Browns benched Cody Kessler for Josh McCown, who immediately threw an interception

The Browns decided to pull quarterback Cody Kessler in the third quarter of Cleveland’s Thursday Night Football matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, replacing him with Josh McCown. McCown almost instantly threw an interception.

“I took Cody [Kessler] out of the game because I wanted a spark,” Jackson told reporters after the game. “Like I said, [he’s a] young player playing [on] a couple days [rest] and all of a sudden I think it was a little bit difficult and so I wanted to try the veteran. And that’s what I did and there’s nothing more to it than that. I will still find out more about Cody Kessler as we move forward.”

Kessler did start the second half with a three-and-out, but went 11-of-18 for 91 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions on Thursday. As a matter of fact, Kessler hadn’t thrown a pick for 119 consecutive passes, according to NFL Research. On his first series, McCown completed 0 of 2 passes, one of which was an interception.

Luckily for the Browns, cornerback Joe Haden picked off a Joe Flacco pass in the end zone to prevent a Baltimore score, putting the ball back in McCown’s hands.

Hue Jackson said early in the week that he did not intend to make changes at the quarterback position during the game.

Even quarterback Kevin Hogan got in on the action, coming in to run the ball once for a 1-yard gain.

After the game, Jackson defended the decision to pull Kessler.

Jackson also said he wasn’t playing “musical chairs” with his quarterbacks.

“I wasn’t playing musical chairs today,” Jackson said. “What I was trying to do was give our offense a chance to function at a faster rate.”

Robert Griffin III is eligible to return from injured reserve if he’s medically cleared to do so, and that’s an option the Browns may explore. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Griffin threw more than 20 passes prior to Thursday’s game and “looked sharp.”

The Browns are the last winless team in the NFL, and they led the Ravens 7-6 heading into the half, but they now trail Baltimore 21-7 in the third quarter.