Browns beat Jets behind Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr.

Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Odell Beckham Jr. scored an 89-yard touchdown in his return to MetLife Stadium as the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets 23-3.

Beckham split the defense and sprinted to the end zone for the game-breaking play with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter of the victory Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. The scoring reception was the longest of Beckham's career. The former New York Giants star totalled six catches for 161 yards and a score in the win.

"I knew it was going to be a big play. I saw the safety [Marcus] Maye. As I caught it, he knew I was taking the angle to the right," Beckham told reporters. "I saw him duck his head down. I just made a cut and I knew I was going to be out of there if my hamstrings could hold up. For some reason tonight, they were tight. I didn't know if I was going to make it all the way to the end zone but God willing I did."

Beckham's long score iced the game for the Browns, who led 16-3 at halftime. Cleveland got three field goals from Austin Seibert and a 1-yard rushing score from Nick Chubb in the first half. The Jets got their only points on a 46-yard Sam Ficken field goal in the second quarter.

The Browns forced the Jets to turn the ball over on downs on a third-quarter drive before getting the ball back for Beckham's big play. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield took a 1st-and-10 snap from the Cleveland 11 yard line before throwing a quick pass against a Jets blitz. The ball found Beckham open down the seam.

Beckham ran 21.7 mph during the sequence, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

"That's how explosive we can be," Mayfield said. "That's the type of thing, like I'm saying with the incompletions, something like that was a long throw that we really had to scheme something up to protect it and hold on to the ball and throw it down the field. Just get the ball into his hands. Just get it into the playmakers hands. He's a big difference maker when it comes down to it."

Mayfield completed 19 of 35 passes for 325 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Chubb ran for 62 yards and a score on 18 carries. The Jets -- who were already playing without starter Sam Darnold -- lost backup quarterback Trevor Siemian to an ankle injury in the second quarter. Siemian completed 3 of 6 passes for three yards before his exit. Luke Falk completed 20 of 25 passes for 198 yards in relief of Siemian. Jets running back Le'Veon Bell had 129 yards from scrimmage on 31 touches in the loss.

The Browns had four sacks in the win, with three coming from star defensive end Myles Garrett.

"We have to get better at what we're doing," Jets coach Adam Gase said. "We can play so much better than this. The details of what is going on in all three phases can get a lot better, and it's going to have to. We have a long way to go. We have a lot of practice, a lot of games. It's just going back to what we started doing in the spring and making sure we're executing that way."

The Jets face the New England Patriots at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 22 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Browns host the Los Angeles Rams at 8:20 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 22 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.