When the final whistle blew, the 2014 Browns stormed onto LP Field in Nashville and screamed at the top of their lungs.
Cleveland had just completed the largest road comeback in NFL history, in an epic 29-28 win over the Tennessee Titans.
"We showed the mental toughness that we've been talking about – resiliency," coach Mike Pettine said immediately following the game.
The Titans stormed out to a 28-3 lead in the second quarter thanks to a pair of Kendall Wright touchdown catches and a 75-yard snag and score from Justin Hunter. Even when the Titans lost starting quarterback Jake Locker for the game with a thumb injury, backup Charlie Whitehurst grabbed the reins and kept the offense moving. The Browns were shell shocked.
But the 2014 Browns will best be remembered for their ability to flip the script at halftime.
Trailing 28-13 entering the fourth quarter, Cleveland's special teams ended up being the unit that ignited the key spark. Tank Carder charged up the middle and blocked a punt out of the end zone, resulting in a safety and the ball back to the Browns.
Using the no-huddle offense as a vehicle, Cleveland started gliding across the field. Running back Ben Tate registered a career-high 123 yards rushing. But it was quarterback Brian Hoyer and wide receiver Travis Benjamin who would end up rewriting the history books in Canton.
On first-and-10 from the Tennessee 17-yard line, Hoyer sidestepped two oncoming blitzers, stepped up in the pocket to buy time for Benjamin to break free from his original route and disappear behind a sea of Titans defenders. Hoyer located Benjamin breaking free and fired a missile for the score.
But a Hoyer interception clouded things later in the fourth quarter – until Cleveland's defense led a surge of its own. With the Browns out of timeouts and Tennessee wanting to end the game, the Titans opted to go for it on fourth-and-1. A Whitehurst quarterback sneak up the middle was barricaded by a wall of Browns defenders, led by Donte Whitner and Jabaal Sheard.
Cleveland ball. 1:54 left, trailing 28-22. It was time for Hoyer to go to work.
The Cleveland native found Miles Austin over the middle for 17 yards and he dumped off a short pass to Taylor Gabriel for 6 yards. Now, Hoyer was thinking end zone; he was thinking Benjamin. In tight coverage, Hoyer sent the football through the smallest window possible and into the outstretched hands of Benjamin.
The heroic comeback was complete. The Browns went on to finish with a 7-9 record, their third-best since reentering the NFL in 1999.
"I think our fans are excited,'' Hoyer said after the monumental win. "I hope none of them are in the ER.''
