Bears drop winning Hail Mary as Joe Flacco rallies Browns: 'Damn near s*** myself'
Joe Flacco threw three interceptions Sunday, but the Browns still beat the Bears 20-17
The Chicago Bears should have beaten the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.
Not only did they have three interceptions, but Justin Fields seemed to throw a catchable Hail Mary as time expired at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Yet even though the ball landed in Darnell Mooney’s lap in the end zone — the ball couldn’t have been in a better position — he didn't make the catch. The Browns somehow survived and took the 20-17 win.
“Damn near s*** myself, dog,” Browns tight end David Njoku said of the final play.
The Bears were up 17-7 entering the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon, and had largely shut down Joe Flacco and the Browns. Fields hit tight end Cole Kmet for a 5-yard score in the first quarter to open the game, and then Tremaine Edmunds intercepted Flacco and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown early in the second half.
But it was the fourth quarter when Flacco and the Browns finally responded. After Dustin Hopkins hit a 33-yard field goal just minutes into the period, Flacco expertly snuck in a deep ball to Amari Cooper between a pair of defenders. Cooper then made his way up the sideline and raced to the end zone for the touchdown, which tied the game with just more than three minutes left.
Then, after forcing the Bears to punt three plays later, the Browns marched down the field again. He led an 8-play, 63-yard drive in less than 90 seconds to set up a 34-yard Hopkins field goal. That field goal, made possible largely thanks to a 34-yard reception from Njoku, put the Browns up by three and eventually gave them the win after the failed final play.
Flacco went 28 of 44 for 374 yards with two touchdowns to go with his three interceptions, and both Cooper and Njoku finished with more than 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in the win. Flacco signed with the Browns late last month, and then became their fourth starting quarterback this season after normal starter Deshaun Watson's season-ending shoulder injury. He's now won back-to-back games for Cleveland, and thrown for more than 300 yards in his last two outings.
Fields went 19 of 40 for 166 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, one of which was on the final play of the game, in the loss for Chicago. Roschon Johnson had 36 yards on five carries, and D.J. Moore had 52 yards on four catches. Mooney had 14 yards on two catches, but was targeted eight times.
"It just ricocheted and I just happened to be the guy in position right there to try to get the ball," Mooney said of the final play, via The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain. "It was a wild play. Could've been crazy. I wish I wasn't falling, it would've been easier to catch it. It's unfortunate."
The Bears are now just 5-9 on the season, and all but eliminated from postseason contention.
