The Cleveland Browns rallied twice in the final minutes Sunday — once to force overtime, once to stand a single play from winning it — and lost anyway. New Orleans beat Cleveland 23-22 in overtime at the Caesars Superdome on November 8, after the Browns’ two-point conversion attempt for the win fell incomplete with a minute left in the extra period, according to the Cleveland Browns’ official game recap.
Backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders, making his first start of the season, finished 19-of-31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns, the Browns reported. Deshaun Watson was inactive after going through concussion protocol during the week, leaving Sanders — a second-year pro making his 11th career appearance — to start on three days of practice reps plus a walkthrough, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
For three quarters, the game was a field-goal duel. It was 3-3 at halftime and New Orleans led 9-6 in the fourth quarter, with kickers Andre Szmyt of Cleveland and Charlie Smyth of New Orleans doing all the scoring, according to the Associated Press report of the game. Cleveland’s defense held the Saints out of the end zone in the first half — the third time this season the Browns have not allowed a first-half touchdown — with linebacker Carson Schwesinger sacking Tyler Shough on third-and-8 at the Cleveland 9 to force a field goal and later forcing a fumble that cornerback Tyson Campbell recovered, the Browns’ recap said.
The touchdowns finally arrived in a rush. Sanders hit KC Concepcion Jr. on a 64-yard touchdown — the first score of Concepcion’s career — to put Cleveland ahead 13-9 midway through the fourth quarter; Concepcion finished with four catches for 85 yards, according to the Browns. The Saints answered with 58 seconds left in regulation, when running back Audric Estime — claimed off waivers from Cleveland just days earlier — scored on a 2-yard run to cap a six-play, 55-yard drive and put New Orleans up 16-13, the Associated Press reported. Estime finished with 72 yards on 15 carries.
Sanders was not done. He hit Jerry Jeudy for 30 yards and then 7 more, setting up Szmyt’s 51-yard field goal with eight seconds left in regulation — Szmyt’s third field goal of the game — to tie it 16-16 and force overtime, according to the Browns’ recap.
New Orleans took the first overtime possession after Cleveland deferred the coin toss, and Shough drove the Saints 74 yards in 11 plays, hitting tight end Juwan Johnson on a 15-yard touchdown with 4:17 left in overtime for a 23-16 lead, according to the Saints’ official recap. Shough finished 21-of-35 for 265 yards and a touchdown, and Chris Olave caught seven passes for 98 yards, the Associated Press reported.
Cleveland answered one more time: Sanders found tight end Harold Fannin Jr. for a 39-yard touchdown with 1:00 left in overtime to pull within 23-22. Rather than kick the extra point and extend the game, head coach Todd Monken went for two and the win. Sanders was forced to roll right under pressure from Carl Granderson and threw incomplete along the sideline — receiver Denzel Boston could not come up with the catch, and tackle Tytus Howard was called for holding on the play — and the Saints held on, according to the Browns’ recap and the Associated Press.
The finish carried a mirror image: in Week 1, New Orleans went for two in overtime against Detroit and lost on an incomplete Shough pass; on Sunday, Cleveland made the same go-for-the-win call and lost the same way, a parallel noted by Athlon Sports in its takeaways from the game. The Akron Beacon Journal wrote that Sanders came alive in the fourth quarter after playing the first three quarters like a backup who had three days of reps, and judged that Cleveland’s defense was leaky when it mattered, allowing the late regulation touchdown drive and the overtime touchdown drive.
The loss is Cleveland’s second straight — the first time this season the Browns (5-4) have dropped two in a row — and their third in four games, according to the Associated Press. The discipline problems continued: Cleveland was flagged nine times for 53 yards and, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, leads the NFL in penalties. Denzel Boston caught six passes for 98 yards, including a 60-yard completion that set up a field goal, the Beacon Journal reported. Cleveland readers following the Cavaliers’ week as well can read our coverage of the Cavaliers’ 119-95 rout of the 76ers and of the Knicks’ win over the Cavaliers.
What happens next: the Browns return home to host the Houston Texans at Huntington Bank Field on Sunday, November 15, at 1 p.m., according to the Browns and the Associated Press. The week’s open question is at quarterback: Watson has cleared protocol but was inactive Sunday, and whether he or Sanders starts against Houston has not been announced. New Orleans (3-5), which earned its first home win of the season, hosts Carolina on November 15.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY