The availability picture changed on Sunday morning. Rashod Bateman (shoulder) was ruled out, so Huntley played without him. Elijah Sarratt was a coach's-decision inactive. The middle of Baltimore's line was thin, with Cam Jurgens and Andrew Vorhees both inactive. Cleveland had problems of its own. Quinshon Judkins (ankle) was inactive, and Jaleel McLaughlin was the first back through pregame reps. Mason Graham sat too. Then the Browns lost safety Grant Delpit to a concussion during the game, and linebacker Justin Jefferson left with a hip injury and was listed questionable to return.
After the first quarter the line score is lopsided. Baltimore went 10, 0, 0, 0. Cleveland went 0, 0, 3, 10. A road favorite that was ahead early put up nothing for 3 straight quarters against a Browns defense missing Graham, and later Delpit. That isn't a fluke. Cleveland's defense was the reason the Browns hung around in the 17-12 loss to the Jets, and it was the reason they won this one.
Cleveland was in a close game again and won it again. This one was by 3. Before it, they beat Tampa Bay 23-19, Carolina 21-18 and Pittsburgh 27-24. All 4 wins in this stretch have come by 3 or 4 points, and the Jets loss was by 5. A team that lives in 1-score games eventually loses some of them. Sunday wasn't one of those, and the Browns are 4-2.
The preview said this would come down to Baltimore's offense and Cleveland's pass protection, and the scoreboard answers part of that. Huntley led 2 good drives and then a dozen or so that went nowhere. The box score search didn't give individual lines for Derrick Henry or Trey Hendrickson, but 10 points against a defense this beat up tells you Baltimore's run game didn't take over the second half. Watson didn't have to be good for 4 quarters. He had to be good late, and Cleveland's 10 fourth-quarter points were enough.
For Baltimore, the 3-game win streak is over and the record is 4-2. The bigger worry is the offense without Jackson: it scored early and then stalled for the rest of a game it controlled at halftime. Both clubs leave at 4-2 in the AFC North. Cleveland got its win the way it usually does, by being close late and making the plays.