For the first 15 minutes Sunday, Baker Mayfield didn’t complete a pass.
For the next three quarters, he couldn’t miss.
How Mayfield finished Sunday’s game in Cincinnati is why the Browns were able to bounce back in a big way and with all of the late-game drama NFL fans love.
After an 0-for-5 start, Mayfield literally didn’t miss the rest of the way, completing a franchise-record 21 straight passes — and the Browns needed every last one of them. The streak ended with an intentional spike, and Mayfield’s next and final throw went to rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones with 11 seconds to play, a game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass to send Cleveland home with a 37-34 victory on a wild afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium.
Mayfield’s game-winning pass, his fifth touchdown throw of the game, capped a seamless five-play, 75-yard drive that began with the Browns trailing by a field goal, no timeouts and 1:06 to play.
Mayfield finished 22-of-28 for 297 yards and five touchdowns, as he out-dueled Bengals star rookie Joe Burrow by just enough at the end. Burrow finished with 406 yards and three touchdowns and had the Browns on the ropes with a go-ahead touchdown pass to Giovani Bernard with 1:06 to play.
Mayfield opened the final possession with a 13-yard pass to Peoples-Jones and an 8-yarder to Rashard Higgins. With 40 seconds to play, Mayfield lofted a 30-yard pass to Higgins to put the Browns at Cincinnati’s 24 with 16 seconds left. After a spike to stop the clock, Mayfield went in the same direction down the right sideline to Peoples-Jones, who snagged the pass and dragged both feet to secure the first touchdown pass of his NFL career.
“Those guys made unbelievable plays,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, Higgy on the contested catch going up the high-pointing the ball. Donovan going up to the line of scrimmage and have a vertical seam called. No. 23 (Bengals CB Darius Phillips) got me earlier in the game and I had to get him back.”
Higgins led all Browns receivers with six catches for 110 yards. Rookie tight end Harrison Bryant caught two touchdowns and Jarvis Landry added 48 yards on five catches while also delivering another clutch pass of his own. Peoples-Jones, who didn’t have a catch entering Sunday’s game, caught three big passes in the second half for 56 yards.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Boyd led all receivers with 11 catches, 101 yards and a touchdown. A.J. Green added seven catches for 82 yards.
The Browns and Bengals combined for 864 yards, 11 third-down conversions and just one punt.