CLEVELAND, OH — Amidst a smattering of muted cheers, some boos and snow flurries, Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson overcame all of those In winning his home debut, 13-3 over the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens.
Watson, who recently served an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, showed glimpses of his former three-time Pro Bowl self, and not the tentative and rusty quarterback, who returned to NFL action vs. his former team in Houston.
For the game, Watson completed 18 of 28 passes for 161 yards, while rushing for another 22 yards on the ground. Up 6-3, and following a Denzel Ward interception of Ravens QB Tyler Hundley, Watson capped off a 91-yard scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown to Donovan People’s-Jones to put Cleveland up 13-3.
A game filled with timely stops by a much-maligned defense led by embattled defensive coordinator Joe Woods, including a fumble recovery and Ward’s interception, were just what the Browns needed to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive.
Rookie kicker Cade York continued to struggle in missing two field goals, made made up for it in converting FG’s of 47 and 23-yard ones. Saturday evening also saw a rare miss by the NFL’s most accurate kicker, as Justin Tucker missed his first-ever kick from inside of 50 yards—a 48-yarder—and had another one blocked.
Cleveland Pro Bowl running back, Nick Chubb churned out 99 yards on 21 attempts. In place of 2019 NFL MVP, Huntley completed 17/30 passes for 138 yards and one interception, while Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins rushed for 125 yards on 13 carries.
With the win, the Browns improve to 6-8 and are still in the AFC playoff hunt, while the Ravens drop to 9-5 and half a game behind the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.
In three games since returning from his 11-game suspension, Watson is 2-1 as starting QB for the Browns.