The Battle of Ohio was a back and forth battle as the Browns come out victorious 37-34. (Cleveland.com)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns’ 37-34 win over Cincinnati Bengals …
1. What a battle: Baker Mayfield shook off an 0-for-5, one-interception start, and then made 21 completions in a row before tossing a 24-yard touchdown to Donovan Peoples-Jones with 11 seconds left for a 37-34 win in one of the most thrilling contests in the history of the Battle of Ohio. It was Mayfield's fifth touchdown of the game after losing Odell Beckham Jr. to a knee injury in the first quarter. The Bengals’ Joe Burrow had taken the fourth lead change of the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive. His 2-yard TD to Gio Bernard on fourth down pushed the rookie 406 yards on the day. It wasn’t over until Burrow’s Hail Mary into the Browns’ end zone on the final play glanced off the chest of Sheldrick Redwine in the end zone. The Browns improved to 5-2. The Bengals are 1-5-1.
2. Back and forth: Mayfield and Burrow traded blows with completions after completions in the second half. Mayfield’s 8-yard touchdown to Kareem Hunt was his 18th consecutive completion and made for the fourth lead change in the second half alone. The Browns led, 31-27, with 4:53 left. Mayfield was 18 of 18 for 222 yards and four touchdowns after the 0-for-5 start.
3. Mistakes: Burrow relentlessly forged the Bengals ahead, 27-24, with 8:45 to go as the Browns had key breakdowns. Terrance Mitchell dropped an interception at about mid-field. Then A.J. Green broke tackles after a catch for a key first down at the Browns’ 16-yard line. The final miscue had Tee Higgins breaking for a 16-yard TD with Sheldrick Redwine, B.J. Goodson and Mack Wilson all converging on a missed tackle.
4. Big answer: Because Kevin Stefanski deferred after winning the coin toss, the first possession in the second half was extremely important to Browns. Mayfield answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive, getting the score on his second TD pass to Harrison Bryant on a laser 8-yard throw. Like his previous TD drive, Mayfield was 5-for-5 on the series.
5. Still hot: Mayfield kept the hot hand on his next possession, another 5-for-5 series resulting in a TD. Two 21-yard completions to Rashard Higgins set up a 16-yard perfect strike to David Njoku over safety Vonn Bell reaching for the ball in vain. That put the Browns ahead, 24-20, with 13:13 to go in the fourth quarter. At that point, Mayfield had completed 15 in a row for three touchdowns after starting the game 0-for-5 with an interception.
6. Back and forth: The first half resembled a heavyweight fight between Burrow and Garrett. Burrow was 20 of 25 for 234 yards, one TD and one INT in the half. He was sacked four times, twice by Garrett, who added a strip on the first one that was recovered by safety Ronnie Harrison while sliding out of bounds at the Bengals’ 33. The Browns could only convert that turnover into a field goal. On the final series of the half, it looked like a Garrett sack of five yards to the Browns’ 11 would force a Bengals field goal. But on the very next play, Burrow fired the ball through the eye of a needle to Tyler Boyd, who had safety Karl Joseph on his back in the end zone and two other Browns defenders breathing on him. What a throw and catch there. It gave the Bengals a 17-10 lead.
7. OBJ out: Odell Beckham Jr. injured his left knee chasing down cornerback Darius Phillips after Phillips intercepted Mayfield on Mayfield’s first pass of the game. Beckham wasn’t even looking back for the ball. He accelerated his chase and hurt the knee in a pileup after Phillips’ 25-yard return. Beckham did not return to the game. It left the Browns with three healthy receivers -- Landry, Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
8. Slow start: It was the second game in a row Mayfield was intercepted on his first pass and the third time overall on his first series. Mayfield was 0-for-5 before completing his first pass off a bootleg to the right to Jarvis Landry with 10:54 left in the second quarter. Mayfield completed that drive 5 for 5 for 49 yards and got the touchdown on a 3-yard pass to tight end Harrison Bryant, who fought off safety Vonn Bell at the goal line.
9. The Warden: Cornerback Denzel Ward had a tremendous opening defensive series. In the span of eight plays, Ward: 1. Broke up a deep pass in the end zone for A.J. Green, 2. Tackled Tyler Boyd for a 2-yard loss after a quick pass, and 3. Tipped a Burrow pass at the line of scrimmage that was intercepted in the end zone by linebacker B.J. Goodson. Ward also saved a touchdown on a breakup in the end zone on a Burrow pass for Green in the third quarter. Burrow had bobbled the snap from backup center Billy Price and got off a fade to Green. Ward soared over Green to knock it free, forcing a Bengals field goal.
10. Linemen dropping: The Bengals lost two starting offensive linemen in the first half, left tackle Jonah Williams (neck) and center Trey Hopkins (concussion). That did not bode well for Burrow, who was sacked four times in the first half.
11. Pre-game notes: The revelations in Browns pre-game announcements were these: Although Karl Joseph (hamstring) was active, Ronnie Harrison started at strong safety, and rookie Harrison Bryant – not David Njoku – started in place of Austin Hooper (appendicitis). As for the Bengals, disgruntled defensive end Carlos Dunlap was made active despite posting some team info on social media over the weekend.