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Players of the Game

Jameis Winston electrifies Huntington Bank Field in first career start | Players of the Game

Winston threw three touchdowns in the Browns’ first win since Week 2

Browns Players of the Game Week 8

The Browns earned their first divisional win of the season in a thrilling 29-24 victory over the Ravens on Sunday, snapping a five-game losing streak.

"I'm just very proud of that football team. We knew we were going to have to outlast (the Ravens), that's a great football team," head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. "I'm proud of them because of the work that we put into this thing, and you want to get the results when you put in all the work."

Here are three players of the game from Sunday's win.

QB Jameis Winston

In his first start for the Browns, QB Jameis Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns as the Browns earned their first home win of the season.

"He brought great energy," WR Cedric Tillman said after the game. "Jameis kept telling us that he's going to keep throwing it. He's going to keep coming back to us no matter what. He played great today."

Winston led the offense on a scoring drive to open the game, driving 81 yards downfield and chewing over eight minutes off the clock before settling for a field goal. The scoring continued all game, as the Browns surpassed 20 points in a game for the first time this season.

No scoring drive was more important than the final one, as the Browns faced a one-point deficit with just over 2:30 remaining in the game.

Winston took what the defense gave him, completing 5 of 7 passing attempts before throwing a ball right into the hands of S Kyle Hamilton for what would have been an interception. Hamilton juggled the ball in his hands before it slipped out and fell incomplete.

"Oh, I started praying instantly," Winston said of the near interception. "Who knows how we would feel right now if that would have happened? But I'm so grateful that that was an 'if'. And 'ifs', and 'shoulds,' and 'would've, could'ves' don't mean nothing in this game."

After the drop from Hamilton, Winston and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey showed no lack of trust in the quarterback's arm. Winston dropped back, waited a few beats for Tillman to beat his man downfield and launched a 38-yard bomb hitting his receiver in stride for what became a game-winning touchdown.

Huntington Bank Field was perhaps the loudest it has been all season as Winston ran downfield to celebrate with Tillman before a failed two-point conversion.

"When you don't get those for a while, you forget a little bit," LG Joel Bitonio said of the Winston-fueled win. "And so, it was special. Guys were excited, guys were pumped up and it's just the best part about the game. It's why you play the game."

Cleveland Browns celebrate postgame after a win over the Baltimore Ravens on October 27, 2024 at Huntington Bank Field.

The offensive line

Despite being blitzed on 39.5 percent of plays, the second-highest rate the Browns have faced all season, the Browns offensive line held the Ravens pass rush to just two sacks and a 25.6 quarterback pressure percentage – a season-low rate.

The last time the Browns were blitzed at as high a percentage was their Week 3 loss to the Giants, who blitzed on over 50 percent of offensive snaps. The Giants pressured QB Deshaun Watson on over 40 percent of snaps and sacked him eight times.

On Sunday against the Ravens, Winston had time in the pocket, averaging 4.23 seconds per passing attempt compared to the Browns' season average of 3.06 seconds.

"I thought the protection was outstanding all day. The guys really took the challenge of that, and I thought (Winston) got through his reads and the (receivers) got open," Stefanski said.

In eight games this season, the Browns have started seven different offensive line combinations due to a number of injuries at each position. On Sunday, Dawand Jones started at left tackle while RG Wyatt Teller returned from the injured reserve list and C Ethan Pocic and RT Jack Conklin played their second and third consecutive games, respectively, after returning from injury.

For Jones, it was his first career start at left tackle after making five starts at right tackle this season.

"I think the protection especially was very, very solid on his end," Bitonio said after the game. "I think he grew up a little bit the last couple weeks. The NFL, I tell people all the time, it's a week-by-week league. Your highest high one week, your lowest low the next. But, to his credit, he didn't mope too much about it and he really has put in work."

Play-by-play action shots from the Cleveland Browns' Week 8 NFL game vs. the Baltimore Ravens

DE Za'Darius Smith

Facing two-time MVP QB Lamar Jackson is no easy task, and while the Ravens made several big plays on offense, the Browns defense was able to hold a Ravens team averaging over 31 points per game to 24 points.

DE Za'Darius Smith was the highest-graded Browns player per Pro Football Focus, earning a 91.8 grade per PFF.

With eight quarterback pressures and a sack for a loss of 11 yards, Smith was a big reason why the Browns found success against the Ravens high-octane offense. Smith added a tackle for loss on a run from Jackson that resulted in a 9-yard loss to force an eventual punt from the Ravens.

On the Ravens final three plays of the game, the Browns defensive line, including Smith, generated pressure and forced three straight incompletions from Jackson to seal the victory.

"We just knew the game was on us," S Grant Delpit said after the win. "They had to drive that long field and score, so we knew that we wouldn't want it any other way, it's on us."

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