Jameis Winston was coming for revenge on his old team. He failed. In a close match but still to the advantage of the Saints, it was the locals who won against the Browns who were still in difficulty. Taysom Hill was the X factor of this match thanks to his 3 touchdowns scored against a renowned Cleveland defense.
Only Denzel Ward really shone on this side of the squad for the visitors with key actions in the moments that counted. But not helped by their kicker Dustin Hopkins, Kevin Stefanski's men continue their fall into the twists and turns of the AFC with a sad record of 2 victories for 8 defeats.
The match film
Bad start for Jameis Winston (30/46, 395 yards, 2 TDs). After a slow progression by the Browns attack at the start of the game, Nick Chubb was tackled on the 4th attempt on his 49 yards. He returns possession and Derek Carr (21/27, 248 yards, 2 TDs) takes the opportunity to launch hostilities with the support of Alvin Kamara. However, it was a stealthy Taysom Hill (7 races, 138 yards, 3 TDs) who opened the scoring after 5 minutes of play on a 10-yard outside run. He also cracked Cleveland's defense for the first time this season in an opening drive.
For the Browns, the first drive served as a lesson and they stuck to a punt. Ditto for their opponents. This is a golden opportunity for Cleveland to get back in the game. From the first action of this new drive, Winston sends a cannonball into the hands of Jerry Jeudy (6 receptions, 142 yards, 1 TD) for an 89-yard touchdown. A daring two-point conversion is attempted, without success.
Dustin Hopkins misses his target three times
Derek Carr wants to respond right away. He throws a long deep pass but his receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (2 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD) is completely covered. Denzel Ward intercepts it without incident. Except that the Browns are unable to take advantage of this opportunity and have to give the ball back. This time, Derek Carr doesn't miss out. He finds the opening on Valdes-Scantling, who escapes to score a 71-yard touchdown. At Cleveland, the situation is getting worse. Jameis Winston, frustrated, is sack by Bryan Bresee. And to make matters worse, Dustin Hopkins narrowly misses the target on a 51-yard field goal.
There are two minutes left before the break and the Saints are getting dangerously close to six points. It was then that Denzel Ward appeared to slip the ball from Taysom Hill's hands 5 yards from the paint. He covers and the Browns manage to get within field goal range with less than a minute to go. But Dustin Hopkins misses again. A flag in favor of the attack puts the Browns back on first attempt. But they find themselves in field goal position again… And Hopkins misses again, just 27 yards away! Cleveland has reason to be disgusted.
Taysom Hill crucifies the Browns
The second half of the match did not start under the best auspices for the Saints. They have to punt while Elijah Moore sets the record straight with a superb 30-yard reception in the end zone. And this time, Jameis Winston succeeds in his two-point conversion, in collaboration with David Njoku. It's a perfect tie: 14-14.
After an exchange of punts, Taysom Hill regains momentum and scores more points. The hybrid quarterback finds a gap and ends up in the end zone after a 33-yard run. The black and gold defense also takes on colors. Jameis Winston suffers two consecutive sacks from Bryan Bresee and Carl Granderson. Then, the Saints came close to killing the game with an impressive 88-yard punt return from Dante Pettis which was finally canceled by the referees. He went into touch after 53 yards.
The position remains very advantageous. Derek Carr manages to give his team some breathing room with another touchdown. With his back to the wall, Jameis Winston tries everything. Until he found himself in an unfortunate position: on the 4th attempt and 6 yards to go, he attempted a pass directly in the end zone to Cedric Tillman. But it missed and with three minutes remaining, Taysom Hill crucified Cleveland for good with his third touchdown of the game on a 75-yard run.
