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Jameis Winston and the Browns stun the Ravens with a game-winning touchdown bomb in the first game since Deshaun Watson's injury


Jameis Winston and the Browns stun the Ravens with a game-winning touchdown bomb in the first game since Deshaun Watson's injury

Jameis Winston threw three touchdowns without an interception in his debut as Cleveland's starting quarterback. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Jameis Winston threw three touchdowns without an interception in his debut as Cleveland's starting quarterback. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

The Jameis Winston era in Cleveland is off to a great start.

The Browns defeated the roaring Ravens and achieved their season-high win in a 29-24 win over Baltimore on Sunday. The win was just the Browns' second of the season and came against a Ravens team that entered Sunday with the second-best record in the AFC.

Cleveland capped the game offensively with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds left.

One play before the touchdown pass, Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton missed an interception that hit him in the hands and almost secured the victory for Baltimore.

The game for Winston was his first as a starter for Cleveland, a week after starter Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear. Winston gave the Browns a second-half lead with two touchdown drives in the third quarter before throwing the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of regulation.

Winston finished the day going 27 of 41 for 334 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. A Browns offense that entered the day averaging an NFL league-worst 253.9 yards per game recorded 401 yards of total offense.

Cleveland led 20-17 in the fourth quarter and elected to attempt a 48-yard field goal with 4:55 left rather than attempt it on fourth-and-3. Dustin Hopkins managed to extend the lead to 23-17.

The Ravens responded with a six-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry, giving Cleveland 2:19 to respond. The Browns countered with a 69-yard touchdown drive in 1:37, capped by Tillman's touchdown catch.

Cleveland's defense then did the rest, stopping the Ravens short of the end zone before the game clock reached zero. The Ravens had a shot into the end zone on their final play after Lamar Jackson fought back and bought some time at the Baltimore 30 on the first-and-10. But his pass failed because Cleveland's secondary didn't allow any Ravens receivers access to the end zone.

When his final pass fell incomplete, Jackson took off his helmet and slammed it to the turf in frustration.

Jackson, who is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, finished the day completing 23 of 38 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers before finishing with 46 rushing yards. Henry added 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

But Baltimore's defense struggled to slow the Browns' rejuvenated offense, which was arguably the league's worst with Watson at quarterback. And the Ravens made several game-changing errors, including Hamilton's aborted interception attempt and a drop by Rashod Bateman in the fourth quarter that led to a Ravens punt.

With Cleveland leading 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, Jackson fought through and looked deep across midfield to Bateman on third-and-14 from the Baltimore 15-yard line. The pass hit Bateman in the hands, but he dropped the ball that would have secured a 50-yard gain and a first down.

Instead, the Ravens hit a punt and the Browns extended their lead with a field goal on the ensuing drive, setting up the game's hectic final minutes.

With the upset of their division rivals, the Browns improve to 2-6 and shed some light on Cleveland's previously dark season. A Ravens team that started 5-2 suffered its first loss since Week 2, leaving it in the middle of the pack for AFC playoff contenders.

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