Ravens squander 10-point lead, fall 13-10 to Browns on walk-off field goal

CLEVELAND — The Ravens’ second straight game without Lamar Jackson ended much differently than their first.

Baltimore built a 10-point lead but failed to score after its first two possessions, allowing the Browns to rally for 13 unanswered points and a 13-10 walk-off win. The loss dropped the Ravens to 4-2 and moved Cleveland to 4-2 and into first place in the AFC North.

With Jackson sidelined by the ankle injury he suffered two weeks ago against Tennessee, Tyler Huntley made another start for Baltimore. Jackson, who has not practiced in the past two weeks, was on the sideline in Cleveland.

Huntley and the Ravens opened the game with an 11-play scoring drive.
Facing fourth-and-goal, Baltimore used multiple pre-snap motions before Huntley found a wide-open Josh Cuevas for the rookie’s first career NFL touchdown, giving the Ravens a 7-0 lead.

Baltimore’s defense immediately made things difficult for Deshaun Watson. Calais Campbell brought Watson down on third down to force a three-and-out, becoming just the third player in NFL history to record a sack in his 40s.

The Ravens also made an impact on special teams. Ryan Eckley's first punt in the second quarter appeared headed for a touchback before Keondre Jackson kept the ball out of the end zone, pinning Cleveland at its own 1-yard line.

Defense and punting dominated the first half, which featured nine total punts. Keyon Martin added another sack of Watson, while Cleveland failed to produce any points before halftime.

Baltimore’s offense did little in the second quarter but carried a 10-0 lead into the break.

Cleveland finally got on the board with a field goal to begin the second half, but the Ravens continued to pressure Watson. Late in the third quarter, Trey Hendrickson broke through on a three-man rush for another third-down sack, one of five recorded by Baltimore’s defense.

The Ravens had an opportunity to stretch their seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Tyler Loop missed a 49-yard field goal.

After Baltimore’s defense forced another three-and-out, Derrick Henry fumbled on the Ravens’ next offensive snap. It was his first fumble of the season, and Cleveland recovered in Baltimore territory.

The Browns took advantage of the short field on the ensuing drive when Audric Estime scored on a 2-yard run to tie the game at 10.

Baltimore went three-and-out on its next possession, but a missed Cleveland field goal gave Huntley and the offense another opportunity.

The Ravens couldn’t capitalize.

Huntley nearly threw an interception to Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, and left tackle Ronnie Stanley was injured on the play. Baltimore eventually went three-and-out again.

Cleveland then produced one of its biggest offensive plays of the game. On third-and-5, Watson connected with Jerry Jeudy for 33 yards to move the Browns into field-goal range.

Baltimore blocked Cleveland’s initial field-goal attempt but was flagged for being offside, giving the Browns another chance.

Afterwarrds Andre Szmyt converted from 37 yards, sending Cleveland to the 13-10 victory.

Ravens head coach Jesse Minter pointed to Baltimore’s missed opportunities and mistakes after the game.

“That's a type of game where I think all three phases you have chances to create more separation in the game with where the score was at and we really weren't able to do that really from our own self-inflicted things,” Minter said. “Putting the ball on the ground, missing a kick, getting a penalty down in the low-red. So we look at that really as ourself allowing the game to end up like that, that tight where for a lot of it we played well enough to be able to separate and potentially have more than a one-score lead at certain times in the second half. So we'll look at ourselves, that's really what we'll do, try and improve and get ready for next week.”

Baltimore’s first game without Jackson this season resulted in a comeback win in Atlanta. This time, the Ravens couldn’t produce another win.

The Ravens will again monitor Jackson’s status after he went a second consecutive week without practicing. Baltimore will get another opportunity to earn its first AFC North victory when it hosts the Cincinnati Bengals next week.