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Jameis Winston makes most of another chance in Cleveland Browns' win over Baltimore Ravens
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- Jameis Winston makes most of another chance in Cleveland Browns' win over Baltimore Ravens
CLEVELAND — The hero, or at least one of the heroes , of Sunday's 29-24 Browns win over the Baltimore Ravens nearly found himself becoming the goat first. The difference between the two outcomes was about four seconds and a few bobbles.
Browns quarterback Jameis Winston's pass with 1:04 remaining in the game was intended for wide receiver Elijah Moore . It landed in the hands of the Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton .
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The was just one problem. Hamilton, whose second-quarter strip sack set up a Ravens touchdown, couldn't hold onto the perfectly delivered gift from Winston.
"I started praying instantly," Winston said afterward. "I started praying instantly. It was only by the grace of God. And I think when situations like that happen, you always sit back and you be like, man, I still got some stuff to work on, right? Because it could have been a matter of whatever. Who knows how we would feel right now if that would've happened, but I'm so grateful that that was an if, and ifs and shoulds and woulda, couldas don't mean nothing in this game."
Blessed with a second chance, Winston made Hamilton and the Ravens pay dearly. He dropped back and found wide receiver Cedric Tillman wide open behind safety Eddie Jackson .
Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) blocks Baltimore Ravens linebacker Tavius Robinson (95) as quarterback Jameis Winston (5) prepares to throw a pass Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
This time, Winston's pass was caught, by the right person no less. Tillman, who had scored in the third quarter on a 22-yard pass, pulled in the 38-yard throw in the end zone with 59 seconds remaining to give the Browns a 29-24 lead.
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"Just details going at it," Winston said of the go-ahead play. "One play at a time. I think when you're able to get certain people targets, defense aren't able to locate their eyes on one specific person. [Tillman] showed up when it mattered most. So I'm very happy for him."
Winston showed up when it mattered most in his first start for the Browns (2-6), who posted their best offensive performance of the season to snap a five-game losing streak with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey calling the plays for the first time this season. Installed as the starter earlier in the week after Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles tendon in last Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals , 10-year pro Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns.
The performance was night and day from what the Browns offense had shown in the first seven games, when it was the league's 30th-ranked passing offense (159.6 yards) and 29th in points (15.6). They more than doubled the passing total and nearly doubled the scoring output, setting season bests by the end of the third quarter.
"When [Browns] coach Stefanski told me I was the starting quarterback, I said this offense was sitting on a big game," Winston said. "I knew it. Honestly, you could see it with Deshaun in his last game. He was 15 of 17, 123 yards. This offense was starting to roll, and we just picked up [where we] left off."
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The 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick's yardage was the most for a quarterback making his Browns starting debut since the 1999 expansion season. It was eight yards better than the 326 yards Kelly Holcomb threw for in the 2002 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs in the "Dwayne Rudd helmet toss loss."
A big part of that was diversity in targets, with four different players finishing with at least seven targets and five catches. Elijah Moore had eight catches for 85 yards on 12 targets, Tillman seven catches for 99 yards and two scores on nine targets, Jerry Jeudy five catches for 79 yards on eight targets and tight end David Njoku five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown on seven targets.
"In practice we was just telling everybody to stay ready," Jeudy said. "Everybody's going to have an opportunity. He came out there today and showed us."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns QB Jameis Winston turns another chance into win over Ravens
