CLEVELAND — Outsiders wonder why Cleveland fans always assume the worst is waiting around the corner.
They need look no further than the Browns’ 37-27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday for the explanation.
The day was shaping up beautifully. The sun was shining, the city was buzzing with the downtown appearance of Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen and the Browns (3-5) led 27-13 in the third quarter. Surely, they were headed for their fourth win in five games, a long-awaited .500 record and a mountain of momentum.
But before playoff tickets could be ordered, the bottom fell out and the mountain of momentum became an uphill climb the size of Mount Everest.
“The Ravens just kept going, kept fighting and it showed,” running back and former Raven Jamal Lewis said. “Finish is the word of the day.”
The Ravens (5-3) scored 24 answered points in a 13:27 stretch that ended with Terrell Suggs’ 42-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:43 left. The Browns trailed
30-27 and faced third-and-8 when Derek Anderson’s attempted screen to Jason Wright turned into a mess and brought a chorus of boos.
“I have no idea what happened,” Wright said. “He was halfway to the end zone by the time I figured out it was an interception.”
This meltdown was about much more than one play. It was a compilation of poor execution on defense, missed opportunities on offense and questionable play calling on both sides of the ball.
It was the continuation of a season marked by inconsistencies and unmet expectations.
There was plenty of blame to go around, and receiver Braylon Edwards should head to the front of the line. Facing third-and-7 at the Cleveland 23-yard line, Anderson set his feet amid the pass rush and threw a strike to Edwards, who was a step in front of backup cornerback Evan Oglesby. But Edwards dropped the pass at the Baltimore 25-yard line. What might’ve been a game-changing 77-yard touchdown turned into a season-destroying drop.
Edwards declined to talk to reporters.
“It is what it is,” said Anderson, who went 17-for-33 for 219 yards, two touchdowns, his first interception in 132 passes and an 80.2 rating. “We’ve got to catch balls, we’ve got to make plays. It’s a team game.”
“It’s always deflating when you don’t make a play, because we needed plays,” coach Romeo Crennel said. “It’s deflating when they run the ball in for a touchdown. It’s deflating when they throw the ball over your head. It’s deflating when you don’t make a catch in the open.”
It’s deflating when you get swept by a hated rival. It’s deflating when you fall to 1-3 in the division and at home. It’s deflating when you waste a golden opportunity.
The Browns had battled back from a 10-0 hole to forge a 13-all halftime tie on the strength of a 92-yard Joshua Cribbs kickoff return and a career-long 54-yard field goal by Phil Dawson. Then the Browns scored two quick third-quarter touchdowns on throws to Edwards and Wright, as Anderson had a perfect rating of 158.3 in the quarter.
The celebration didn’t last. The Ravens refused to go quietly. The Browns were unable to close the deal.
With the Browns up 14, the crowd buzzing and the Ravens facing third-and-16 from their 15-yard line following a sack, Joe Flacco, the rookie quarterback from Delaware, turned into John Elway. He stood tall in the pocket and fired a 20-yard bullet to Derrick Mason in the middle of a trio of defenders.
Because this is Cleveland, the feeling of impending doom was palpable.
The Ravens scored on the drive, stuffed the Browns and scored again on an easy 28-yard Flacco-to-Mason touchdown. The pass was a 10-yard hook, and cornerback Eric Wright missed the tackle. Flacco improved to 2-0 against the Browns and was 17-for-29 for 248 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 109.6 rating.
Missed tackles and blown coverages were abundant for the Browns. Brandon McDonald gave up a 47-yard touchdown to Mark Clayton in the first quarter, and Sean Jones whiffed on a couple of tackles as Baltimore rushed for 193 yards, led by rookie Ray Rice’s 154 yards and 7.3 average.
“I put it on the defense,” said linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who was faked by Rice near the line on a 60-yard run that set up the field goal to make it 30-27 with 5:36 left. “When you score 27 points, you have to win that game.”
“We had a lot of momentum when we were up 14 points and they sucked that momentum right back up,” McDonald said.
The offense matched the defense for ineptitude in the fourth quarter. After their final touchdown, the Browns went five drives without a first down and Anderson was 2-for-10 for 18 yards and an interception. That includes two drops by Edwards, a controversial pass interference on tight end Kellen Winslow (five catches, 64 yards) that negated a 25-yard completion and a series of unsuccessful runs by Lewis that left Anderson in tough third-down situations.
“It’s not Chud’s fault,” Anderson said of coordinator Rob Chudzinski’s decision to run the ball. “It’s a field-position game. That’s how you win games in this league.
“I’m disappointed, yeah. A 14-point lead, you figure you can take that to the barn most days.”
Not on Sunday. Not in Cleveland.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 at spetrak@chroniclet.com.

Scoring summary

First quarter

RAVENS 3, BROWNS 0: Matt Stover, 41 field goal, 10:40. DRIVE: Nine plays, 19 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 3:21. KEY PLAY: Joe Flacco connects with Ray Rice for 6 yards on third-and-5 at the Cleveland
37-yard line.
RAVENS 10, BROWNS 0: Mark Clayton, 47 pass from Flacco (Stover kick), 5:19. DRIVE: Two plays, 47 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 0:49.  KEY PLAY: Rice is stopped for no gain on first down on the drive’s only other play.
RAVENS 10, BROWNS 7: Joshua Cribbs, 92 kickoff return (Phil Dawson kick), 5:05.

