with a pitched run to RB Keaton Mitchell, and a quick hitter to TE Mark Andrews into Cleveland territory. Baltimore kept rolling with two carries by RB Derrick Henry for another first down. Henry continued the momentum after Jackson extended a play with his legs before flipping it out late to Henry, who ran for another first down.
Now inside the 20 yard line, the defense strung out a run to Mitchell to hold it to only a yard. Jackson just missed hitting TE Isaiah Likely on an open crossing route, setting up 3rd-and-9 at the 17 yard line. Jackson took off when he saw an open lane up the middle for another first down, setting up 1st-and-goal at the 4 yard line. Henry picked up a yard, and then a pass to Andrews was incomplete, setting up 3rd-and-goal at the 3 yard line. Jackson rolled right, then tried to look left, but was met by DE Myles Garrett for a sack (much like what happened the first time these two teams met). K Tyler Loop came on for a 25-yard field goal to give Baltimore a 3-0 lead with 4:55 to go in the first quarter.
The Browns began their next drive at their own 33 yard line. This time, Judkins began with a burst of 13 yards before being shoestring tackled from behind. On the next play, Judkins took a broken play, reversed field, and managed to hustle for 7 yards. The momentum continued on his third straight carry, making moves through the hole to pick up 12 yards, down to the Ravens’ 35 yard line. After an incompletion by QB Dillon Gabriel, now it was RB Dylan Sampson’s turn for a big run, as he picked up 18 yards around the left edge.
Judkins was finally slowed on his next two carries, setting up a 3rd-and-7. Gabriel threw a short crossing route to TE Harold Fannin, which had not shot to get a first down, forcing Cleveland to send out the field goal unit. K Andre Szmyt hit from 30 yards out to tie the game at 3-3 on the final play of the quarter.
2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Ravens
The Ravens got the ball at the 35 yard line to begin their second drive. After a first down pass to Andrews to start the drive, two short runs set up a 3rd-and-6 for Baltimore. Jackson tried to find WR DeAndre Hopkins over the middle, but the pass was incomplete. Baltimore’s punt then sailed to the end zone for a touchback to give the Browns the ball at the 20 yard line.
The Browns’ next drive started with Gabriel rolling to his left and finding WR Cedric Tillman on a diving 21 yard catch. Things went downhill quickly from there — Judkins was hit for a loss of 1 yard, and then on the next snap, DE Kyle Van Noy immediately beat RT Jack Conklin on an inside move for a 7-yard sack that injured Robinson at left tackle in the process. Facing 3rd-and-18, a quick pass to WR Malachi Corley picked up 7 yards to set Bojorquez up for a punt. Wester signaled for a fair catch and then foolishly tried to dive at the punt, leading to a muff. S Grant Delpit was right there to jump on the recovery at the 6 yard line!
Judkins got the first handoff and muscled forward to the 3 yard line. On second down, Judkins got the handoff again, but OL KT Leveston was beat right away, forcing a loss of 3 yards. Gabriel couldn’t find anyone on third down as his pass went incomplete. Despite the golden opportunity, the offense gained zero yards and sent Szmyt back out for a 24 yard attempt. He connected to give the Browns a 6-3 lead with 8:44 remaining in the second quarter.
Starting at the 29 yard line, Jackson pumped and held the ball, trying to find someone. It was too late again, as Garrett sacked him for a loss of 9 yards. The Ravens then tried to dial up a screen pass, but it was a tad high and hot, bouncing off the hands of Mitchell and up into the air. LB Devin Bush grabbed it, dodged tackles, and was helped by a convoy of Browns in getting into the end zone for the 23-yard pick six and a 13-3 lead for Cleveland!
The ensuing kickoff was returned to the Ravens’ 37 yard line. Baltimore’s offense struck back quickly. After runs of 9 and 6 yards by Henry, Jackson found WR Zay Flowers wide open off of playaction for a 45-yard catch-and-run to the 3 yard line.
The defense stuffed Henry for a loss of 3 yards, and then Mitchell got 3 yards of it back. On 3rd-and-goal from the 3, though, DT Maliek Collins for a neutral zone infraction to put the ball at the 1 yard line. From there, Henry muscled his way in through several defenders for a touchdown to tighten the game back up at 13-10 with 4:17 left in the half.
