It took every second, but the Browns were able to hang on for a victory over the Jaguars in rainy Jacksonville.
Cleveland had a 13-3 lead at halftime but struggled to get things going in the second half. Dustin Hopkins connected on a 44-yard field goal early in the third quarter to make it 16-3. But late in the third quarter, the Jaguars’ offense scored a touchdown with Travis Etienne’s 4-yard run. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and receiver Brian Thomas had connected on a 66-yard deep ball on the possession to set up the offense.
Jacksonville pulled within three with a 25-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. And while the Browns had the ball deep in Jaguars territory, multiple penalties drove them back out of field goal range.
But that’s when punter Corey Bojorquez likely made the play of the game, sending a punt out of bounds at the 2-yard line just after the two-minute warning. On the next snap, Browns defensive end Alex Wright sacked Lawrence in the end zone for a safety, giving Cleveland a five-point lead.
While Jacksonville punted the ball high in the air after the safety in a quasi-onside attempt, the Browns fielded it with a fair catch. But curiously, the Browns elected to pass on third down even though the Jaguars did not have any more timeouts. An incomplete pass led to another Bojorquez punt, giving the Jags the ball on the 10-yard line with 1:27 left.
The Jaguars got down to Cleveland’s 33-yard line, but Lawrence’s final pass fell incomplete.
Lawrence finished the game 14-of-30 for 220 yards. He also had a pair of carries for 45 yards.
On the other side, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter to open the scoring. He finished 22-of-34 for 186 yards. Jerome Ford led with 64 yards on seven carries. D’Onta Foreman had 42 yards on 14 carries.
Jerry Jeudy led with 73 yards on five catches.
Myles Garrett had another strip-sack, his second consecutive game with one.
With the win, the Browns are now 1-1 and will host the Giants next week.
The 0-2 Jaguars will play the Bills next Monday night.
