Usually when the Browns make NFL history, it's the bad kind. On Sunday, they made the good kind. Behind three touchdown passes from Brian Hoyer, Cleveland came back from a 28-3 deficit to beat Tennessee 29-28.
If a 25-point comeback sounds impressive, that's because it is. Not only was it the largest comeback in Browns history, but it was the largest road comeback in NFL history. The comeback was so big that only two teams have ever comeback from more in a regular season game.
In 1997, the Bills came back from 26 points down to beat the Colts, 37-35. The largest regular-season comeback in NFL history belongs to the 49ers, who came back from 28 points down to beat the Saints in 1980.
Both those games were at home. What the Browns did happened 520 miles away from Cleveland in Nashville, Tenn.
You could almost hear Browns fans explaining to themselves at halftime why a loss might be good for Cleveland. "If we lose 52-10, we have to start Johnny Football next week and Johnny Football will take us to the Super Bowl!"
The Browns didn't need Johnny Football, though, because they had the magic of Brian Hoyer. After punting four times and only mustering a field goal on their first five possessions, the Browns didn't punt once after that.
Hoyer's most impressive drive came right before halftime with the Browns trailing 28-3. Hoyer went 4 for 4 for 65 yards on the drive, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jim Dray with 12 seconds left in the half. The score started the Browns' rally and it was all Cleveland after that.
Not even Clipboard Jesus had a prayer. Titans backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw two touchdown passes against Cleveland, but the Browns defense shut him down in the second half.
Whitehurst, who was recently voted one of the most handsome people in Nashville, completed two of his first three passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns. After that he only threw for 108 yards the rest of the game. Whitehurst finished 13 of 21 for 194 yards and two touchdowns.
As for Hoyer, he finished 21 of 37 for 292 yards and three touchdowns, along with one interception.
Cleveland might not officially be a contender yet, but it's probably worth mentioning this: After the 49ers made their comeback in Week 14 of 1980, they went on to win their first Super Bowl the following season.
| Team | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Seahawks 27, Redskins 17 | ||
 |
B+ | It might be a stretch to say that Russell Wilson single-handedly won this game for Seattle, but I'm going to say it anyway: Russell Wilson single-handedly won this game for Seattle. Wilson passed for 201 yards and ran for 122 more, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 200 and run for 100 on Monday night football. Those stats don't even do Wilson justice though because he was making ridiculous things happen all night. |
 |
C | This game could have turned into a blowout, but it didn't because of DeSean Jackson and because the Redskins defense actually showed some life in the second half. Jackson accounted for 51.1 percent of the Redskins offense (157 out of 307 yards). As for the defense, it held the Seahawks to under 10 yards on three of Seattle's five drives in the second half. It could've been 5 of 5, but, well, Russell Wilson happened. |
| Patriots 43, Bengals 17 | ||
 |
D | Andy Dalton made some bad throws against the Patriots, but Dalton wasn't the Bengals biggest problem on Sunday night, that honor goes to the defense. The Patriots totaled 505 yards against the Bengals, marking the first time since Week 2 in 2007 that a team put up over 500 yards of offense against them. |
 |
A+ | You know Tom Brady meant business because he had 13 rushing yards against the Bengals. That might not sound like a lot, but that's the equivalent of a 200-yard game for a normal running back. It was Brady's second-highest total since 2011. The Patriots also got 10 yards per carry from Shane Vereen (nine carries for 90 yards). As a team, New England rushed for over 200 yards (224), something the Patriots did only once all of last season. |
| 49ers 22, Chiefs 17 | ||
 |
B- | Alex Smith had a chance to take out two years of frustration on the 49ers. With just over two minutes left in the game, Smith needed to drive the Chiefs 80 yards for what would have been the game-winning touchdown. The Chiefs didn't reach the end zone, though, because Smith threw a pick two plays into the anti-climatic drive. |
