Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer brought the magic back to FirstEnergy Stadium against the Saints on Sunday.
He engineered a thrilling 14-play, 85-yard field goal drive to beat the Saints, 26-24, on a 29-yard Billy Cundiff field goal with three seconds remaining.
Hoyer took over at his 4-yard line with 2:46 to go go and all three of his timeouts remaining.
Overcoming a sack that put him in third-and-12 at his own 32, Hoyer completed 8-of-11 attempts on the drive for 78 yards.
He orchestrated a Kardiac Kid-like two-minute march that featured a 10-yard pass to Gary Barnidge on fourth-and-6; a 13-yard out to Miles Austin that withstood a replay challenge; and a clutch 28-yard pass to a wide-open Andrew Hawkins to the 11 to set up Cundiff’s game-winning kick.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Hoyer. “I think it was a total team victory. Shoot, I give the fans some credit. They were rocking, they prevented Drew Brees from doing some stuff. . . Coach told us it was 10 years since the Browns won a home opener. I was in high school at that time. It was a great win and the fans deserve it.”
The Browns won their first home opener since 2004 — and only their second one since their rebirth in 1999. They had lost nine straight before the comeback that rocked the refurbished house.
“I couldn’t be prouder, couldn’t be happier for all the work [put in],” said coach Mike Pettine. “Just going back to the spring, the time that those guys have put in. Not just the players, but the coaches. Paydays don’t come very often. You only get them 16 times a year in the regular season. We got paid today.”
The victory marked Pettine’s first as Browns head coach, and was punctuated with a Gatorade bath. It came against a team that went 11-5 last season and was picked by many experts to go to the Super Bowl this year.
“I can’t lie, it feels great,” he said. “I have a big ole’ cigar with my name on it waiting for me. Don’t ask unnecessary questions (laughter). It feels great, but again to me, I know I represent this group, but this was a Cleveland Browns win. We wanted it for us, we wanted it for the city. These fans came out, you could just feel the energy in the stadium today. It was awesome.”
Hoyer (204 yards, 1 TD, 81.7 rating) improved to 4-1 as the Browns’ starter, with two game-winning two-minute drives.
“When you win games, everyone respects you at that position,” said Hoyer. “It was a very similar feeling to the Minnesota game last year.”
Hoyer pulled out the victory despite not having Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron or starting running back Ben Tate.
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