Browns Edge Bengals 20-18 in Heart-Stopping Finish

A Rivalry Rewritten in the Final Seconds

CLEVELAND—On a wind-whipped Sunday by Lake Erie, the Cleveland Browns reminded the NFL that a scoreboard can change faster than Ohio weather. With 1:47 left and the Bengals clinging to an 18-17 lead, rookie kicker Cade York trotted onto the field for a 54-yard attempt that felt more like civic referendum than chip-shot.

The Kick That Shook the Dawg Pound

York’s boot split the uprights, the stadium erupted, and the Browns escaped with a 20-18 victory that keeps their playoff pulse throbbing. It was Cleveland’s first win inside the final two minutes since 2020, and it came against the one rival they measure themselves by each winter.

“We didn’t flinch,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said afterward, voice hoarse from the cold and the catharsis. “In this building, against that team, you’ve got to earn every inch.”

Turnovers, Flags, and a Goal-Line Stand

The afternoon was a scrap from the opening whistle. Cincinnati jumped ahead on a 42-yard Evan McPherson field goal, but Cleveland answered with a 1-yard Nick Chubb touchdown plunge. The see-saw continued: Joe Burrow found Tee Higgins for a 32-yard score; Watson countered with a 19-yard strike to Amari Cooper. By halftime the Bengals led 15-14, thanks to a safety created when Myles Garrett was whistled for holding in the end zone.

Third quarter? Three punts and a collective 47 yards. Fourth quarter? Chaos.

• Burrow was strip-sacked by Ogbo Okoronkwo at the Bengals 24; Cleveland recovered.
• Three plays later, Chubb was ruled down a blade of grass short on fourth-and-goal.
• Cincinnati took over, but on third-and-eight Burrow forced a pass that Martin Emerson Jr. tipped skyward. Safety Grant Delpit dove, cradled the interception, and the Browns had new life at the 18.

York’s Redemption Arc

Three weeks ago York missed from 48 and 54 in the same game. On Sunday he drilled the winner after a deliberate iced timeout from Bengals coach Zac Taylor. The kick cleared the crossbar by maybe a yard; in Cleveland, it might as well have been a mile.

“I’ve replayed those misses every night,” York admitted. “Tonight I get to sleep.”

What It Means for the Playoff Picture

The Browns improve to 8-7, pulling within a half-game of the final AFC wild-card spot. Cincinnati drops to 8-7, now 0-3 in the AFC North and holding the conference’s ninth seed via tiebreakers. Both teams close with Pittsburgh and Baltimore, meaning the division could still send three clubs to January football—or none at all.

Next week the Bengals host the Steelers on Saturday. Cleveland travels to Houston for a Monday-night date with the reeling Texans. If the Browns win out, their season stretches beyond New Year’s for the first time since 2020. In a city that hasn’t hosted a playoff win since 1994, that possibility feels like oxygen.

As fans filed out past the giant “C” outside Huntington Bank Field, one chant echoed off the concrete: “Just one more, just one more.” In Cleveland, hope is measured a yard—and a kick—at a time.