The Browns’ offense remained stagnant. After two runs by Judkins, on 3rd-and-5, Gabriel didn’t even get a pass attempt off as he tried to run for a first down, but was only held to a one yard gain. That led to the two-minute warning. After the break, on the punt, the Ravens jumped offsides, giving Cleveland a fresh set of downs!
Gabriel then found Tillman up the seam for 26 yards yards, the longest completion of his career.
That was followed by a 5-yard strike to Jeudy, and then the Ravens called a timeout with 1:12 to go and the Browns having 2nd-and-4 at the 29 yard line. Cleveland called a keeper for Gabriel, and it didn’t work, only gaining 1 yard to set up 3rd-and-5. On third down, Gabriel’s sideline pass to Fannin wasn’t even close. With the heavy wind, Cleveland still sent in Szmyt to try a 46-yard field goal, and he drilled it right down the middle to extend the Browns’ lead to 16-10.
With 0:53 left and one timeout, Baltimore tried to drive. After one incompletion, Garrett got to Jackson again for the third time of the half (a loss of 2 yards).
Cleveland called a timeout leading into the 3rd-and-12, and then called another timeout on the dumpoff. On 4th-and-2, the Ravens punted and Cleveland returned it to their own 11 yard line. The Browns ran the ball once to send the game to halftime, leading by six. At the half, the time of possession was about even, with Cleveland having the ball 15:03 to the Ravens’ 14:57. Baltimore had the yardage edge, 147 to 123, but they turned the ball over twice. The Browns were 0-of-6 on third down.
3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Ravens
Szmyt’s kickoff to start the second half went to the end zone for a touchback, putting the ball at the 35 yard line. Henry’s first carry saw him get a burst for 8 yards, but then he was stuffed by DT Mason Graham on second down for a loss of 1 yards. Then on third down, Garrett got his fourth sack of the game to force a punt, just as the announcers noted that Gabriel did not return out of the locker room due to a head injury, which meant QB Shedeur Sanders was coming in!
Sanders’ first pass was a short completion to Tillman for 5 yards to the right side. The next play was a handoff to Judkins that went for a yard, but C Ethan Pocic was flagged for a hold, which set it back to 2nd-and-15. Sanders dumped the ball off to TE David Njoku over the middle to cut the situation down to a 3rd-and-8. On third down, the Ravens brought the heat with S Kyle Hamilton. Sanders had no chance and was sacked for a loss of 13 yards (he also fumbled, with OG Wyatt Teller recovering), leading to a punt. Bojorquez’ punt was downed at the Ravens’ 33 yard line.
The Ravens faced a 3rd-and-4 at midfield, and Jackson converted with a pass to a crossing Andrews for 10 yards and a first down to the Browns’ 39 yard line. A 7 yard run by Henry set up 2nd-and-3, but then the Browns brought a blitz on the next play, and Henry held CB Myles Harden, making it 2nd-and-13. A short pass made it 3rd-and-9, and Jackson’s hot pass to Flowers on the outside was incomplete. At the 38 yard line, the Ravens lined up to go for it. They took a delay of game and sent the punt unit out. WR Gage Larvadain made a fair catch at the 17 yard line, where Sanders would begin his second drive. Gabriel was also officially ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Judkins got the handoff to start the next drive, but he slipped for no gain. Sanders’ quick pass to the outside was broken up, leading to as quick of a 3rd-and-10 as you can get. It only got uglier after that, as the Ravens brought pressure. Sanders threw the ball toward the right side, and CB Nate Wiggins was standing right there waiting for it, intercepting it and returning it to the Browns’ 14 yard line.
Then, the defense magically struck back! On a playaction pass, DT Mike Hall batted a ball high in the air, and in a crowd, LB Carson Schwesinger came down with the interception, returning it to the Browns’ 23 yard line.
Living on the edge, Sanders had a playaction rollout on his first pass of the drive, and was nearly picked off. Hamilton kicked the ball after the play, though, which actually made it 2nd-and-5. A handoff to Judkins went for 2 yards, setting up 3rd-and-3. Sanders ended up running for it, picking up 5 yards for Cleveland’s first third-down conversion of the game.
Two more carries by Judkins again set up 3rd-and-6. Just like the previous drive, though, the Ravens brought the heat again, and with him trying to hold onto the ball, he took a sack for 14 yards. The Browns sent the punt unit out again, with Baltimore taking over at their own 31 yard line and 1:02 left in the quarter.
