To make matters worse, they lost their center, Nick Harris, on the third play of the game to a broken fibula that required surgery, Stefanski said, and their starting running back in Jerome Ford, who suffered a fracture in the second quarter sustained a thigh injury.

With 7:53 left, embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson took over on his 30-yard pass and promptly hit a 35-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy at the Eagles' 35. A 14-yard pass to Pierre Strong Jr. moved them to the 21.

But the Browns shot themselves in the foot with penalties. Amari Cooper was flagged 15 yards for a facemask on an incompletion to him in the right corner. Cooper made up for it with an 11-yard catch at the 8 to convert a third down.

On third-and-3 from the 3, rookie lineman Zak Zinter was pressed into duty when Michael Dunn moved to center and began moving the Browns back to the 8. The Eagles broke up a slant shot to tight end David Njoku on the left side on third-and-8, and then Jedrick Wills Jr. tackled a false start on the forth-and-3 to prevent the Browns from tying it up on fourth down attempt.

“I wanted to finish a game and come from behind after a few false starts. … We have to find a way to finish the football game,” Stefanski said after the loss. “…The guys are fighting like crazy, but we have to find a way to get a win.”

“It’s self-inflicted. It’s not something the other team does, it’s what we do.”

Dustin Hopkins hit a 31-yard field goal to bring the Browns within 20-16 with 3:57 left, and they had all three timeouts left if they got another chance.

The Eagles took the lead at their 24 with 3:54 left, and the Browns never got the ball back.

Stefanski was asked why he kicked the field goal instead of scoring the potential fourth-and-13 touchdown with 3:57 remaining.

“With that down and the distance, you just take three and try to get a stop on the other side,” Stefanski said. “…When you don't get the ball back, that's what goes through your mind (whether you should have scored the touchdown).”

Myles Garrett gave the Browns the spark they needed when he jumped the long snapper and blocked a 57-yard field goal attempt and Rodney McLeod returned the ball 50 yards for a touchdown. But it wasn't enough.

The Browns became the first team in 10 years not to score 20 points in the first six games of a season.

Watson completed 16 of 23 passes for 169 yards. He was sacked five times and finished with a passer rating of 90.5.

Browns running back Nick Chubb is expected to return from knee surgery rehab next week, but with the Browns 1-5, it's likely too late.

DeVonta Smith's 45-yard TD

Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II was caught in traffic on a cross route to Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith en route to his 45-yard touchdown catch from Hurts with 7:54 left to make it 20-13 The Eagles were leading, there was still one person left in the game who could stop him.

Dustin Hopkins makes it to 13

Hopkins, working with a new long snapper in Bay Village, Ohio, native Rex Sunahara, kicked a 49-yard field goal with 9:49 to play to tie the score at 13. Hopkins had previously missed a 52-yard thrower and converted a 43-yarder.

The drive was marred two plays earlier when Watson ran 11 yards to the Philly 13, but it was wiped out by a holding penalty on Michael Dunn.

The Myles Garrett block and Rodney McLeod TD

The Browns tied the score 14 seconds before halftime when Myles Garrett jumped over the middle of the line, stuck his right hand up and blocked Jake Elliott's 57-yard field goal attempt.

Rodney McLeod picked up the rolling ball and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. It was McLeod's second touchdown in three weeks and he led the Browns with two touchdowns this season after scoring.

It was the first blocked field goal the Browns recovered for a touchdown since Leigh Bodden on November 13, 2005 in a 6-3 loss to the Steelers.

It was Garrett's third blocked field goal of his career and was helped by Dalvin Tomlinson pinning long snapper Rick Lovato.

When Garrett blocked a field goal in Indianapolis last year that turned into a Browns touchdown, Shelby Harris held off the snapper while Garrett jumped.

All that box jumping Garrett does in the offseason — once he clears 64 inches — comes in handy.

The big play followed an 8-yard sack by Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on third-and-1 to force the long field goal attempt.

Dustin Hopkins misses a 50-plus

The Browns moved the ball well on the first drive of the second half, but faltered on a third-and-29 by the Eagles when Jameis Winston scored the conversion. But instead of Winston falling forward a yard, he handed it off to Cedric Tillman, who lost 5 yards on the jet sweep when Brandon Graham noticed.

Hopkins pushed the ensuing 52-yard field goal attempt wide right. It was his second miss from 50+ this season after going 8-for-8 last year. This season, Hopkins is 4 of 6 from 50+.

It prevented the Browns from taking their first lead at 13-10 with 10:26 left in the third.

The Eagles take a 13-10 lead

Philly's Jake Elliott hit a 44-yard field goal with 2:50 left in the third quarter to give the Eagles a 13-10 lead. Elliott made it, although Denzel Ward blocked the kick. The Browns gave up plays of 15 and 17 on the drive before forcing the field goal.

Martin Emerson Jr.'s problems continue

Cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., trying to overcome his slow start to the season, threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to AJ Brown in the back left corner of the end zone to give the Eagles a 7:10 lead: 17 remained at halftime. Ward came into the game with a hamstring injury and was sidelined for several playoffs.

Jerome Ford lost due to a hamstring injury

Ford was sidelined with a hamstring injury after a punt with 12:03 left. That left the Browns with D'Onta Foreman and Pierre Strong Jr. at the position. Luckily for them, Nick Chubb will be back next week against the Bengals.

Jack Conklin makes his long-awaited return

Conklin, a two-time All-Pro, returned to his starting spot at right tackle for the first time since injuring his knee in the 2023 opener against the Bengals. Conklin tore his ACL, ACL, ACL and meniscus in that Browns win.

Conklin replaced Dawand Jones, who got off to a slow start in his return from MCL surgery.

Nick Harris was transported

Browns center Nick Harris was carried off the field on an air throw to the right left side of the game after injuring himself on the third play, a pass from Cooper on third down for a Browns three-and-out. Harris already replaced Ethan Pocic, who suffered a knee injury in Washington last week.

With Harris quickly out for the game with an ankle injury, guard Michael Dunn was moved from right guard to center and freshman Zak Zinter stepped back in at right guard.

Dunn, who came off the non-football illness list last week, started at right guard in place of Zinter, who was limited on Wednesday and Thursday with a knee injury and struggled in his first two starts against some of the best defensive players in the NFL .

But he was pressed into service to try to slow two other top tackles in the Eagles' Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.

Next

The Browns return home for the first of three straight games at Huntington Bank Field. Kick-off on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m