Kareem Hunt’s 1-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds left Sunday lifted the Cleveland Browns to a wild 39-38 win over the host Indianapolis Colts.
Cleveland (4-2) went 80 yards in 12 plays on the winning drive, aided by a pair of critical penalties. The Colts (3-4) were flagged for illegal contact that negated a fumble recovery with 38 seconds left, then drew a pass interference call that gave the Browns first-and-goal at the 1.
After P.J. Walker tossed three straight incomplete passes, Hunt broke the goal line’s plane on a run up the middle for the eighth lead change of the day. Cleveland won despite being outgained 456-316, thanks to forcing four turnovers.
Walker completed 15 of 32 passes for 178 yards with an interception in relief of Deshaun Watson, who went 1-for-5 for 5 yards and an interception before departing late in the first quarter.
Gardner Minshew hit on 15 of 23 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns with a pick for Indianapolis. He put the Colts ahead 38-33 with 5:38 remaining on a 75-yard scoring strike to Michael Pittman Jr.
Cleveland initiated scoring on the third play of the game when Jerome Ford raced 69 yards. It was the first of 48 points in a back-and-forth half that saw Watson leave at the 3:04 mark of the first quarter after a hit.
Watson was evaluated for a concussion during the first half but the Browns said he cleared the protocol. After the game, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named Watson the starter for next Sunday’s game at the Seattle Seahawks.
Minshew got off to a huge start, hitting Josh Downs for a 59-yard touchdown pass on Indianapolis’ first possession while adding touchdown runs of 17 and 4 yards that gave the Colts a 21-17 lead. But he was strip-sacked in the end zone by Myles Garrett with 1:42 left in the half and Tony Fields recovered to put the Browns ahead 24-21.
After falling behind 30-21 early in the third quarter, Indianapolis responded. Jonathan Taylor pounded into the end zone from the 5 with 5:11 left in the period, cutting the deficit to 30-28.
The Colts moved ahead 31-30 on their next drive, but the Browns added a field goal of their own for a 33-31 edge with 6:33 to play.
–Field Level Media
