Jackson, Ravens get wild win over Browns
Late scoring drives keep playoff hopes alive
CLEVELAND — Lamar Jackson’s only thought was to rescue his teammates.
Jackson emerged from the locker room, saved the game and maybe the Baltimore Ravens’ season with a 47-42 win over the Cleveland Browns in a wild Monday night game.
Back on the field after being sidelined by cramps, Jackson threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown and then set up Justin Tucker’s 55-yard field goal with two seconds left as the Ravens (8-5) stayed in the playoff picture.
A game dripping with playoff intensity delivered with endless drama and numerous twists, none bigger than Jackson running back onto the field for a fourth-down play after his backup, Trace Mcsorley, had suffered a knee injury.
Jackson, who missed a recent game with COVID-19, said he received fluids in the locker room and was getting stretched when he saw Mcsorley get hurt.
“I’m still stretching and I’m like, ‘We gotta go out there,’ ” he said.
“It was fourth down, my guys were making great catches and we came out with the victory.”
Jackson first hit Brown for the TD and then, after getting the ball back with 1:04 left, got Baltimore in position for Tucker, who made 70 straight field goals inside 40 yards before missing last week. He made this one look routine, providing a boost for the Ravens after they spent the past two weeks dealing with an outbreak and scheduling changes.
“It’s definitely good that we made that kick, given everything this team is going through right now,’” Tucker said.
It was a gut punch for the Browns (9-4), who had rallied from a 14-point deficit.
The Browns had one last chance, but a series of laterals on the final play ended with a safety that affected gamblers all over the country.
The Ravens were 3-point favorites on the opening line.
“There can either be good or bad to come from this,” said Browns QB Baker Mayfield, whose 22-yard TD pass to Kareem Hunt with 1:04 left tied it. “You can start pointing fingers, but that’s not this team. We know that we need to fight and make the plays to win when we need to.”
The teams combined for nine rushing touchdowns, tying a record set in 1922 by Rock Island and Evansville and then Racine and Louisville.