The Browns defense and special teams bailed out a struggling offense to lift the Browns to a 22-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The victory improved the Browns to 5-3 — their best start at the midpoint since 2007 — and set up quite a showdown Thursday night in Cincinnati. They also handed the Bucs their seventh loss of the season for a 1-7 mark.
The Browns have now won four of their last five games and are in the thick of the AFC North playoff hunt at the halfway mark.
The Browns defense picked off Mike Glennon twice, and the special teams pitched in with a Billy Winn blocked field goal and a Craig Robertson deflected punt to set up the winning points.
Brian Hoyer completed 21 of 34 attempts for 300 yards, with two touchdown passes and two interceptions for a 87.9 rating. He improved to 8-3 as a Brown and 6-1 at home. The Browns also improved to 4-1 at home this season.
The Bucs threatened to score at the end, but failed to convert after facing a second and 1 at the Browns 37. They threw two straight incompletions and were flagged for pass interference on fourth and 1.
The Browns won despite the lack of a running game again. They managed just 50 yards on 28 carries for a 1.8-yard average. They also won despite an offensive line that struggled against Gerald McCoy and the Bucs’ defensive front.
It was the second straight week that Hoyer and the offense got a boost from the other units. Last week, it was Whitner’s forced fumble and Joe Haden’s recovery that helped lift them a victory over the Raiders.
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