The Lions defense forced the Browns to make mistakes, resulting in three turnovers, to allow the Detroit offense to pull away with Sunday's game against the Browns.
Detroit won 34-10 against the Browns at Ford Field. The Browns scored first in the game, taking a 7-0 lead, but the Lions pulled away with 17 consecutive points.
CB Denzel Ward picked off Lions QB Jared Goff, recording the Browns' second takeaway of the season. RB Quinshon Judkins had 82 rushing yards on 21 attempts including a touchdown. WR Isaiah Bond led the Browns in receiving, catching three passes for 58 yards.
Key Moments
Browns and Lions turn turnovers into points
Detroit picked off QB Joe Flacco twice Sunday, gaining advantageous field position and scoring points following both turnovers.
Flacco's first interception was intended for WR Cedric Tillman but a miscommunication left Flacco's pass sailing through the air to Lions S Kerby Joseph. Joseph's interception positioned the Lions in Cleveland territory, starting the drive at the Cleveland 46-yard line. On the first play, Lions QB Jared Goff and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown connected for 13 yards. Across the next three plays, the Browns stopped the Lions from picking up a first down. Detroit settled for a 48-yard field goal from Jake Bates.
Flacco's next interception was returned to the Browns' 5-yard line by CB D.J. Reed after WR Jerry Jeudy fell to the ground on a pass intended for him. After the Browns held the Lions out of the end zone on first and second down, the Lions called play action, getting St. Brown open for a touchdown and extending the Detroit lead to 17-7.
Ward picked off Goff on an underthrown pass for the Browns' second takeaway of the season in the third quarter. Cleveland gained 31 yards getting to the Detroit 15-yard line before the drive stalled out and K Andre Szmyt knocked through a 33-yard field goal.
Cleveland scores on first possession
The Browns scored on their first drive of a game for the first time this season. Cleveland used a 13-play, 88-yard drive that took nearly half of the first quarter. Flacco went 5-for-5, throwing for 70 yards on the drive, including a 33-yard completion to Jeudy that moved the Browns from the Detroit 45-yard line to the 12-yard line.
Flacco converted two third downs with a 16-yard pass to Bond as well as a 6-yard pass to Tillman that put the Browns on the Detroit 1-yard line. The drive was held out of the end zone for three consecutive plays following the Tillman catch until Judkins powered the ball in, scoring his second touchdown of the season.
Lions use special teams to pull away
With 13:56 left in the game and the Browns trailing by 10 points, P Corey Bojorquez punted away to Lions WR and punt returner Kalif Raymond. He burst through the initial surge of Browns defenders and found himself to open space, running 65 yards into the end zone and extending the Lions' lead to 27-10.
Game Highlights
Joe Flacco finds Jerry Jeudy down the left side of the field for a 33-yard gain.
Quinshon Judkins runs the ball for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
Denzel Ward picks off Jared Goff to set up the Browns in Lions territory.
Andre Szmyt's 33-yard field goal cuts the Lions lead to 10.
Isaiah Bond catches a 35-yard pass from Joe Flacco to move the chains.
Scoring Plays
DET 0, CLE 7 | Quinshon Judkins 1-yard run | 5:36 1Q
DET 7, CLE 7 | Jahmyr Gibbs 8-yard run | 3:20 1Q
DET 10, CLE 7 | Jake Bates makes 48-yard field goal | 14:17 2Q
DET 17, CLE 7 | Jared Goff 3-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown | 3:00 2Q
DET 20, CLE 7 | Jake Bates makes 58-yard field goal | 0:08 2Q
DET 20, CLE 10 | Andre Szmyt makes 33-yard field goal | 6:47 3Q
DET 27, CLE 10 | Kalif Raymond 65-yard punt return | 13:40 4Q
DET 34, CLE 10 | Jared Goff 8-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown | 4:04 4Q
What's Next
After losing to Detroit, the Browns drop to 1-3. Next for the Browns is traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to London to play the Vikings, Cleveland's third consecutive NFC North opponent, on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