 |
B+ | That sigh of relief you heard around 7 p.m. ET on Sunday was from Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick. It would have made for an interesting postgame press conference. The 49ers would've lost to the quarterback they traded away, but that didn't happen thanks to five Phil Dawson field goals (31, 55, 52, 27, 30) and Frank Gore running over the Chiefs defense (18 carries, 107 yards). |
| Broncos 41, Cardinals 20 | ||
 |
B- | It's hard to kill the Cardinals too bad for this loss. Even though they were down to their third-string QB -- Drew Stanton left with a concussion -- Arizona stayed in this game until the Broncos scored two late fourth quarter touchdowns. |
 |
A | Peyton Manning threw for a career-high 479 yards against the Cardinals. Manning is in his 16th season, and if he throws for a career-high and his team wins, then his team gets an "A." It also didn't hurt that Manning's career-high came against a Cardinals defense that was ranked first overall in the NFL going into Week 5. |
| Chargers 31, Jets 0 | ||
 |
F- | Philip Rivers threw for more yards in the first quarter (110), than Geno Smith and Michael Vick combined to throw for the entire game (74). Oh yeah, Michael Vick played. He provided the opposite of an offensive spark. |
 |
A+ | It's fun to talk about Philip Rivers and the fact that he threw three touchdown passes and completed passes to eight different receivers, but let's give some credit to the Chargers defense. San Diego forced two turnovers and held the Jets to 151 total yards, New York's lowest total since Week 4 in 2012 (145 yards). |
| Panthers 31, Bears 24 | ||
 |
D | The Bears turned the ball over on their final three possessions of the game. You can't turn the ball over on your final three possessions of the game. Jay Cutler continued to be the quarterback who Bears fans love to love and love to hate at the same time. Cutler was personally responsible for three of Chicago's four turnovers. |
 |
A- | The Panthers offense had struggled for most of the season, so when Carolina trailed 21-7 in the second quarter, a comeback seemed about as likely as a baby climbing Mt. Everest -- but it happened thanks to Cam Newton and the Panther defense. The D forced two late turnovers that Newton and the Panthers offense turned into 10 points in the final 4:29 of the game. Greg Olsen also continued his impressive season with 72 receiving yards and two touchdowns. |
| Bills 17, Lions 14 | ||
 |
A | EJ Manuel might want to find a permanent spot on the Bills bench because Captain Comeback, Kyle Orton, is probably going to be starting for awhile. Making his first start for Buffalo, Orton threw for 308 yards and a TD. The best part of this game was the Bills defense though, which held the Lions offense to 194 total yards. That performance led Bills players to carry defensive coordinator -- and former Lions coach -- Jim Schwartz off of the field. Seriously. They did that. And it was amazing. |
 |
D+ | If you know a field goal kicker or know someone who knows someone who might know a field goal kicker, tell them to call the Lions. It's urgent. |
| Cowboys 20, Texans 17 OT | ||
 |
B- | The Texans offense was so bad in the first half that coach Bill O'Brien could only describe it in one word, "Ridiculous." Here's how Houston's six first half possessions ended: Punt, INT, punt, punt, punt, end of half. If the Texans had shown any life at all in the first half, this is a game they could have won. |
 |
B+ | The Cowboys did what they've done all season: They gave the ball to DeMarco Murray a lot. Only this time, Murray had the help of Tony Romo's biggest game of the season. Romo directed a 59-yard drive in OT to win the game. It was a nice complement to Murray's 136-yard effort. The Cowboys running back is now on pace for 2,144 yards this season, which would break the current NFL record by almost 40 yards (2,105). |
| Colts 20, Ravens 13 | ||
 |
C+ | The Ravens offensive line had some serious trouble protecting Joe Flacco. Flacco was sacked four times, which is a lot, considering that going into the game, Flacco had only been sacked three times the entire season. |
 |
