Somehow, the Browns keep doing it.
With another late, fourth-quarter comeback, Cleveland defeated Houston 27-24 for the club’s sixth win of the season.
The Browns got down 17-0 early, but scored 20 straight points to take a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter.
But that disappeared in the fourth period, when Houston went down the field and scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass after a missed field goal Andre Szmyt. The Texans were aided by a key defensive pass interference penalty on the possession.
Cleveland had multiple opportunities to answer and finally did on the third try. A 30-yard pass from Deshaun Watson to Harold Fannin put the Browns in scoring position at the 5-yard line. Then on the next play, Quinshon Judkins punched it in for a 5-yard, go-ahead score to put the Browns up by three.
The Texans had a chance to tie it up with a field goal, getting the ball back with 47 seconds on the clock. But after getting a first down, Houston couldn’t move the ball any further and C.J. Stroud’s final fourth-down pass fell incomplete for a turnover on downs.
Houston scored just once after putting up 17 points on its first three drives. Stroud finished the game 20-of-38 for 211 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Nico Collins had nine catches for 94 yards with a TD.
On the other side, Watson completed 25-of-40 passes for 312 yards with a touchdown. He was the team’s leading rusher with 49 yards on eight carries with a TD. Fannin led with 91 yards on seven catches.
With the win, the Browns head into their Week 11 bye at 6-4. As noted on the Fox broadcast, Cleveland is now 4-0 at home for the first time since 1963. They will next host the Raiders in Week 12.
The 3-6 Texans have a short week upcoming, as they’ll play the Colts on Thursday night.