Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco did it to the Browns again. Taking over at the 50 with 1:58 remaining, Flacco engineered a 37-yard field-goal drive to beat the Browns, 23-21, Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. Justin Tucker kicked the 32-yarder as time expired.
The victory improved Flacco’s record to 12-1 against the Browns. The Browns dropped to 1-2 and the Ravens improved to 2-1.
A blocked Billy Cundiff field goal with 7:36 left and a missed field goal on the drive before that loomed large at the end.
The Browns also fell to 0-2 in the division.
The loss came despite an impressive performance by quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Hoyer, keeping the FirstEnergy Stadium crowd on its feet for most of the game, completed 19 of 25 attempts for 290 yards and one TD pass for 127.1 rating. He fell to 4-2 as a starter in a Browns uniform.
Hoyer, who put a touchdown on his board on his opening drive, engineered three TD drives against a team that had allowed only one seven-pointer in its first two games.
What’s more, all three touchdowns came in the red zone, where the Ravens had denied teams on all four of their threats there this season.
Hoyer made big plays all afternoon, including a 70-yard pass over the middle to Taylor Gabriel, a 43-yard strike to Travis Benjamin and a 29-yard pass to Andrew Hawkins.
Hawkins was Hoyer’s go-to guy all afternoon, catching seven passes for 87 yards.
At one point, Hoyer completed 14 straight passes, which tied for the fourth-longest streak in Browns history. His second incompletion didn’t occur until the end of the third quarter.
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