The Browns finally won a Sunday game, but not without plenty of drama

It’s been a long time coming, but the Browns finally got their first Sunday win of the Hue Jackson era.

Cleveland got screwed on a bad call last week against the Raiders, but this week, luck was actually on the Browns’ side. They had a field goal get blocked through the uprights as they got a 12-9 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens — their first division win in THREE years (that also happened to be an overtime win against the Ravens).

This was the Browns’ third OT game of the season and like the others, this one had a lot of twists and turns. Unlike the others, the Browns actually won.

Here’s how the final moments of the game played out.

The game was in sudden death, tied at 9-9. The Browns already had one tie to their name this season, so Hue Jackson took a page out of Frank Reich’s playbook and went for it on fourth-and-5 on the Ravens 39-yard line. The call was a throw to Jarvis Landry on a wheel route, but it didn’t work after Landry was decked into the ground while he was running his route.

The Ravens were playing man coverage and Ravens cornerback Brandon Carr collided into Landry while he was attempting to cover Derrick Willies on a shorter route.

At first the call looked controversial, but after further explanation it was actually a pretty good no call.

The officials decided not to call illegal contact or defensive pass interference. Illegal contact can only come before the ball is thrown and pass interference can only be called on throws that are considered catchable. Baker Mayfield’s pass sailed well out of bounds and Landry wouldn’t have been able to make a play on the ball even if he was free.

Hence, the no call. Here’s what Gene Steratore had to say about it during the CBS broadcast.

“Illegal contact, defensive holding. Both of those fouls have to come prior to the pass being thrown. Once the ball is in the air the only thing we can have then is defensive pass interference. That ball is significantly long and uncatchable there, so the ruling of uncatchable and no foul I would agree with.”

It looked like a death sentence for the Browns as the Ravens took over near midfield, but their defense forced a three-and-out.

Hue Jackson and Todd Haley tried their darnedest to lose the game on the Browns’ final possession. They ran a reverse to Rod Streater on first-and-10 on their own 16-yard line ... which lost 11 yards.

Then on second-and-21, Mayfield scrambled for a 13-yard gain to put the Browns into a manageable third-down situation. On the next play, Mayfield escaped pressure and found undrafted receiver Derrick Willies, who had zero catches coming into this game, for a 39-yard gain to put the Browns right outside field goal range.

The Browns gained 24 yards on their final three plays before rookie Greg Joseph came in to attempt the game-winning field goal. Joseph had already missed an extra point and what could have been the game winner in regulation — a 55-yard attempt that went wide left. The Browns had already tied against the Steelers and lost against the Saints because of their former kicker, Zane Gonzalez (who was cut), this season.

The overtime kick was blocked by the Ravens, but the ball tumbled through the uprights to seal the deal for Cleveland.

It has to feel good to get that first Sunday win for Jackson. The ending of the game was wacky, but we don’t expect anything else from the Browns at this point. They were able to lean on their rookie quarterback to get a win against a tough Baltimore defense. At 2-2-1, the Browns are making their presence felt in what’s shaping up to be a competitive AFC North.