The Browns spent the offseason rebuilding the offense, but on Sunday in Baltimore, it was the defense that carried them back to the top of the AFC North.
Cleveland’s first half was a slog. The offense could barely get moving, the Ravens controlled the field position battle, and the Browns went into halftime needing a jolt. They got it after the break, then finished the job in a 13-10 win that ended with Andre Szmyt drilling a 37-yard field goal as time expired.
The result pushed Cleveland to 4-2 and gave Todd Monken’s Browns a head-to-head tiebreaker edge over both the Ravens and Steelers. And while the ending included Deshaun Watson’s fourth game-winning drive of the season - a 10-play march that burned the final 1:59 - the biggest swing came much earlier. With 8:33 left, linebacker Carson Schwesinger punched the ball loose from Derrick Henry, and the game turned right there.
Schwesinger was all over the field. He led the Browns with 14 total tackles, and considering he spent much of the week in a walking boot with an ankle injury, that kind of impact stood out even more. If he was limited, there was no sign of it on game day.
Cleveland’s offense, meanwhile, opened the day looking flat. The Browns averaged just 2.1 yards per play in the first half and were outgained 163-46. Watson managed only 24 passing yards before the break, the third-fewest he has thrown for in the first half of his career, per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi.
Still, the Browns found enough on the ground to stay alive. Quinshon Judkins was ruled out Sunday morning with an ankle injury, but Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime picked up the slack. Together, they ran for 70 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, with McLaughlin averaging 4.6 yards per attempt and continuing to give Cleveland a spark when he gets the ball.
There were other absences to absorb, too. Mason Graham didn’t play, but Maliek Collins kept making his presence felt. He logged a sack in the first half and now has 3.5 on the season.
Even the special teams swing of the game came with a little drama. Cleveland opened the second half with a 10-play, 42-yard drive that ended in a 48-yard field goal from Szmyt. That was the 25th straight make of his streak before he later missed from 48 yards with 3:44 left in regulation.
The secondary had to adjust early when starting safety Grant Delpit left in the first quarter with a concussion. That pushed rookie Emmanuel McNeil-Warren into a bigger role, with Daniel Thomas mixing in as a third safety at times.
McNeil-Warren had his moments, including one red-zone sequence where he filled the lane and stopped Henry at the goal line on second down. But the Ravens eventually caught him in the flat on fourth down, and Josh Cuevas slipped out for a wide-open touchdown.
McNeil-Warren also dropped an easy interception late.
Even with those hiccups, Cleveland kept finding answers. That’s been the story of the Browns so far: not pretty, not clean, but tough enough to keep winning anyway.
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What stands out most is how Cleveland has answered adversity in the early going. There have been challenges along the way, but the Browns have kept finding a way back into games and have shown the kind of resilience that usually has to be built over time. For a team trying to establish a new identity, that kind of veteran presence matters, and it is part of why this opening stretch feels like more than just a fast start. [Read more 🡒]