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It took a long, long time but the Browns eventually defeated the Jaguars 31-27.
In a marathon game that took three hours and 43 minutes of real time, Cleveland outlasted Jacksonville’s comeback effort to move to 8-5 on the season and solidify itself as a Wild Card contender in a crowded AFC race.
Starting his second game for the Browns, Joe Flacco threw three touchdowns, finding David Njoku for two scores and second-year receiver David Bell for one.
Bell’s first touchdown of his career put Cleveland firmly in control early in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-3, Flacco rolled to his right and found an open Bell past the sticks. But the closest defender had fallen down, giving Bell a clear path to the end zone to give Cleveland a 14-point advantage.
Jacksonville responded with a quick, nine-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:42 off the clock. Lawrence hit Parker Washington with a 19-yard pass to make the score 28-21.
While the Jaguars forced a punt on their next possession, they couldn’t do anything on offense with the opportunity. Trevor Lawrence’s pass to Zay Jones on fourth-and-3 from Jacksonville’s 38 was incomplete.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins hit a 55-yard field goal with 3:10 left to effectively put the game out of reach.
But Jacksonville made it interesting, as Evan Engram scored a 2-yard touchdown with just 1:33 left to tighten the score. But the two-point conversion failed when Myles Garrett sacked Lawrence — though that won’t count as an official sack in his 2023 stats.
The Browns recovered the onside kick and kneeled out the clock.
Flacco finished the game 26-of-45 for 311 yards with three touchdowns, one interception, and a lost fumble. David Njoku caught six passes for 91 yards and Amari Cooper had seven receptions for 77 yards.
On the other side, Lawrence finished 28-of-50 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and three picks after suffering a high ankle sprain on Monday night. He also rushed three times for 11 yards.
The Jaguars had four total turnovers, also…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/browns-move-8-5-31-221432521.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-10 22:14:32
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