Cleveland Browns pull off largest comeback for a road team in NFL history
Of all the teams to pull off the greatest comeback for a road team in NFL history, you might not have bet on the 2014 Cleveland Browns to do it.
The Browns are certainly getting used to crazy and close games. Their 29-28 win against Tennessee on Sunday means that their four games have been decided by a total of eight points. The Browns are now 2-2. In the first half, it looked like the Titans-Browns game would be decided by a few touchdowns.
The Browns were completely flat in the first half. They fell behind 28-3 in the first half. And considering no road team in the history of the NFL had come back from a deficit as big as 25 points, and no team in Browns history had ever pulled off a comeback that large, it would have been understandable for the Browns fans to give up hope.
But behind the inspired play of quarterback Brian Hoyer (Johnny who?), the Browns came all the way back. Like with any comeback that large, a ton of things have to go right. A second-half interception by Titans’ cornerback Jason McCourty was wiped out by an illegal contact penalty. A catch by Delanie Walker that looked like a first down late in the game was challenged by the Browns, and the review showed that Walker was short. That set up a big stop on fourth and 1 by the Browns, when Titans quarterback Charlie Whitehurst (in for injured Jake Locker) was stuffed for no gain with just over three minutes to go.
Hoyer, who had 292 yards, threw his third touchdown to Travis Benjamin with 1:09 left to give the Browns the lead, and then the defense held to seal the win.
The cardiac Browns and their coach Mike Pettine summed up their feelings well after the game, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
The Browns’ comeback win was the largest in the history of the NFL for a road team, ESPN said. It was the largest comeback in the history of the Browns franchise. The largest comeback in team history came on Dec. 4, 1966, when they trailed the Giants by 20 and came back to win 49-40, according to STATS, Inc., via the Associated Press.
In many ways, the comeback was as exciting, historic and impressive as it was unexpected.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
