CLEVELAND (AP) — Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Mike Wallace and the Baltimore Ravens rallied from a 20-point deficit and beat the Cleveland Browns 25-20 on Sunday.
Justin Tucker kicked three field goals — the last with 2:56 left — and the Ravens (2-0), who trailed 20-0 in the first quarter, withstood Cleveland’s final drive to improve to 15-2 against the Browns under coach John Harbaugh.
Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley intercepted Browns quarterback Josh McCown at the goal line with 13 seconds left to seal the win.
Baltimore was a point from trailing by three touchdowns in the opening quarter before blocking an extra point and returning it for two points and igniting the comeback.
McCown stayed in the game despite an injured left shoulder for the Browns (0-2), who were hurt by a missed field goal and three costly penalties in the fourth quarter.
McCown completed a 20-yard pass in the final minute Terrelle Pryor to the Baltimore 10, but the play was nullified because the wide receiver was called for taunting when he flipped the ball toward Ravens defensive back Lardarius Webb.
McCown, filling in for Robert Griffin III who broke a shoulder bone in last week’s opener, threw a pair of TD passes to rookie Corey Coleman and Isaiah Crowell had an 85-yard touchdown run for the Browns.
Cleveland scored three touchdowns in the first quarter — two in a span of 2:13 — to stun the Ravens, but Flacco brought his team back and finished 25 of 45 for 302 yards.
McCown briefly went to the locker room in the first quarter with an injured left shoulder, but returned and went 20 of 33 for 260 yards.
HEAVY HEARTS: On Saturday, the Ravens lost defensive line coach Clarence Brooks, who passed away at 65 from cancer.
Brooks joined Baltimore’s staff in 2005 and helped the Ravens develop one of the NFL’s top defensive fronts. He spent time with the team during training camp. Brooks also coached with Chicago, Cleveland and Miami.
The Browns held a moment of silence before kickoff to honor Brooks.
STUNNING START: Nobody expected the Browns to do what they did in the first 15 minutes, which ended with Cleveland leading 20-2.
It was the team’s largest lead after one quarter since Dec. 3, 1961, when the Browns led Dallas 21-0 en route to a 38-17 win.
BLOCK PARTY: Down 20-0 and needing something, anything, to get them going, the Ravens blocked Cleveland’s extra point and returned it for two points in the first quarter.
Defensive end Lawrence Guy got a hand on Patrick Murray’s kick and cornerback Tavon Young scooped up the bouncing ball and returned it for a rare, two-point defensive conversion.
AS THE CROW FLIES: Crowell’s 85-yard TD run helped him finish the first quarter with 103 yards and 133 overall. Taking a handoff up the middle, Crowell got an excellent block from fullback Malcolm Johnson, blasted through the secondary and went untouched for the second-longest TD run in Cleveland history. Bobby Mitchell ripped off a 90-yarder against Washington in 1959.
UNDER REVIEW: Coleman ran past cornerback Shareece Wright and hauled in McCown’s first TD in the back left corner of the end zone. Coleman, who had a rocky exhibition season, got one foot down and the first-round pick dragged his right foot just inside the line. The catch withstood a video review as none of the camera angles provided anything to overturn the called TD.
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