6 Key Moments: Browns seize momentum with dominant 2nd quarter

1. After a first quarter filled with punts, the Browns broke the scoreless tie with 10:23 remaining in the second. Baker Mayfield lobbed a 3-yard pass to David Njoku, who out-jumped Bengals safety Shawn Williams and hauled in the throw for a touchdown before executing his trade mark “Chief Slam” while Mayfield imitated the celebration behind him. Mayfield completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive, including a cross-body fourth-down conversion to Jarvis Landry a few plays before the touchdown. 2. The Browns wasted no time returning to the end zone following a three-and-out from the Bengals. Jarvis Landry took a pitch from Antonio Callaway and uncorked a 63-yard pass to Breshad Perriman on the first play of the drive. And after Nick Chubb missed scoring a touchdown by inches, Mayfield threw a 1-yard touchdown to Darren Fells on a play-action rollout. 3. The Browns sustained their momentum on their first drive of the second half when Mayfield found Rashard Higgins for a 17-yard touchdown. Higgins caught a short pass from Mayfield, outran the Bengals defense to the right and stretched the ball across the goal line as he leapt from the 4-yard line. Chubb also broke the Browns single-season rookie rushing record on that drive. 4. The Bengals scored their first touchdown with 4:56 remaining -- a 14-yarder from Jeff Driskel to tight end C.J. Uzomah on a corner route. On the previous play, the Browns’ training staff helped Denzel Ward to the injury tent after a collision with Uzomah. Ward, who missed the previous two games with a concussion, is in the league’s concussion protocol. 5. With 3:59 remaining, the Bengals blocked Britton Colquitt’s punt and took over on downs at the Browns’ 23-yard line. Three plays later, Driskel found John Ross for a 3-yard touchdown, and Cody Core for the two-point conversion to bring the Bengals within one score, 26-18. 6. The Browns crushed the Bengals’ hopes of a comeback with just over 2 minutes remaining. Mayfield hit Njoku on a short curl, and Njoku not only converted the first down, but also ran the ball all the way down to the Bengals’ 3-yard line. From there, the Browns kneeled their way to victory.