Second quarter

BROWNS 10, RAVENS 10: Dawson, 23 field goal, 5:50. DRIVE: 11 plays, 74 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 5:39. KEY PLAYS: Derek Anderson picks up a pair of first downs with a 20-yard pass to Steve Heiden and a 23-yard pass to Braylon Edwards.
RAVENS 13, BROWNS 10: Stover, 32 field goal, :29. DRIVE: 12 plays, 66 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 5:21. KEY PLAYS: Flacco completes two third-down passes to keep the drive alive — a 19-yarder to Derrick Mason on third-and-11 and a 14-yarder to Mason on third-and-4.
BROWNS 13, RAVENS 13: Dawson, 54 field goal, :03. DRIVE: Five plays, 30 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: :26. KEY PLAYS: Anderson completes two quick passes to get the Browns down the field — a 13-yarder down the middle to Kellen Winslow and a
17-yarder at the left sideline to Edwards.

Third quarter

BROWNS 20, RAVENS 13: Edwards, 28 pass from Anderson (Dawson kick), 13:05. DRIVE: One play, 28 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: :08. KEY PLAY: After the Browns hold the Ravens to a three-and-out on their first possession of the half, Cribbs returns the punt 32 yards to the Baltimore 28.
BROWNS 27, RAVENS 13: Jason Wright, 7 pass from Anderson (Dawson kick), 6:07. DRIVE: Eight plays, 72 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 4:57. KEY PLAYS: Ray Lewis’ pass interference penalty on Winslow gives the Browns a first down on a third-and-2 play. Anderson connects with Edwards for 18 yards and Winslow for 20 — both giving the Browns first downs.
BROWNS 27, RAVENS 20: Le’Ron McClain, 1 run (Stover kick), 1:10. DRIVE: 11 plays, 79 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 4:57. KEY PLAYS: On
third-and-16 at Baltimore’s 15, Flacco hits Mason down the middle for a 20-yard gain and a first down. Rice has a pair of big runs, for 11 and 18 yards, that give the Ravens first downs.

Fourth quarter

BROWNS 27, RAVENS 27: Mason, 28 pass from Flacco (Stover kick), 13:57. DRIVE: Three plays, 42 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 1:03. KEY PLAY: Flacco hits Clayton for 14 yards on the first play.
RAVENS 30, BROWNS 27: Stover, 22 field goal, 5:36. DRIVE: Five plays, 59 yards. TIME OF POSSESSION: 1:54. KEY PLAY: Rice runs off the right guard and breaks free for a 60-yard run down the sideline, getting pushed out of bounds at Cleveland’s 3-yard line by Brandon McDonald.
RAVENS 37, BROWNS 27: Terrell Suggs, 42 interception return (Stover kick), 2:43.

Ravens 37, Browns 27

Baltimore    10    3    7    17    —    37
Cleveland    7    6    14    0    —    27
First Quarter
Bal—FG Stover 41, 10:40.
Bal—Clayton 47 pass from Flacco (Stover kick), 5:19.
Cle—Cribbs 92 kickoff return (Dawson kick), 5:05.
Second Quarter
Cle—FG Dawson 23, 5:50.
Bal—FG Stover 32, :29.
Cle—FG Dawson 54, :03.
Third Quarter
Cle—Edwards 28 pass from Anderson (Dawson kick), 13:05.
Cle—J.Wright 7 pass from Anderson (Dawson kick), 6:07.
Bal—L.McClain 1 run (Stover kick), 1:10.
Fourth Quarter
Bal—Mason 28 pass from Flacco (Stover kick), 13:57.
Bal—FG Stover 22, 5:36.
Bal—Suggs 42 interception return (Stover kick), 2:43.
A—73,078.
    Bal    Cle
First downs    21    14
Total Net Yards    429    274
Rushes-yards    41-193    23-64
Passing    236    210
Punt Returns    5-26    3-41
Kickoff Returns    4-34    7-237
Interceptions Ret.    1-42    0-0
Comp-Att-Int    17-29-0    17-33-1
Sacked-Yards Lost    2-12    1-9
Punts    6-41.7    6-41.7
Fumbles-Lost    0-0    1-1
Penalties-Yards    7-42    8-37
Time of Possession    33:45    26:15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Baltimore, Rice 21-154, L.McClain 14-34, Flacco 4-2, Neal 1-2, T.Smith 1-1. Cleveland, Lewis 19-49, Anderson 2-8, Harrison 1-5, J.Wright 1-2.
PASSING—Baltimore, Flacco 17-29-0-248. Cleveland, Anderson 17-33-1-219.
RECEIVING—Baltimore, Mason 9-136, Clayton 4-87, Rice 3-22, L.McClain 1-3. Cleveland, Winslow 5-64, Edwards 4-86, J.Wright 3-22, Heiden 2-25, Steptoe 2-9, Lewis 1-13.
Team statistics
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
 

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