With two seconds left, K Andre Szmyt put the game-winning field goal through the uprights, giving the Browns the 19-17 win and a 3-0 preseason finish.
Quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel led the offense in the first half to 16 points. Flacco had 71 yards on 9-for-10 passing, adding a touchdown through the air. Gabriel, in his second NFL game, had 129 passing yards and a touchdown.
Key Moments
Gabriel and Flacco execute a smooth first half
Flacco started the game for the Browns and made the most of his preseason debut. Flacco went 9-for-10 through the air, getting 71 yards and a passing touchdown. His first pass of the game was an incompletion intended for WR Jerry Jeudy, but he didn't miss a target the rest of the way.
On third-and-9, Flacco found RB Dylan Sampson, who bounced off two defenders and picked up 14 yards for the first down. Two plays later, Flacco found the end zone and connected with TE Harold Fannin Jr. for his first NFL receiving touchdown. The 18-year veteran quarterback finished his afternoon with an 18-yard screen to RB Pierre Strong Jr. and a 15-yard pass to TE David Njoku that got the Browns to Rams territory. However, the drive stalled out before the Browns could get into field goal range.
Gabriel took the reins from Flacco at 10:43 in the second quarter. On his first drive, he led a 15-play, 70-yard drive over the course of 6:25, completing three passes for 43 yards. Gabriel and TE Blake Whiteheart connected for 12 yards on third-and-10, keeping the drive alive for K Dustin Hopkins to make a field goal to put the score at 10-0.
Gabriel's next drive was much faster, taking 1:38 as he sped the Browns down the field in a two-minute drill. The Oregon product went 9-for-11 during the drive and again saved the drive on third down. Gabriel threw it to his summer workout partner, WR Jamari Thrash for a 16-yard gain to the Rams' 3-yard line. Gabriel and WR Gage Larvadain connected for a touchdown with 17 seconds to spare to go into halftime up 16-7.
The drive showcased Gabriel's composure and chemistry with his teammates. He connected with Larvadain, Thrash and RB Trayveon Williams two times each on the drive, with Larvadain and Thrash both having 27 yards during the drive.
Combined, Gabriel and Flacco went 21-for-29 in the first half, throwing for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive line collapses the Rams pocket
The Browns' starting defensive line didn't give the Rams' offense much of a chance to make any progress.
On the second play, DE Isaiah McGuire got to the scrambling QB Dresser Winn and nearly had him for a sack, but instead forced him to loft a ball up that CB Myles Harden nearly picked off. On the very next play, DE Alex Wright got redemption and sacked Winn, nearly getting him in his own end zone for a safety.
Defensive ends Adin Huntington and Cameron Thomas made big plays to start the second half, respectively, shooting through the line to cause a 4-yard loss on a run and sack Winn for a 3-yard loss. On third down, the secondary covered the receivers, leaving Winn to throw a pass that only picked up four yards.
Huntington didn't go away, finding a way to get into the backfield in the fourth quarter. On back-to-back plays on second and third down, he sacked Winn. On his second sack of the game, he hit Winn hard enough to force the ball to pop out, but the Browns couldn't recover.
Total in the game, the Browns had four sacks, eight tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits.
Tyler Huntley leads the Browns offense down the field
QB Tyler Huntley, in his first and only drive of the game, led the Browns down the field for the game-winning field goal.
He completed one pass for 7 yards to WR Chase Cota. He then threw a pass to WR Cade McDonald that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty, getting the Browns to the Rams 33-yard line. Following that, he ran out of bounds for 9 yards, continuing to get the Browns closer and closer to the end zone. With time to waste, the Browns ran the ball and got the clock down to two seconds, leading to Szmyt's kick.
Game Highlights
Carson Schwesinger blitzes down the middle and forces an incomplete pass.
Corey Bojorquez's punt goes 62 yards and is downed inside the Rams 5-yard line.
Alex Wright sacks Dresser Winn at the Rams 1-yard line.
Dylan Sampson bounces off defenders on his way to a 15-yard gain.
Joe Flacco and Harold Fannin Jr. connect for a 15-yard touchdown.
Pierre Strong Jr. gains 18 yards on the screen pass from Joe Flacco.
Blake Whiteheart does a front flip after the pass from Dillon Gabriel to pick up 12 yards and the first down.
Dillon Gabriel passes it to the sideline to Diontae Johnson for a first down.
Adin Huntington sacks Dresser Winn and forces a fumble.
Scoring Plays
CLE 7, LAR 0 | Joe Flacco 15-yard passing touchdown to Harold Fannin Jr. | 6:29 1Q
CLE 10, LAR 0 | Dustin Hopkins makes 28-yard field goal | 4:18 2Q
CLE 10, LAR 7 | Dresser Winn 1-yard passing touchdown to Drake Stoops | 1:55 2Q
CLE 16, LAR 7 | Dillon Gabriel 3-yard passing touchdown to Gage Larvadain (Dustin Hopkins misses field goal) | 0:17 2Q
CLE 16, LAR 10 | Joshua Karty makes 45-yard field goal | 2:20 3Q
CLE 16, LAR 17 | Jordan Waters runs for two-yard touchdown | 2:08 4Q
CLE 19, LAR 17 | Andre Szmyt makes 37-yard field goal | 0:00 4Q
What's Next
After closing the preseason with a win on Saturday, the Browns will have the next two weeks to prepare for their regular season opener against the Bengals on Sunday, Sept. 7 at Huntington Bank Field.
