The Baltimore Ravens blocked a potential Browns game-winning field goal and ran it back for a touchdown as time expired to stun the Browns, 33-27, on Monday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
With the score tied 27-27, Brent Urban blocked Travis Coons' 51-yard field goal attempt and Will Hill scooped it up for the 64-yard return.
The loss is Cleveland's sixth in a row and drops the Browns to 2-9. The Ravens moved to 4-7.
With the Browns trailing 27-20 and less than 2 minutes to play, backup quarterback Austin Davis, playing in relief of an injured Josh McCown, tied it up with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin with 1:47 to play. After the teams traded punts, Tramon Williams intercepted Baltimore quarterback Matt Schaub and set the Browns up inside Ravens territory with 55 seconds to play.
A 6-yard reception by Brian Hartline and a 7-yard Davis scramble put Cleveland in field goal range. The miss was Coons' first of the season.
The Ravens used two lengthy scoring drives to seemingly take control of a game that was trending in the Browns' direction after a Karlos Dansby interception return for a touchdown. Baltimore possessed the ball for nearly 17 of the second half's first 22 minutes and scored 10 unanswered points after Cleveland claimed a 20-17 lead with Dansby's pick-six.
McCown went down for good with a right shoulder injury with 8:29 to play. Davis started his first full possession with 4:20 on the clock, shook off a 9-yard loss on a second-down completion and got the Browns rolling with a fourth-down conversion throw to Hartline. After a 16-yard throw to Benjamin, he reconnected with the speedster on the very next play for a game-tying, 42-yard touchdown pass with 1:47 to play.
Dansby gave the Browns their first lead of the game with his second interception return for a touchdown of the season. Dropping back on a third-and-long, Dansby snagged Schaub's pass out of the air and ran 52 yards untouched for the score, which put the Browns ahead, 20-17, with 12:16 to play in the third quarter.
The advantage lasted a little more than 6 minutes, as Baltimore drove down the field in methodical fashion, converted a pivotal fourth down and reclaimed the lead on a Schaub touchdown pass to Kamar Aiken. The Ravens followed with a field goal on their next drive, which spanned more than 8 minutes.
The Browns once again found themselves in an early hole Monday, trailing 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The defense was sturdy, forcing a punt and field goal on its two first-quarter possessions, but a special teams slip-up gave Baltimore its first touchdown. Rookie Kaelin Clay took Andy Lee's 61-yard punt back 82 yards untouched to stake his team to a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Baltimore built its second-quarter lead to two touchdowns on a quick touchdown drive that flourished thanks to two big plays. After Chris Givens hauled in a 48-yard pass, Matt Schaub followed with a dump-off pass to rookie running back Javorius Allen, who broke multiple tackle attempts on his way to a 13-yard touchdown.
McCown led the Browns on three consecutive scoring drives to make it 17-13 at the half.
Sandwiched between two productive drives that ended with short Coons field goals, the Browns got in the end zone with 4:36 left in the second quarter when McCown dropped back, ran toward the line of scrimmage, backed off, rolled to his left and located Marlon Moore for a 10-yard touchdown -- Moore's first since Oct. 2012.
The Browns host AFC North leader Cincinnati on Sunday.
