Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney, right, nearly catches a "Hail Mary" pass in the end zone on the final play of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Browns Make History In Multiple Ways During 20-17 Win Over Bears
It’s been a magical season for the 2023 Cleveland Browns. And despite testing the boundaries of just how much magic they’ve been gifted this season, a 20-17 win over the Bears on Sunday proved there’s still plenty left.
Entering Week 15, the Browns had won four games by scoring in the final two minutes of regulation. A Dustin Hopkins 34-yard field goal with 30 seconds to go became the fifth such game-winning score for Cleveland this season. Those five wins in the final two minutes of regulation are a a single-season franchise record.
There may not be a stat that truly tells the story of the Browns 2023 season better than that. Through an assortment of season-ending injuries – now up to 14 players to – and four different starting QBs, Cleveland continues to just find ways to win. That philosophy has carried it to a 9-5 record and the top wild card spot in the AFC with three weeks to go.
That wasn’t the only history made in the win over Chicago. After trailing by 10 going into the final stanza of the game, the Browns scored 13 unanswered points to rally past the Bears.
Leading the comeback effort, of course, was the unflappable Joe Flacco, who despite throwing three interceptions over the course of the first three quarters, wound up completing 11-of-13 passes for 212 yards and a second passing touchdown for the day.
Per ESPN stats and info, that 212 yards is the most by a Browns QB in any quarter over the last 45 seasons.
Meanwhile, on the path to 374 yards for the day – the seventh highest single-game passing-yard total of Flacco’s career – the gunslinging veteran leaned heavily on his two favorite targets, David Njoku and Amari Cooper, to lift Cleveland to victory.
That duo finished with 104 and 109 yards respectively, marking the first time a pair of Browns pass catchers each went over 100 yards receiving in a game since 2013. The last combo of players to accomplish that feat: WR Josh Gordon and TE Jordan Cameron.
Just an all around historic day, in what’s been a historic season.
