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ESPN Staff Writer- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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ESPN Staff Writer- Jake Trotter covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2011 covering college football. Before that, he worked at The Oklahoman, Austin American-Statesman and Middletown (Ohio) Journal newspapers. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Trotter.
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns (6-8) kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 13-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens (9-5) at FirstEnergy Stadium on Saturday.
Baltimore was beset by mistakes and turnovers, highlighted by usually reliable kicker Justin Tucker missing two field goals and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley's costly interception in the red zone. Meanwhile, Cleveland rode its defense and a timely 91-yard touchdown drive following the Huntley pick to seal the deal and remain in postseason contention.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was suspended 11 games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy for committing sexual assault as defined by the league, made his home debut with Cleveland.
In his third game back since the suspension Saturday, Watson threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones on third down. That proved to be the difference.
Pivotal play: On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Ravens drove into the red zone. But on third-and-10 from the Cleveland 15-yard line, cornerback Denzel Ward intercepted Tyler Huntley to thwart another Ravens scoring opportunity. Off the turnover, the Browns drove 91 yards -- aided by a Baltimore face mask penalty on what would've been a third-down stop -- for their first touchdown of the night.
Troubling trend: The Browns, once again, struggled to consistently run the ball while the game was still in doubt. Perhaps the most dominant running team in the league during the first half of the season has been anything but dating back to Cleveland's Week 9 bye. Injuries along the offensive line have hurt, and remain the biggest reason Nick Chubb no longer has much of a shot to capture his first rushing title.
QB breakdown: Watson played his sharpest game with the Browns. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 161 yards and rushed for 22 yards on six carries. Without injured quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Ravens had almost no passing offense to counter. -- Jake Trotter
Under-the-radar stat that matters: In three games with Watson at QB, the Browns have scored zero first-half offensive touchdowns.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens' sputtering offense hit rock bottom in Cleveland, which put a dent in their chances of winning the AFC North.
The Ravens failed to score a touchdown in a regular-season game for the first time in four years -- since a 2018 game also at the Browns. This isn't a surprising development considering Baltimore has now reached the end zone two times in its past three games.
Huntley, who was filling in for the injured Jackson, failed to push the ball downfield, completing 17 of 30 passes for 138 yards. He also had an ill-timed interception in the red zone.
Baltimore didn't manage any points on two trips inside the 20-yard line. The Ravens turned the ball over twice. And Baltimore even had a delay of game penalty coming out of a timeout.
The Ravens, who entered the game atop the AFC North, now have a 52% chance to capture the division, according to ESPN's Football Power Index.
Troubling trend: Baltimore once again flopped in the red zone. The Ravens marched inside the 20-yard line twice and didn't manage to score a point. On Baltimore's opening drive, the Ravens were stopped when they went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Browns' 7-yard line. In the third quarter, Huntley was intercepted at the Cleveland 9-yard line when he forced a throw to DeSean Jackson on a slant. Baltimore entered this game ranked 24th in red zone efficiency and managed to look even worse Saturday.
Eye-popping stat: Tucker missed two field goals in a regular season game for the first time in four years (2018 vs. the Chargers). He was wide left on a 48-yard field-goal try, which ended his streak of 37 straight made inside 50 yards, and then had a 50-yard attempt into the wind get blocked. Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, did have one memorable moment. He set a Ravens franchise record with his 355th career field goal when he drilled a 53-yarder earlier in the second quarter. -- Jamison Hensley
Under-the-radar stat that matters: The Ravens had zero touchdowns Saturday but rushed for 198 yards. That's the most rushing yards by a team that scored no touchdowns since the 2013 Rams (200 in 14-9 loss to the Seahawks).