Cleveland Browns get first November win, beat Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime

CLEVELAND − This time, it was someone else's defender who fell down, not the Browns. This time, Amari Cooper caught the pass.

This time, the Browns were able to flip the recent script, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-17 in overtime to snap a two-game losing streak. The game-winner came on a 3-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb with 19 seconds left in overtime.

The Browns got the ball to the Buccaneers 3 when Amari Cooper beat Tampa cornerback Carlton Davis for a 45-yard catch-and-run two plays before. Davis fell down which left Cooper, who dropped a big fourth-down pass in the fourth quarter, wide open for the easy catch from Jacoby Brissett.

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To get to overtime, though, the Browns needed some late-regulation magic. Some serious late-game magic.

David Njoku made a sensational one-handed catch in the end zone on a fourth-and-10 play from the Buccaneers' 12 with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. That allowed the Browns to tie the game at 17-17 and force overtime.

Brissett was 23-of-37 for 210 yards with a touchdown and an interception on a end-of-half Hail Mary. He's scheduled to hand the starting job over to Deshaun Watson on Monday, when Watson is to return from his 11-game suspension for personal conduct policy violations.

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Brissett and the Brown outdueled Tampa Bay's Tom Brady, who may have been making his own final appearance in Cleveland. The 45-year-old Brady, Brissett's former New England teammate, was 29-of-46 for 249 yards with two touchdowns.

Brady guided the Buccaneers to the Cleveland side of the 50 on the first overtime possession, but a holding penalty torpedoed the drive. He was sacked by Garrett on third-and-9 from the Tampa 31 on the second possession to set up the Browns' winning drive.

Browns WR Anthony Schwartz makes an appearance … in the end zone

Anthony Schwartz had been essentially absent from the Browns' offensive game plan since the season opener. Over the nine games between the opener at Carolina and Sunday's game, he had just one catch and saw his offensive snaps diminish significantly.

That changed on the Browns' first possession. Schwartz didn't just make a play, he made a huge play.

On first down from the Buccaneers 31, Brissett handed the ball off to Kareem Hunt going to the left. Hunt, though, flipped the ball to Schwartz coming back around to the right.

There was no one, really, in Schwartz's way. Brissett took care of the one, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Schwartz scored to give the Browns a 7-0 lead with 4:15 into the game.

Browns defense allows Tom Brady, Buccaneers to answer early

The lead lasted for just over five minutes. That's because Brady had his first crack at going against the Browns' defense.

It wasn't Brady, though, who was the biggest problem on Tampa Bay's opening drive. The Buccaneers' 32nd-ranked run offense posted 57 yards on five rushing attempts, including a 35-yard run by Rachaad White to put the on the Browns 30.

Brady finished the nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin to tie it at 7-7 with 5:11 left in the first quarter. Godwin broke in on a slant in front of cornerback Denzel Ward to make the catch just shy of the goal line.

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Buccaneers penalty aids Browns field goal drive

Brissett will never be mistaken for Lamar Jackson. However, he scrambled for 10 yards on the first play of the Browns' second possession, taking advantage of an over-pursuing Tampa Bay defense.

The Buccaneers' Devin White added to the issues for the defense when he shoved Brissett after he went out of bounds. That put the Browns at midfield after one play.

They couldn't take advantage of that − or a nice 9-yard Harrison Bryant catch in which he was undercut but held on the ball at the Tampa Bay 35 − to put another touchdown on the board. Instead, they had to settle for a 51-yard Cade York field goal for a 10-7 lead with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Browns defense gets back-to-back three-and-outs

The Browns defense struggled on the opening Tampa Bay drive. However, that didn't carry over to the next two possessions.

Cleveland forced consecutive three-and-outs after it took a 10-7 lead. Both times, it needed a big play on third-and-short to force the stop.

The first came on a third-and-2 from the Bucs' 33. Brady stepped back to pass, but rookie defensive end Alex Wright batted down his pass at the line of scrimmage.

The second came on third-and-1 from the Tampa Bay 29. This time, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah knifed in to undercut White for a 1-yard loss to force another punt.

Cade York missed field goal turns into Ryan Succop game-tying field goal

The Browns had a good thing going late in the first half when they marched down to the Tampa Bay 14. However, what started to unravel with a first-down holding call completely dissolved into a missed chance when York badly missed a 39-yard field goal wide to the left.

It became a bigger issue by the time the Buccaneers were finished with their next drive. Ryan Succop hit a 42-yard field goal with 39 seconds left to tie the game at 10-10 as it headed into the half.

Tom Brady guides the Buccaneers to the lead

The Browns, thanks in part to Jordan Elliott's second-down sack of Brady, forced a three-and-out to start the second half. They couldn't do the same on Tampa Bay's second possession of the third quarter.

That's because the Browns couldn't get to Brady. And a Brady who isn't under pressure is a Brady who is going to pick a defense apart.

Brady was 5-for-5 for 64 yards on a seven-play, 80-yard drive which ended with Tampa Bay taking the lead at 17-10. The last of those completions was a 5-yard pass to tight end Ko Kieft for the touchdown with 2:41 left in the third.

Browns defense makes a stand in their own territory

Through the first seven Tampa Bay possessions, the Buccaneers either scored or the Browns held them to a three-and-out.

The eighth Tampa Bay drive seemed heading to a third TD when it didn't just pick up a first down on its first play, but reached the Browns 41. However, multiple Buccaneers penalties helped to force the Buccaneers to ultimately punt from the Cleveland 42.

Amari Cooper drops fourth-down pass to end Browns chance

The defensive stand by the Browns turned into something promising when a 17-yard pass to Schwartz and a 15-yard Chubb run put them at the Buccaneers 45. However, a 7-yard sack by White and Carl Nassib on second down pushed the ball to midfield.

Still, the Browns managed to find themselves in a fourth-and-9 at the Tampa Bay 44, where they elected to go for it. They had the play they wanted, but Amari Cooper dropped the pass around the Buccaneers 27 to give the ball back.

Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney come up big at big moment

Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney were relatively quiet in terms of getting to Brady over the better part of three-plus quarters. When the Browns needed a huge play, though, they provided it.

Tampa Bay was in a third-and-13 from its own 17 with less than 2:20 remaining. Garrett and Clowney came off opposite edges to meet at Brady for a combined sack for a 7-yard loss and to give the ball to the Browns with 2:10 left after Donovan Peoples-Jones' punt return put them at the Buccaneers 46.

Nick Chubb comes up with big run late in game

The run that put Chubb over 100 yards for the game may have also been his biggest run of the day. On the first play coming out of the two-minute warning, with the Browns in a second-and-4 from the Tampa 40, Chubb broke off a 28-yard run down to the 12.

That put him at 108 yards on 20 carries. He finished with 116 yards on 26 carries.

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns end losing streak, beat Tom Brady, Buccaneers in OT