Miscues, dropped passes, breakdowns lead to Ravens’ 29-24 loss to Browns
Quarterback Lamar Jackson can’t carry the Ravens every game.
Other players are going to have to perform better if Baltimore wants to make a deep playoff run.
Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston, who was making his first start since 2022, took advantage of a porous Ravens secondary and threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds remaining for a 29-24 victory on Sunday in Cleveland.
“We weren’t well organized on that play,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said about the winning touchdown. “There’s no doubt about it. That play was not a good play for us.”
On the previous play, Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton dropped an interception that could have sealed the win. Baltimore had at least three dropped interceptions on the day, including two by backup safety Eddie Jackson, who was beaten badly on the winning touchdown. The Ravens also dropped a number of passes, including a key one to a wide-open Rashod Bateman in the fourth quarter.
“I just don’t think we followed the script,” Bateman said. “First and foremost, I don’t think we executed at the highest level. We played behind the chains a lot, and we can’t do that. We’ve just got to continue to make plays – somehow, someway – and [be] consistent going down the field.”
The Ravens snapped a five-game winning streak and fell to 5-3 on the season.
Jackson threw for 289 yards with two touchdowns. However, Jackson was hampered by the inconsistency of his wide receivers and a running game that was contained by Cleveland’s defense.
The Ravens were 2-for-10 on third downs.
“[The Browns defense] was doing a good job of stopping us,” Jackson said. “We weren’t converting on third down, obviously. Sometimes, we had a couple of penalties here and there to push us back further or a sack or something like that, [but] we just have to do a better job at sustaining that.”
Ravens running back Derrick Henry scored a go-ahead touchdown with 2:36 remaining, but the Browns answered on the next drive. Henry, who entered the game leading the NFL with 873 yards rushing, finished with 73 yards on 11 carries.
Cleveland (2-6) managed its first win since September 15th.
Winston, who faced little pressure from the Ravens’ pass rush, completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards with three touchdowns.
The Browns took a 13-10 lead on the opening drive of the second half on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Winston to tight end David Njoku. He, too, beat Jackson, who never turned to see the ball.
The Ravens answered on the ensuing drive and retook the lead, 17-13, on a 7-yard pass from Jackson to tight end Mark Andrews, his 10th career touchdown against Cleveland.
Andrews (44) has surpassed running back Ray Rice (43) for the second-most overall touchdowns in team history. Running back Jamal Lewis is the all-time leader with 47 touchdowns.
More miscommunication issues allowed the Browns to score more than 20 points for the first time this season. A busted coverage allowed Tillman to catch a pass over the middle and score a 22-yard touchdown for a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter.
Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who leads the team with 53 tackles, was carted off the field late in the third quarter with a neck injury after a collision with Henry.
Justin Tucker missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt that would have tied the game. He is now 3-for-10 on kicks from over 50 yards over the past two seasons.
Dustin Hopkins gave the Browns a 23-17 lead with a 48-yard field goal with 4:55 left that hit off the right goalpost but went through.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers was questionable with an ankle injury but was able to play. He caught seven passes for 115 yards.
Bateman had two critical drops on third down that would have extended drives. Nelson Agholor also had a third-down pass go through his hands.
The Ravens’ opening drive stalled on a fourth-and-1 when Henry lined up in the wildcat and lost 3 yards. The Browns responded with a 28-yard field goal by Hopkins.
Jackson overthrew Flowers on a potential touchdown on a third-and-21, and Tucker tied the game, 3-3, with a 49-yard field goal.
The Ravens were out of sync on offense and Jackson was nearly intercepted twice ,but the Browns’ defenders could not hold on to the ball. Meanwhile, Cleveland was effective in gaining yards behind running back Nick Chubb, but they struggled to score touchdowns inside the red zone.
Cleveland took a 6-3 lead on a 33-yard field goal by Hopkins with 3:41 left in the second quarter and had the momentum. However, Hamilton blitzed and made a strip sack on Winston with 1:08 left. That set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Agholor, his first score of the season.
Key injuries: The Ravens were shorthanded in the secondary with cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (knee) and Nate Wiggins (shoulder/illness) unable to play. Defensive end Brent Urban suffered a concussion in the first quarter and was ruled out. Defensive tackle Michael Pierce had to leave the game in the second quarter with a calf injury.
First sack: Ravens defensive end Yannick Ngakoue got his first sack of the season in the closing seconds of the first half.