Moments after Brian Hoyer hit Andrew Hawkins with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown pass, a 4-yarder at the start of the fourth quarter, he raced over to the sidelines to congratulate the guys that made it possible: Donte Whitner and Joe Haden.
Hoyer hugged and high-fived the two for forcing and recovering the fumble that bailed out a sluggish offense and lifted the Browns to a 23-13 victory over the Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium. The victory prevented them from becoming the first team in NFL history to lose to winless teams in back-to-back weeks this late in the season.
“He came up and showed his appreciation for the defense keeping us in the football game,” said Whitner. “It’s tough when you keep having three and out, three and out, the defense gets a little fatigued. We understood we had to give him a little time to get going. He just thanked us.”
With the winless Raiders trailing 9-6 and driving down to score late in the third quarter, Whitner dove at running back Darren McFadden and popped the ball free with his helmet at the Browns’ 20. It squirted right into the hands of Joe Haden, who returned it 34 yards to the Browns’ 47 with 23 seconds left in the quarter.
Hoyer, finally getting the break he needed after a horrible third quarter, seized the moment. He hit Hawkins with a 32-yard pass on the first play of the drive, and then found tight end Jim Dray for 16 to the Raiders’ 5. Two plays fired, he blooped a little pass to Hawkins at about the 2, where Hawkins skipped in easily for the touchdown that made it 16-6 with 14:17 left in the game.
“Yeah, those guys did a great job of keeping us in it all day,” said Hoyer. “Like I told you guys a few weeks ago, no one cares who gets the credit for the win. We just want to win games. I just didn’t want to make any mistakes out there and give their team a short field.
“Our defense is playing really well right now. I was just pumped up. We finally got a touchdown off one of their turnovers, and to finally capitalize on something that the defense did felt good and I wanted to make sure I celebrated with those guys.”
The victory hiked the Browns over .500 again at 4-3, and sent the Raiders packing at 0-7. It also improved the Browns to 3-1 at home — with LeBron James watching from a suite — their best start at FirstEnergy Stadium since 2007. So it was only fitting that the two hometown boys — Whitner and Hoyer — helped put this one away.
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