THIS COULD BE THE PLAY OF THE SEASON

By STEVE KING

The Browns had been there before on any number of trips to M&T Bank Stadium over the last 20 years to play the Baltimore Ravens.

Just when it seemed the Browns were in good shape, they suddenly, maddeningly weren’t.

And when the smoke had cleared, they were in even worse shape, having lost a game they coulda and shoulda won. If only they had been stronger, tougher, more determined, more resilient and more focused, and had better players, then they would have prevailed.

But they didn’t, so they didn’t.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, oh what a Christmas it would be.

And it seemed like that again on Sunday as the Browns seemingly (there’s that reference again) had the game under control, leading 24-10 after Nick Chubb’s two-yard touchdown run with just under a minute left in the third quarter.

But the Ravens came right back to make a game of it once more on a Lamar Jackson TD pass – and then a two-point conversion – to cut the head to just six, 24-18, with a little under 10 minutes remaining in the game. If they could score again, then the Ravens would take the lead.

Just like that, then, the fans back home watching on TV were holding their breath, waiting for the worst to happen. After all, been there, done that bunches of times.

The Browns desperately needed someone to step up and make a play. Chubb took the job. And the play he made wasn’t just big, or even only game-changing. Rather, it was potentially season-altering.

His 88-yard TD run – his third rushing score of the game to go along with 165 yards on 20 carries – on the first play from scrimmage thereafter made it 30-18 and took the air out of the stadium, the Ravens and their fans. Game. Set. Match.

The Browns went on to score 10 more points – giving them 30 for the second half — to build a 40-18 lead. The Ravens scored a meaningless touchdown left to produce the final of 40-25. The 15-point spread is deceiving. The Browns handed out a backside tanning in the second half.

If the Browns go on to have the kind of season that had been projected for them for months now, then this game and this moment – Chubb’s TD run that knocked the stuffing out of the Ravens – will be looked upon as the catalyst, the time when it all began to change.