NFL

Watson leads Browns past Ravens in first home start to stay alive in playoffs hunt

By Sports Desk December 17, 2022

Deshaun Watson led the Cleveland Browns to a 13-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in his first home start since his 11-game suspension as they kept alive their playoffs hopes on Saturday.

Watson threw the game's only touchdown to Donovan Peoples-Jones in the third quarter, with the Browns QB completing 18 of 28 passes for 161 yards with 22 rushing yards for the game at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The victory improved the Browns to 6-8 overall, going 2-1 since Watson returned, while the Ravens dropped to 9-5, with the Cincinnati Bengals moving ahead of them in top spot in the AFC North by half a game.

It was a game to forget for the Ravens, who had a run of possessions that included a missed field goal attempt, an interception and a fumble in the second and third quarters. Baltimore had three turnovers on downs too.

Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed two field goals in one game for the first time since December 2018, including putting a 48-yard attempt wide, while he had a fourth-quarter 50-yard attempt blocked.

Baltimore QB Tyler Huntley, standing in for the injured Lamar Jackson, threw 17 of 30 attempts for 138 yards, with Denzel Ward intercepting his third quarter pass in the redzone intended by DeSean Jackson with the score 6-3 at the time.

The Browns scored the game's only TD from their next drive, with Watson linking up with Amari Cooper twice for decent gains, before the QB's three-yard pass for the open Peoples-Jones.

Browns running back Nick Chubb added 99 rushing yards on 21 carries, while J.K. Dobbins was the Ravens' best offensive outlet, running 125 yards from 13 carries.

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