The Cleveland Browns defeated their division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, 33-32 last Sunday after Dustin Hopkins nailed a 40-yard game-winning field goal as the game clock hit zero. That capped a comeback from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Browns hadn't come back to win a game after being down more than 14 points since the 2014 season when Northeast Ohio’s own Brian Hoyer led them to victory despite a 28-3 deficit in the second half, the largest comeback victory in franchise history.
Deshaun Watson started the game by completing just six of his 20 passes thrown for 76 yards and a pick-six, but the second half told a different story. Watson completed all 14 attempted passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. Cleveland had the ball at the Ravens 42-yard line on 4th and 10 with seven seconds remaining in the first half, trailing Baltimore by eight points. Instead of sending Hopkins out to attempt the 52-yard field goal, the Browns kept their offense on the field without Watson, who was banged up on the previous play.
Backup Quarterback PJ Walker lined up in the shotgun, dropped back, and tossed a hail-mary towards the crowded endzone, which the Ravens would have picked off would have picked off if Geno Stone and Kyle Hamilton had not run into each other. The decision to go for the deep pass with Walker instead of attempting to take the points with Hopkins, who is still 7-of-7 from 50-plus yards this season, was as puzzling and it was potentially costly to the Browns.