‘Who could have wrote this story?’: Browns’ roller coaster season continues with big win

CLEVELAND (AP/WJW) — Joe Flacco passed for 374 yards and led Cleveland to 13 points in the fourth quarter, including Dustin Hopkins’ go-ahead 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds left, and the Browns withstood a Hail Mary on the final play to beat the Chicago Bears 20-17 on Sunday.

Flacco was intercepted three times but made some brilliant throws in the closing minutes to rally the Browns, including a 51-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 3:08 left that tied it at 17-all.

“Yeah, obviously Joe made some unbelievable throws there when we needed him,” head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the game.

Stefanski also opened up about how much he likes Hopkins.

George Clooney said this to FOX 8 about the Browns

“A guy you trust, I mean, really a guy that’s come through for our football team time and time again. He’s been outstanding,” he said.

The Browns (now 9-5) got the ball back with 1:50 left and the 38-year-old Flacco, who was signed on Nov. 20 and made his third start for Cleveland, completed two passes to tight end David Njoku for 65 yards to set up Hopkins’ kick.

After blowing a 17-7, fourth-quarter lead, the Bears (5-9) nearly pulled off a stunning finish. After the game, Flacco explained to reporters how he pushed himself through to persevere.

“Believe me, part of you wants to crawl into a hole somewhere and hide from everybody, but you can’t do that — especially, somebody like me,” Flacco said, speaking of the turnovers while giving major props to his team’s defense.

“Today it just happened to work out for us,” he admitted.

With no time left, Chicago quarterback Justin Fields lofted a pass from the 45-yard line to the end zone into a pack of players. Two Browns defenders batted it down, but it went directly to Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who was lying on his back.

The ball bounced in and out of Mooney’s hands and he kicked it into the air, allowing Browns safety D’Anthony Bell to intercept it and avoid catastrophic ending for Cleveland.

The Browns, who have been battered by injuries all season, stayed in the No. 5 playoff spot in the AFC.

Tremaine Edmunds intercepted Flacco and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown right after halftime as the Bears built their 10-point lead.

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Fields finished 19 of 40 for 166 yards, but couldn’t come with enough big plays in the fourth quarter.

Njoku had 10 catches for 104 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Cooper had four receptions for 109 yards.

BRUISED BROWNS

The Browns, who are now 7-1 at home, lost five more key players to injuries this week, a recurring problem this season. Starting offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee), Dawand Jones (knee), safety Grant Delpit (groin), defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral) and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (pectoral) did not play.

Things got worse as All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio went out in the first quarter with a back injury.

When asked about the ups and downs and injuries and wildness of the season, DE Myles Garrett, who dodged questions about his recent fine from the league, said he too couldn’t believe it all.

“Who could have wrote this story? I mean, not even Dr. Seuss. It doesn’t get more abstract than what we’ve gone through, but hell, we’re making the most of it, having fun with it,” he said. “And man, you just got to be blessed with achieving. You’re on this roller coaster and we’ve been through ups and downs, but we’re together and that’s how we’re going to get through what we have and that’s how we’re going to continue to win.”

INJURIES

Browns: LB Anthony Walker Jr. (knee) was inactive after getting hurt in practice this week. He came in listed as questionable. CB Mike Ford Jr. (illness) went to the locker room in the first quarter.

UP NEXT

Browns: Visit Houston on Dec. 24.

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