A Stefanski save

Without question, it was the best play call Kevin Stefanski has made this season with so much on the line. Ian Eagle on CBS-TV went so far as to call it "a brilliant play call." It saved the Browns Sunday at the exact time they needed it in their 31-27 home victory over the Jacksonville Jagwires.

After piling up an early 21-7 lead on a pair of touchdown passes to David Njoku by the ageless Joe Flacco and a short Kareem Hunt score with less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter, everything seemed comfortable because of a Cleveland defense that usually plays lights out at home.

Well, someone forgot to turn out those lights as the Jaguars stormed back behind quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a Jacksonville defense that played a lot differently in the second half and slowly crept to within striking distance at 21-14 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter.

Until this one, the Cleveland defense at home had permitted an average of just 10 points a game in six outings. That surely should have been enough to put this one in the correct column with no problem. And even though they won, it might be time to take a closer look at the disappearing former No. 1 defense in the NFL.

It got sloppy along the way with both teams having problems holding onto the football, combining for seven turnovers. Flacco accounted for two of the Browns' three giveaways with an interception and  fumble on a strip sack that set up the touchdown that pulled the Jags to within seven at 21-14

And that is where Stefanski yanked his little miracle out of the playbook.

Shortly after Greg Newsome II picked off a pass intended for Calvin Ridley at the Jacksonville 48 on the third play of the fourth quarter, the offense bogged down and stalled at the 41 after a third and three pass fell incomplete.

Why not punt at this point and pin the Jags deep in their territory? Play the field-position game. Sorta made sense. But this is Kevin Stefanski and just about anything can happen with him, including failing and turning the ball over to the Jags in plus territory if it failed.

Fourth down and the punt team remained on the bench. What's he got up his sleeve? The play of not just the game as it turned out, but it has a nomination here for play of season to date.

It began with seldom-used wide receiver David Bell lined up next to fellow receiver Elijah Moore directly behind Njoku on the line of scrimmage to Flacco's right. At the snap, all three moved forward before splitting up and heading in different  directions, Njoku to the right, Moore to his left and Bell straight ahead before stopping.

The execution so flummoxed the Jags' secondary, cornerback Darious Williams slipped and fell trying to get back to a wide-open Bell at the 26. By the time he had recovered, Flacco had delivered a perfect pass and the wide receiver had nothing but grass in the way of his first touchdown as a professional.

It was so stunning, one had to blink a few times before realizing what had just happened. Like how could such a defensive breakdown happen? The replay unraveled the mystery. A perfect call against a full-out blitz made it happen. 

It boosted the Browns back to a 14-point lead at 28-14 with 13:34 left in regulation and a cushion in the event anything else went wrong because Lawrence was beginning to warm up after a slow start. Dustin Hopkins' 55-yard field goal provided a little more cushion a couple of possessions later.

Both head coaches chose to throw the football most of the afternoon, combining for 95 passes and 568 yards. Flacco, who checked in with 311 yards and three touchdowns, has now thrown for 565 yards and five touchdowns in his burgeoning two-game career as a Cleveland Brown. 

The Jags stormed back to make it a game and throw a scare into Browns Nation. Lawrence, who was questionable all week with a high ankle sprain suffered last Sunday, was a surprise starter but paid a heavy price. He was picked twice by cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. and once by Newsome. 

He threw 50 passes for 257 yards and three scores, two to tight end Evan Engram and narrowed the deficit to 31-27 with 93 seconds left after failing on a two-point attempt. 

The outcome finally ended the Jags' unbeaten streak on the road at five games and snapped the Browns' two-game losing streak out west, lifting them into second place in the AFC North, a game ahead of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati tied for fourth.