B+ | The secret to stopping Andrew Luck is to hope he stops himself -- and that almost happened against Baltimore. Luck threw a third-quarter interception, but he followed that with two straight TD drives to put the game away. With 312 yards, the Colts quarterback has now hit the 300-yard mark in 4 of five games this season. The Ravens game also marked the first time Luck didn't throw multiple TD passes in a game in 2014. |
| Eagles 34, Rams 28 | ||
 |
C | File this under things you never thought would happen: Thanks to Sunday's performance, Austin Davis has now thrown for more than 300 yards, along with three TD passes in two straight games. If Davis needs to work on one thing, it's ball security. The Rams QB lost two fumbles, including one that was recovered in the end zone for a Philly TD. |
 |
B | Over the past two weeks, the Eagles special teams and defense has scored 35 points, including 14 against the Rams. The Eagles don't get an "A" here because the offense still seems to be a little off. LeSean McCoy hasn't been able to find running room -- and almost blowing a 34-7 lead doesn't help things, either. |
| Browns 29, Titans 28 | ||
 |
B+ | If the Browns wouldn't have come back to win, Brian Hoyer wouldn't have been able to sleep this week because everyone in Cleveland would have been screaming for Johnny Manziel to start. |
 |
D- | It's not easy to blow a 25-point lead at home and we know that because before Sunday, it had never been done before. The Titans defense only surrendered 92 yards and three points through Cleveland's first four drives. After that? The Titans gave up 368 yards and 26 points. That's not going to build confidence in Tennessee. |
| Steelers 17, Jaguars 9 | ||
 |
B | The 2014 Steelers defense might not be the Steel curtain, but they looked good against Jacksonville. On a day where the Steelers offense couldn't get into rhythm, the defense went ahead and won the game. Pittsburgh picked off Blake Bortles twice, including a giant pick-6 by Brice McClain in the fourth quarter that turned in a 10-9 Steelers lead into a 17-9 win. |
 |
C | Usually, I'd say there's no such thing as moral victories, but if you're the Jaguars, you have to take any type of victory you can get. For the first time all season, the Jaguars lost by only one score, which is impressive you consider their previous four losses came by an average of 23.5 points. The Jags defense looked decent. Blake Bortles continues to look like a QB the team will be able to stick with long term. |
| Saints 37, Buccaneers 31 OT | ||
 |
C | Mike Glennon (19 of 32, 249 yards, 1 TD) and Vincent Jackson (8 catches, 144 yards) tried to win the game by themselves, but they didn't have much help. The Buccaneers running game was dormant and the Bucs defense had no answers for the Saints in the fourth quarter. |
 |
B | Drew Brees just doesn't look like Drew Brees so far this season. The Saints quarterback threw three interceptions in a home game for the first time since 2010. However, the picks ended up meaning nothing because the Saints scored on four of their final five possessions, including an 18-yard OT run by Khiry Robinson that won the game. |
| Giants 30, Falcons 20 | ||
 |
C | The Falcons have officially turned into road kill. After Sunday's loss, Atlanta is now 0-3 on the road this season and all three losses have come by at least 10 points. |
 |
A | Three weeks ago, Eli Manning was playing like he had been brainwashed by Blaine Gabbert, now he's the hottest QB in the NFL. Over the past three weeks, Manning has thrown nine TD passes and only one interception and the Giants have averaged 35 points per game. On Sunday, Manning got some serious help from a Giants defense that hit Matt Ryan eight times and kept him under constant pressure. |
| Packers 42, Vikings 10 | ||
 |
F- | Christian Ponder might have had an ugly game, but it wasn't just his fault the Vikings lost. The offensive line didn't protect Ponder and the Vikings defense had no answer for Aaron Rodgers. It was an all-around failure from top to bottom. It's probably a good thing Teddy Bridgewater didn't play. |
 |
A+ | Here's the kind of game it was for the Packers: Aaron Rodgers only threw 17 passes, but that's all he needed to throw because 12 of them went for completions and three went for touchdowns, including a beautiful 66-yard TD pass to Jordy Nelson in the first quarter. The most encouraging thing to come out of Thursday for the Packers was play of Eddie Lacy. After only running for one TD in Green Bay's first four games, Lacy ran for two against Minnesota. |
