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Dawson's clutch kicking helps Browns defeat Ravens

Nov 19, 2007 - 12:43 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The defense nearly let the Cleveland Browns down again this week.

Phil Dawson made one of the more unusual field goals in NFL history to tie the contest and then hit the game-winner in overtime to lift the Browns to a 33-30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon.

Derek Anderson passed for 274 yards and Jamal Lewis added a rushing score for Cleveland (6-4), which blew a 12-point halftime lead in last week's 31-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After Matt Stover connected on a 47-yard field - his third of the quarter - to give the Ravens a 30-27 edge with just 26 seconds remaining, a big return by Josh Cribbs and a crucial 18-yard pass from Anderson to Braylon Edwards set the stage for Dawson's 51-yard attempt.

Dawson's game-tying kick as time expired was originally ruled no good and many Raven players went to the locker room thinking they had won the contest. However, upon further review, the referee determined that the ball hit the left upright and then the extension before bouncing back out.

"It was a ruling by one of the officials, not by me," referee Pete Morelli said. "The other official informed me that the ball hit the back of the extension of the goal post, which is the backside of it, which is an object beyond the goal post. And in discussion with the three of us, whe had to figure what the ruling was."

"I wouldn't begin to try to explain what happened at the end of the game," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "I'll leave that to those who think they know it better. So, you can save your questions with regard to it, because I have no clue what just happened in terms of the ruling and why (the officials called it) the way they did."

Dawson was even unsure about whether or not the kick was good.

"I could tell by the way it glanced off the upright that it looked like it went through," Dawson said. "But from where I was standing, I couldn't tell. But it's about time that this organization and franchise got a call. It feels really good to see the guys battle back and we took advantage of it."

After winning the coin toss, the Browns drove right down the field and Dawson knocked through a 33-yard field goal to lift them to their fourth victory in their last five games. The most important play of the game-winning drive was Anderson's 18-yard completion to Kellen Winslow on 3rd-and-10, which brought them to the Ravens 30.

"I tried to force it in there and he got it," Anderson said. "You just have to step it up and Kellen made a great play for us to seal it."

Baltimore faced a 13-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, but a pair of field goals by Stover and a 27-yard strike from Kyle Boller to Devard Darling tied the game at 27-27 with 3:31 remaining.

"We feel good about winning, but we have to do better," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "We tend to get ahead and relax and let the other team come back, and we have to do better."

Billick praised his team for the second-half effort.

"The character the team showed in coming back in the second half, that means something to me," Billick said. "I hope it means something to them because they were incredible."

Boller threw for 279 yards and passed Vinny Testaverde for the franchise record in all-time passing yardage.

After planting Baltimore on its own 4-yard-line, Cleveland's defense forced a three-and-out. Cribbs capitalized on the short punt, running up to field the ball and bursting for a 26-yard return to the Ravens 11.

The good field position set up Anderson's 1-yard touchdown run to give the Browns a 20-14 edge with 6:01 remaining in third quarter.

On the Ravens' ensuing drive, an ill-advised pass by Boller ended in disaster. With Browns safety Sean Jones applying the pressure, Boller lobbed a pass over the middle of the field into the hands of Brodney Pool.

The third-year safety made the catch at the goal line and dashed 100 yards untouched for his first career touchdown to give the Browns a 27-14 lead with 3:42 left in the third. It was the longest interception return in franchise history.

"Once I caught the ball, I guess I only ran the first 20 or 30 yards," Pool said. "After that, I knew nobody was going to catch me, so I took it easy the rest of the way."

Cleveland jumped out to an early 10-0 edge when Lewis plowed into the end zone from 1 yard out with 12:23 left in the second quarter.

The Ravens cut into the deficit with 8:47 remaining in the quarter when Ray Lewis intercepted Anderson's pass and returned it 35 yards for a score to make it 10-7, but the Browns still took a 13-7 advantage into the break.

Baltimore's offense looked much better in the second half, taking the lead on their opening possession. Willis McGahee plunged into the end zone from 2 yards out to give the Ravens a 14-13 lead with 10:12 left in the third quarter.