Browns defense steps up in Deshaun Watson’s home debut to beat Ravens
CLEVELAND — It was certainly an AFC North kind of night in Deshaun Watson’s first home start as the Browns quarterback on Saturday. However, it was not, as Baltimore’s Marlon Humphrey said earlier in the week, a “not-so-soft” welcome for him.
The Browns and Ravens played a defensive struggle as the snow fell over FirstEnergy Stadium. It was one in which the Browns defense was able to get the best of the Ravens in a 13-3 win.
Watson was 18-of-28 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown, as well as rushing for 22 yards on six carries, in his first home game for the Browns. It was his third start overall, with Cleveland (6-8) improving to 2-1 with him behind center.
However, the story of the game was the defense. Despite the Ravens amassing 324 yards for the game with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley starting in place of an injured Lamar Jackson, they could manage just one Justin Tucker field goal.
The Browns forced two turnovers and blocked a Tucker field goal. They also stopped Baltimore (9-5) on three fourth-down tries.
Browns keep Ravens drive alive with pass interference flag
The Browns would’ve been off the field after three plays the first time the Ravens had the football. That is, if not for a pass interference penalty on third down to keep it alive.
The flag went against rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr, who was matched up against tight end Mark Andrews. The two were hand-fighting during the route, and Emerson did appear to make some contact just before the pass came in that drew the 12-yard flag.
Defense bows up to stop Ravens on fourth-and-1 in red zone
The pass interference flag jump-started the Ravens on an impressive opening-drive march. Baltimore mixed a healthy dose of both J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to move from their own 35 after the penalty to the Browns 7, where they had fourth-and-1.
The Ravens went with a quick handoff to fullback Patrick Ricard on the play. Linebacker Deion Jones and safety John Johnson III were the first two to meet Ricard in the hole, preventing him from gaining anything and giving the Browns a huge early defensive stand.
Deshaun Watson finds a rhythm with short-to-intermediate passes
After a first-possession three-and-out, Watson found a nice passing rhythm on the Browns’ second possession. Instead of forcing things downfield, it was a steady diet of short to intermediate passes that allowed him to get comfortable for the drive.
Watson was 6-of-7 passing on the drive for 51 yards. He completed two passes each to Donovan Peoples-Jones (22 yards) and David Njoku (15 yards), while Amari Cooper also brought in a 4-yard catch on third-and-2 from the Ravens 48.
The drive, though, was stalled when no one picked up Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton coming off the left side of the Browns’ line on first down from the Ravens 32. The 7-yard loss on the sack set the drive back, and Cade York needed to hit a 47-yarder to give the Browns a 3-0 lead 50 seconds into the second quarter.