Not really sure how this happened, but Ravens beat Browns, 16-10

This game was choppy with weirdness, can’t think of any other way to describe it…

Lamar Jackson provided one brilliant highlight during an otherwise subpar performance and his 13-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews in the third quarter was enough to lift the Baltimore Ravens to a 16-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday night.

Jackson threw a career-high four interceptions in this mistake-filled game, but the only touchdown for Baltimore was memorable. Dogged by Cleveland’s pass rush all night, Jackson scrambled all the way back to about the 35-yard line before lofting a pass over the middle to a remarkably open Andrews in the end zone.

That made it 13-3, and the Ravens (8-3) held on to take over the top spot in the AFC standings.

“Got to move on to the Steelers,” Jackson said. “Six games left in the season.”

Cleveland (6-6) never could get its running game — which entered ranked No. 1 in the league — going against the Baltimore defensive front. Nick Chubb managed only 16 yards on eight carries, and Kareem Hunt had 20 yards on seven attempts.

“Our run game has been very good and we’ve run against loaded boxes like that,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “As a run offense, we’ve done better than that.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh improved to 18-2 in prime-time games at home and 23-4 overall against the Browns.

Baker Mayfield threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku late in the third quarter, but Cleveland didn’t score again. Up 13-10, the Ravens took over with 6:28 remaining in the game and nearly ran out the rest of the clock. A holding call on guard Ben Powers helped stall that drive, and Justin Tucker‘s 49-yard field goal pushed the lead to six with 1:10 to play.

The Browns never got a first down on their final drive.

This was a far cry from last December, when these teams played one of the most exciting games of the 2020 NFL season — a 47-42 Ravens victory in Cleveland. This time, a quiet first half devolved into a series of mistakes toward the end of the second quarter, including five turnovers in the final 3:04.

The Ravens used up 8:41 off the clock on a 17-play drive, but settled for a field goal and a 6-0 lead after guard Kevin Zeitler committed a false start on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The Browns drove into Baltimore territory, but gave the ball away on a trick play. Receiver Jarvis Landry took a shotgun snap and moved around as if to throw, but he was hit and fumbled.

The Browns answered quickly with a takeaway of their own, when a pass by Jackson caromed to Denzel Ward for an interception. Cleveland turned that turnover into a field goal.

Jackson was intercepted again, giving the Browns the ball at the Baltimore 28 with 56 seconds left. Two plays later, Mayfield lost the ball — nobody was even credited with a forced fumble — and the Ravens recovered near midfield.

Jackson threw his third interception of the quarter with 21 seconds left in the half.

Cleveland’s mistakes weren’t confined to the end of the first half. Chase McLaughlin missed a 46-yard field goal in the first quarter, and then the Browns kept a Ravens drive alive when they were called for too many men on the field as Baltimore lined up to go for it on fourth-and-2 from its own 33.

What was remarkable about that was that Cleveland had just called a timeout after appearing to have substitution issues on that fourth down. Then the Browns came out of the timeout and were called for too many men on the field anyway.

Tucker made a 52-yard kick at the end of that possession to give the Ravens a 3-0 lead.

INJURIES—- Hunt was in his first game back from a calf injury. … Ravens DT Calais Campbell (concussion) missed the game. … Cleveland T Jack Conklin, who returned from an elbow injury for this game, hurt his knee in the first quarter. He tried to walk off gingerly, but then his right knee seemed to give out.

Matchup
1st Downs	14	22
Passing 1st downs	10	6
Rushing 1st downs	2	12
1st downs from penalties	2	4
3rd down efficiency	4-13	7-15
4th down efficiency	0-1	1-1
Total Plays	57	77
Total Yards	262	303
Total Drives	12	13
Yards per Play	4.6	3.9
Passing	222	155
Comp-Att	18-37	20-32
Yards per pass	5.6	4.6
Interceptions thrown	0	4
Sacks-Yards Lost	3-25	2-10
Rushing	40	148
Rushing Attempts	17	43
Yards per rush	2.4	3.4
Red Zone (Made-Att)	0-0	1-2
Penalties	5-45	5-54
Turnovers	2	4
Fumbles lost	2	0
Interceptions thrown	0	4
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	22:56	37:04