Baltimore vs Cleveland
Gus Edwards Scores Twice in Return as Ravens Hold Off Browns 23-20
A week after letting another lead slip away in a loss at the New York Giants, Baltimore bore down to hold onto their fourth-quarter lead at home against division rival Cleveland, beating the Browns 23-20 in Week 7 to remain in a first-place tie with Cincinnati in the AFC North.
The Ravens (4-3) improved to 2-0 in the division with the win over one of their rivals, as the Browns—struggling without the suspended DeShaun Watson—dropped to 2-5.
Baltimore previously held double-digit leads in the second half of each of their three losses this year: Week 2 vs. Miami, Week 4 vs. Buffalo, and last week at the Giants. Justin Tucker’s field goal with 11:24 remaining gave them a 23-13 advantage, marking another double-digit lead.
The home fans at M&T Bank Stadium then had to sweat things out again, as Cleveland scored a touchdown and then got the ball back following a Justice Hill fumble.
An offensive pass interference call negated a potential go-ahead touchdown for the Browns, and then Cade York had a 60-yard field goal attempt blocked by Malik Harrison to effectively end the game.
Head coach John Harbaugh said it’s tough to shake the feeling of déjà vu, but it’s vital that the team stays in the moment to execute.
"We kind of had the lead again. What's going to happen?" Harbaugh said after the game. "Focus on what you've got to do within the play, not within the situation and the circumstances. Circumstances really doesn't matter. What matters is the play call and doing your job."
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The story of this game on offense was the return of Gus Edwards, who ran 16 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns in his first true game action since the divisional-round playoff game at Buffalo in January 2021. Edwards suffered a torn ACL in training camp last year, and he revealed that another ligament was torn along with a hamstring.
“You never really know,” Harbaugh said when asked if he thought Edwards would be ready to make an impact. “He looked good in practice; he looked like he was ready. We were patient with him, in terms of bringing him back, but until you get in a game it's kind of hard to say, and he did a great job, obviously. He was ready."
Edwards, whose second touchdown came on fourth down to extend the lead to 20-10, was both pleased and relieved to be back in action.
“It’s a blessing. It took a lot of faith—getting through everything and all the adversity I faced with the injury,” Edwards said. “I wanted to be back Game 1, but it doesn't always work like that. I was on God's time. There's a lot of season left, and like I said, I'm even fortunate to be playing right now with the type of injury I had. I just have to keep building off of it."
Lamar Jackson, who took what the Browns gave him and only attempted 16 passes (9-of-16 passing for 120 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions), was happy to have a weapon back in the running game.
"All that power – we've been missing that a lot. We've got a lot of 'scat' backs, fast, elusive backs, but he [Gus Edwards] can do both. But we've been missing the power, and it showed today. He was hitting the holes and getting like five yards a carry sometimes,” Jackson, who rushed 10 times for 59 yards himself, said.
The takeaway is that for the second time in three weeks, the Ravens were able to prevent the opposing team from completing the comeback. And both wins came at home over a team from within the division, so those are the most important games to get. Harbaugh added that it also is a confidence builder when the team has effectively beaten itself a few times this year.
“One thing is guys have confidence, and they believe in themselves. We've had some great wins so far this year, but there's nothing like doing. The guys were able to go out there in that situation and pick each other up,” Harbaugh explained.
GAME RECAP
The first drive was a rough one for the Ravens, as Jacoby Brissett led the Browns down the field after the opening kickoff, nearly taking up half the first quarter with an 11-play drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb.
The Ravens were able to respond with a 32-yard field goal by Tucker on their first drive, but York kicked one of his own on the next drive to make it 10-3 Browns after the opening quarter.
Tucker kicked another 34-yarder early in the second to trim the deficit to 10-6. On the next Baltimore possession, Jackson completed a 26-yard pass to Rashod Bateman and a 16-yarder to Isaiah Likely before Edwards ran in from seven yards out to make it 13-10 at halftime.
After a Calais Campbell sack forced Brissett to fumble on the Browns’ first drive in the third quarter, Odafe Oweh recovered the ball to give the Ravens a short field. The drive ended with Edwards’ one-yard run off tackle on fourth down to make it 20-10. York kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 20-13 going into the fourth quarter.
After Tucker’s 55-yarder extended the lead to 23-13, Cleveland got back into the game thanks to a touchdown run by Kareem Hunt. The Ravens had the ball back in Browns’ territory before Hill’s fumble gave the Browns a final opportunity that ended with the blocked field goal.
UP NEXT
Baltimore embarks on a short week to take on familiar foe Tom Brady on Thursday night, but instead of heading to New England, it’s a visit to Tampa, Florida to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs’ offense, despite having Brady, is struggling this year and dropped to 3-4 on the season after a 21-3 loss at Carolina this week.