But Travis Coon’s 51-yard attempt was blocked by Brent Urban, and backup safety Will Hill returned the ball into the endzone with no time remaining.
Advertisement
However, Urban got some penetration on the line and got his hand on Coon’s low kick. At 4-7, the Ravens are nearly certainly staying home this winter. Then Cleveland went 3-and-out in 27 seconds.
“Ideally, we wanted to get it closer and save the timeout for the field goal”, Pettine said.
Ravens quarterback Matt Schaub, making his first start since 2013, threw two touchdown passes but also a costly interception in the final minute to Browns cornerback Tramon Williams, a turnover that appeared to doom the Ravens.
So when Hill picked up the blocked field goal and went for the touchdown, it was just another stomach punch for the beleaguered Browns fans.
“I heard somebody saying up top that (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) was cutting out, Austin wasn’t hearing him trying to get our guys lined up”, Browns coach Mike Pettine said. The Ravens took a knee rather than try the required extra point.
Pettine said there was a chance Manziel would not dress for the game, but the Browns announced he would be active for the team’s first Monday night appearance since 2009.
The Browns are last in the division at 2-9 and have now lost 14 of their last 16 games stretching back to last season. The lone first half touchdown came on a Josh McCown pass to Marlon Moore, which reminded fans of all the players ahead of Dwayne Bowe on the depth chart. The Ravens were able to block the kick.
Davis finished 7-for-10 for 77 yards and his TD to Benjamin, but quickly became a subplot on a wrenching end for the hosts before they could notch just their fifth “Monday Night Football” win since 1990. Playing in his second game as a Raven, Kaelin Clay started the scoring with a punt return for a touchdown.
The score was 27-27 and the Browns were a Travis Coons field goal away from getting a signature win on a national stage this season. He was far from ideal – one of his two interceptions was returned 52 yards for a touchdown. Schaub then completed a fourth-down conversion to fullback Kyle Juszczyk before throwing a 15-yard dart to wide receiver Kamar Aiken for a go-ahead touchdown.
Advertisement
The Ravens extended their record of one-score games with all 11 games this season decided by eight points or less, with 10 games having a margin of six points or fewer.
