Kinda surreal

What happens when the best two defenses in the National Football League collide? Certainly not what happened in Baltimore Sunday when an explosion of points broke out between the Browns and Ravens in one of the most improbable Cleveland victories in the last 25 seasons.

In a remarkable display of battling through all kinds of adversity, the Browns were justly rewarded with a comeback 33-31 victory, a triumph that was achieved the hard way. They never gave up.

They overcame penalties at the most inopportune moments (one wiped out a pick), a muffed punt lost deep in their territory, a pick 6 on the second play of the game, a terrible first half for Deshaun Watson and mediocre pass protection by a banged-up offensive line.

But they responded with a pick six of their own, as well as three clock-draining possessions that put 17 points on the board and kept their defense fresh. The injury-riddled offensive line was instrumental in putting up a 178-yard afternoon on the ground.

To make the story more dramatic, the Browns' only lead of the game arrived when Dustin Hopkins drilled a 40-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, as time ran out. His first missed point-after of the season earlier after Greg Newsome's pick six in the final quarter enabled the Ravens to keep a one-point lead.

Newsome's thievery came just 41 seconds after Watson had brought the Browns to within 31-24 with a 75-yard journey, highlighted by throws of 25 yards to Amari Cooper and 23 yards to David Njoku with Elijah Moore on the scoring end of a 10-yard touchdown pass.

The final margin was made possible by the defense, which had seized the momentum for the offense, forcing a punt with 4:55 left in regulation. One could sense something good was about to happen, probably wondering at the same time how they're going to blow it.

At this point, head coach Kevin Stefanski masterfully strategized how the game would end, relying on Watson, who completed all of his 14 second-half passes, the running of Jerome Ford and Watson's scrambling wizardry. The Ravens, in his mind, were never going to own the football again.

Converting a couple of third downs forced Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh to burn his last two timeouts. The biggest play that kept the drive alive saw Watson hook up with Cooper for 17 yards after being sacked for a nine-yard loss.

When the Browns reached the Ravens' 20 after Watson's 15-yard scramble and a 12-yard burst by Ford, Stefanski was not thinking touchdown. Oh no. He had -- using his words here -- tons of faith in Hopkins, who has missed only one field goal this season.  And with three seconds left, he rewarded that faith, directly between the uprights.

What made the victory even sweeter was the Browns could have easily folded after the Ravens jumped out to a 14-0 lead with the game barely five minutes old and headed for another one of those Baltimore blowouts that heavily dot the series between these two rivals.

Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton elicited one of those "here we go again" moments from Browns Nation when he blitzed and batted a Watson pass up in the air, grabbed it and ambled 18 yards for the score with the game 40 seconds old. Easy and peasy.

It became 14-0 when flashy rookie running back Keaton Mitchell danced 34 yards untouched down the sideline for a TD to culminate the initial Baltimore offensive possession and 17-3 when Hopkins and Justin Turner traded field goals. 

It was as though the Ravens had all the momentum and nothing was going right. In the past, these kinds of long uphill battles against a division opponent were usually never won. This one, however, began to feel different in the second quarter when the Cleveland defense woke up and shut down the Baltimore offense.

The lengthy possessions totaled 46 plays (17, 17 and 12), 203 yards (75, 70 and 58) and a ridiculous 22 minutes and 20 seconds (10:09, 7:16 and 4:55). The 10-minute drive put seven points on the board (Kareem Hunt from three yards on play 17), wore down the Ravens defense and kept their defense fresh. It paid off in the second half, the Browns outscoring the Ravens, 24-14. 

The victory buried the Ravens' four-game winning streak and moved the Browns to within a half game of first place in the AFC North. (Feels strange to type that.) It was time to make a statement and avenging the 28-3 loss in Cleveland earlier in the season easily qualifies. 

Winning must-win games is one of the hallmarks of elite teams in the National Football League. Not saying this is the beginning of something big here, but it's a start. Another must-win lies directly ahead next Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the lake front

This team proved something very important Sunday. They knocked off one of the big boys. And the toughness with which they did so is the one attribute that really stands out. 

The enjoyment of this revenge victory also has to be extra special for Browns Nation as well. These are the moments that in the past 25 seasons have been too few and too far between and definitely have not lasted long enough.

So is this a turning point? Not yet. Still too early to tell. And when is too early no longer in play? Great teams win in November and December. Those are the money games. That's when. And the Browns are now 2-0 in November.