A first win of 2025.
The Cleveland Browns came back from the brink of defeat to get their first win of the 2025 season, beating the Green Bay Packers 13-10.
After a defensive slugfest that saw neither team average over four yards per play on offense, the Browns were able to overcome a late 10-0 deficit in the final five minutes of regulation time.
It felt eerily familiar to Browns fans. The Packers had multiple opportunities to win this game but allowed a struggling Browns team to come back into the game and win it.
Same story, different ending
It felt like the same story from the Browns’ previous two games. The defense played great while the offense struggled to move the ball.
Despite the defense holding a good Packers offense to just 230 yards and 10 points, the Browns offense was unable to get anything going for the majority of this game.
The Browns had 10 offensive possessions in this game. The first seven resulted in six punts and an interception.
However, the final three possessions, combined with some Packers help, provided just enough for the Browns to come back and win this game. A crazy ending that the Browns are usually on the receiving end of resulted in their first win of the season.
The shoe was finally on the other foot.
Three minutes of mayhem
The Browns comeback started with rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. He put the offense on his back and dragged his team into Packers territory with a 38 yard run, the Browns’ longest play of the day.
A tackle-breaking first-down pick up from fellow rookie Harrold Fannin, as well as multiple penalties on the Packers defense, got the Browns offense to the one-yard line.
However, in typical Browns fashion, they somehow ended up in 3rd-and-goal from the 20-yard line. They had to settle for a field goal for their first points of the game with just 3:38 minutes left.
Three plays later, safety Grant Delpit intercepted a pass from Jordan Love and returned it to the 5-yard line to give the Browns a chance to tie the game. They took advantage, with Judkins scoring his first NFL touchdown.
With 3:39 minutes left, the Packers led 10-0. Just 38 seconds later and the score was tied at 10-10.
As the shock was still settling in for Browns fans, the Packers were able to respond by driving right down the field and into field goal range with the help of a 20-yard pass interference penalty.
Chance to win
After somehow getting back into the game, the Browns looked set to lose to a 43-yard field goal with just 27 seconds left to play.
Shelby Harris and the Browns special teams had other ideas, and blocked the field goal, which was recovered at their own 47-yard line. The Browns offense, which had struggled all game, now had a chance to get into field goal range to win the game.
An incredibly run operation by the Browns offense saw them pick up 8 yards as well as get back into formation and spike the ball with just 12 seconds to work with, setting up a 55-yard field goal with just two seconds left on the clock.
Up stepped Andre Szmyt, the villain of Week 1 after missing multiple kicks in a one-point loss. He nailed the kick straight down the middle for the Browns’ longest game-winning walk-off field goal in franchise history.
Redemption.
Now back to reality
The Browns have plenty of problems to address on the offensive side of the ball. The O-line is a mess and questions will still be asked of Joe Flacco’s status as the teams starting quarterback, despite the win.
The defense will give them a chance in every game. But unless the offense is able to consistently move the ball, they will not be able to win many games.
However, getting their first win of the season against a Packers team that is considered Super Bowl contenders, should rally the team moving forward. And regardless of whatever happens on the offensive side of the ball, no team in the NFL is going to want to play against the Browns defense in 2025.
At least there is hope.
