CLEVELAND: Not even a 20-point lead was enough for the Browns to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in the home opener Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Quarterback Josh McCown and the offense were on fire early. But McCown suffered an injured left shoulder (non-throwing) in the first quarter, played through the pain and the Browns limped through the rest of the game en route to a 25-20 loss. Before the game, the Browns (0-2, 0-1 in the AFC North) unveiled a statue outside the stadium immortalizing legendary running back Jim Brown, though they failed to mark the event with a win.
The Ravens (2-0, 1-0) went ahead 25-20 with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter when Justin Tucker finished an 11-play, 41-yard march with a 41-yard field goal.
The Browns got the ball back at their 25 with 2:53 remaining. On first-and-10 at the Ravens’ 30, McCown completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, who made the grab over safety Lardarius Webb and fell out of bounds with 21 seconds left.
However, the officials called Pryor for a taunting penalty because he flipped the ball after the play. It looked as if Pryor was trying to flip the ball to an official. The ball hit Webb on a shoulder.
On the next play, linebacker C.J. Mosley intercepted a McCown pass at the 1-yard line to seal the victory for the Ravens.
With the Browns leading by a point, cornerback Joe Haden jumped to intercept a pass in the end zone with 7:35 left in the third quarter. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco intended the pass for wide receiver Breshad Perriman. It was Haden’s second interception of the game, which tied his career best.
McCown was drilled by Mosley, who blew past running back Duke Johnson to get to the quarterback, and got up slowly with 6:07 left in the third quarter. McCown didn’t miss a snap, though. During the next possession, he stepped up to avoid a sack and completed a 47-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman on a jump ball against cornerback Shareece Wright.
The play gave the Browns a first down at the Ravens’ 16, but they squandered the golden opportunity.
Coleman was penalized for a personal foul while tussling with cornerback Jimmy Smith after a second-down play. Smith lowered a shoulder and hit Coleman. Coleman then swiped at Smith’s helmet with his left hand. Smith countered by hitting Coleman in the helmet with his right hand.
Two plays later, Browns kicker Patrick Murray missed a 52-yard field goal wide right with 13:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens responded by capturing their first lead. Tucker capped a five-play, 27-yard drive with a successful 49-yard field goal, giving the Ravens a 22-20 edge with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter.
The Browns led 20-12 at halftime, but didn’t have the momentum when both teams headed to the locker rooms for the break.
Their lead was cut to 20-19 early in the third quarter.
With McCown starting in place of the injured Robert Griffin III, the Browns sprinted to a 20-0 lead.
The Ravens responded with 12 consecutive points and trimmed their deficit to eight with Tucker’s successful 52-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter. Safety Eric Weddle intercepted McCown’s overthrown pass intended for rookie wide receiver Rashard Higgins at the Ravens’ 39 with 42 seconds left in the first half. Seven plays later, Tucker kicked the field goal.
The Browns scored on the game’s opening possession when McCown connected with Coleman for a 31-yard touchdown. On third-and-10, Coleman got behind cornerback Shareece Wright in the back of the end zone, caught the pass and kept his feet inbounds (the play survived a replay review) to score the first touchdown of his NFL career with 9:45 left in the first quarter.
The Browns converted all three third downs during the march after going 2-for-10 with Griffin commanding the offense last week in a 29-10, season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. When a broken collarbone ended McCown’s 2015 season on Nov. 30, he led the NFL in third-down passing with a rating of 129.5.
Running back Isaiah Crowell extended the Browns’ lead to 14-0 with 6:47 left in the opening quarter by rushing for an 85-yard touchdown on the first play of the offense’s next possession. Crowell said Friday he expected to have a good game on the same day the Browns unveiled a statue immortalizing legendary running back Jim Brown outside the stadium. Crowell’s run is the second-longest in franchise history and the longest ever surrendered by the Ravens.
Two plays later, Haden intercepted a pass Flacco intended for wide receiver Steve Smith and returned it 9 yards to the Ravens’ 27 with 5:59 left in the first quarter.
It didn’t take long for the Browns to capitalize. McCown threw a short pass to Coleman, and the first-round draft pick stiff-armed Smith on his way into the end zone.
The Browns took a 20-0 lead with 4:34 left in the first quarter but gave up two points on the extra-point kick. Defensive end Lawrance Guy blocked Murray’s attempt, and cornerback Tavon Young returned 63 yards for a score worth two points.
The Browns led by 18 points after one quarter. It was their largest lead after the first quarter since Dec. 3, 1961, when they led the Dallas Cowboys 21-0 after one quarter en route to a 38-17 win.
But the Ravens weren’t intimidated.
They scored their first touchdown and trimmed their deficit to 20-9 with 1:15 left in the second quarter when Flacco connected with Wallace on a slant route for a 7-yard touchdown. Wallace gained inside position against Haden during the play, which came four plays after Haden nearly intercepted a deep ball on a go route to Perriman.
Then the Ravens started the second half with the ball and generated a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Flacco found Wallace wide open for a 17-yard touchdown pass, trimming the Ravens’ deficit to 20-19 with 12:17 left in the third quarter.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.