The defense finally let up. Henry broke a few tackles at the second level and was off to the races for 59 yards before CB Denzel Ward tripped him up at the 9 yard line. The Ravens ran the ball once more with Henry for 3 yards to end the third quarter.
4th Quarter – Browns vs. Ravens
The Ravens faced a 2nd-and-goal at the 6 yard line to start the fourth quarter. Henry was stopped for a gain of 1 yard, setting up 3rd-and-goal from the 5 yard line. On third down, Jackson couldn’t find anywhere to go, rolled out, and was nearly intercepted by S Ronnie Hickman. The Ravens sent Loop in for a 24 yard field goal, which cut the Browns’ lead to 16-13 with 14:06 left in the game.
Cleveland began their next drive at the 32 yard line. Cleveland started with an end around and a reverse to WR Isaiah Bond, who out-ran a defender to get 8 yards. Judkins then got the handoff to the right side and had a burst of 16 yards, down to the Ravens’ 44 yard line. Sanders looked to pass on the next play, but his internal clock again remained way too long, and he just barely threw the ball away before a sack. The Ravens swarmed Judkins on second down, taking him down for a loss of 2 yards. On 3rd-and-12, Sanders ran the ball 6 yards to the 40 yard line. On 4th-and-6, the punt unit came out. The Browns nearly saved the ball from the end zone, but just like earlier this season, the diving player had his toe touch the end zone barely for the touchback.
Replays showed he may have not touched the end zone, so head coach Kevin Stefanski threw the challenge flag. Despite the evidence showing it looked like he kept it in barely, the officials still kept the ruling on the field for a touchback. Jackson began with a 15-yard strike over the middle to Flowers. Jackson was then sacked for a loss of 9 yards by Hall. A handoff to Mitchell got those yards back, setting up 3rd-and-10. Jackson escaped the pocket just in time, getting away from Garrett, and finding Flowers open over the middle for 18 yards into Cleveland territory.
A screen pass to Mitchell gained 17 yards, now into field goal range at the 30 yard line. A few plays later, Schwesinger dropped Henry for a loss of 1 yard, setting up 3rd-and-6. Jackson took a shot to the end zone, but it was just out of reach of the receiver. Loop came on to try to tie the game from 44 yards out, and he nailed it to tie the game at 16-16 with 4:59 to go.
Needing all the field position they can get, the Browns committed a hold on the kickoff, setting them back to the 20 yard line. Cleveland tried to set up a screen pass to Judkins, but it was blown up and incomplete. Sanders tried a quick hitter to Fannin over the middle, but it was incomplete. On third down, Sanders again kept drifting backwards and was flagged for intentional grounding, a loss of 15 yards and forcing the Browns to punt from their own end zone. The punt went out of bounds at the Cleveland 45 yard line with 4:32 to go.
Collins dragged Henry down for a loss of 2 yards to begin the drive, setting up 2nd-and-12. A pass to Hopkins got 11 yards, setting up 3rd-and-1. They gave it to Henry, and he didn’t get it, setting up 4th-and-1 at the Browns’ 35 yard line. They decided to go for it. Andrews lined up for the tush push, but he did some trickery by spinning around and having daylight to go 35 yards for a go-ahead touchdown and a 23-16 lead.
Cleveland had a chance to come back with 2:31 to go and two timeouts, but Sanders had looked lost in the second half. The kickoff went to the end zone for a touchback, giving the Browns the ball at the 35 yard line. The protection held up, and Sanders found Fannin over the middle for 25 yards heading into the two-minute warning, at the 40 yard line.
A few plays later, on 3rd-and-10, WR Jerry Jeudy broke a few tackles to get 10 yards and move the chains. A couple plays later, on 2nd-and-5, Sanders rolled out of pressure but then missed Bond in the end zone on a route to the corner. On 3rd-and-5, Larvadain had a shot at the ball on the deep fade, but the pass was contested tightly and knocked away, making it fourth down. Cleveland had to go for it, and Sanders was in disarray again. He tried to find Njoku, but it was incomplete for a turnover on downs and a Baltimore victory.
Quick Hitters
- QB Dillon Gabriel: 7-of-10 for 68 yards.
- QB Shedeur Sanders: 4-of-16 for 47 yards, 1 INT.
- RB Quinshon Judkins: 17 carries, 59 yards (3.5 YPC).
- DE Myles Garrett: 4 sacks.
Next up, the Browns travel to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders. I’ll be attending that game, for better or for worse.
