CLEVELAND — Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass in his home debut, as the Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens 13-3 on a snowy Saturday night.
Baltimore came into the game, winning six of their last seven. However, quarterback Lamar Jackson still remains out with a knee injury.
And it appears the Ravens need Jackson back as quick as possible. The offense has suffered greatly without their dual threat quarterback.
And to make matters worse, the loss puts Baltimore a half-game back of Cincinnati in the AFC North, and pending the Bengals' game at Tampa Bay on Sunday, it could be a full game.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Browns (6-8) struck first on their second possession of the game. Watson completed seven passes during the 14 play drive, but the drive stalled and Cleveland settled for a 47-yard field goal from Cade York to take a 3-0 lead.
Watson is still trying to find his groove in just his third game back from his NFL suspension for alleged sexual misconduct. But the three-time Pro Bowler still managed to make enough plays when needed, as he finished the night 18 of 28 for 161 yards, and an additional 22 rushing yards.
Baltimore responded later in the quarter with a field goal from Justin Tucker to knot the game up at three with 5:31 remaining before halftime.
York would add another field goal right before halftime to give Cleveland a 6-3 lead at the break.
The rookie kicker missed two other tries, but still out-kicked Tucker, the league's most accurate kicker. The Ravens All-Pro kicker missed a 48-yarder and had another kick attempt blocked by Browns defensive tackle Jordan Elliott.
Baltimore's backup Tyler Huntley, who was cleared of a concussion just days before the game, couldn't manage to get the offense clicking. While Huntley completed 17 of his 30 passes for 138 yards, he threw an critical interception to Denzel Ward inside the Cleveland 10 during the third quarter.
Following the pick, the Browns marched 91-yards to reach the end zone as Watson delivered a three-yard pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones to set the final score and keep Cleveland's slim playoff hopes alive.
Baltimore's J.K. Dobbins ran for 125 yards in the loss.
Baltimore 0 3 0 0 = 3
Cleveland 0 6 7 0 = 13
Second Quarter CLE—Cade York 47 field goal, 14:10. BAL—Justin Tucker 53 field goal, 5:31. CLE—Cade York 23 field goal, 1:52. Third Quarter CLE—Donovan Peoples-Jones 3 pass from Deshaun Watson (Cade York kick), 2:10.
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