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Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Lamar Jackson helped the Baltimore Ravens prevail in one of the best games of the 2020 NFL season after he returned from an injury absence to throw a deep touchdown pass and spark the triumph over the Cleveland Browns. Jackson completed just 11 passes for 163 yards in addition to his dramatic touchdown toss, but ran for 124 yards and another two scores in the 47-42 victory on Monday in Cleveland.
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He left the game due to cramps late in the third quarter before he emerged from the locker room to throw a fourth-down, fourth-quarter touchdown pass on the first snap of his return. The Ravens later got a go-ahead field goal from Justin Tucker to seal the victory.
"It's a game that's going to go down in history," Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters. "If you wrote a movie about this, people wouldn't believe it. They would say it could never happen."
The Ravens and Browns combined for nine rushing touchdowns, which tied an NFL record set in 1922. The Browns had 493 total yards in the loss. Baltimore had 231 rushing yards.
Nick Chubb gave the Browns a 7-0 lead with a seven-yard rushing touchdown on the first possession of the game. The Ravens responded with a nine-play, 44-yard touchdown drive. Jackson capped off that drive with a five-yard rushing score.
The Browns missed a field goal on the next possession. Baltimore later took a 14-7 lead on a Gus Edwards rushing touchdown with 7:55 remaining in the second quarter. Chubb then scored his second touchdown of the game on the next drive to tie the score at 14-14
Jackson ran for a 17-yard rushing touchdown on the Ravens final drive of the first half to push Baltimore ahead 21-14 at halftime.
The Ravens increased their lead to 14 points with a four-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to start the third quarter. Ravens running back Gus Edwards ran for a 19-yard score to end that possession.
The Browns answered with a Kareem Hunt rushing touchdown. Cleveland then forced a Baltimore punt before Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser intercepted Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins ran for a one-yard touchdown on the next snap to push the Baltimore lead back to 14 points.
The Browns responded once again with a 12-play, 70-yard drive. Mayfield threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins to end that possession at the start of the fourth quarter.
Jackson missed most of the Ravens' first two drives of the fourth quarter after he went to the locker room due to cramp issues. The Ravens offense went three-and-out on backup quarterback Trace McSorley's first drive. Mayfield then gave the Browns a 35-34 lead with a five-yard touchdown run on Cleveland's next possession.
McSorley helped the Ravens march to the Cleveland 44-yard line on the Ravens next possession before he sustained a knee injury and Jackson was forced to come back into the game.
The reigning NFL MVP threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown on the first snap of his return. The score and a two-point conversion gave the Ravens a 42-35 lead with two minutes remaining.
"We had a great play called, I dropped back, it looked like they were in man [coverage]. ... and I was making a scramble to my right, and Marquise just came open," Jackson said.
"I just had to give him a playable ball, and he just did the rest."
The Browns rallied once more on the next possession. Mayfield ended that drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Hunt to tie the score with 1:10 remaining.
Tucker made a 55-yard go-ahead field goal on the next possession to give Baltimore a 45-52 lead with seven seconds remaining. The Ravens then forced a safety on the Browns next drive to make the score final.
Browns running back Nick Chubb had 103 yards from scrimmage and two scores in the loss. Hunt had 110 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns for Cleveland.
Mayfield completed 28 of 47 passes for 343 yards, two scores and an interception. The Browns quarterback also had 23 rushing yards and a touchdown on five carries.
"We came here to get a victory, and we did not," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Very hard-fought game on both sides. I appreciate how the guys battled, but we just did not do enough to get a win.
"I do not want to go down the moral victories [path]. We lost. We got beat."
The Ravens (8-5) host the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday in Baltimore. The Browns (9-4) face the New York Giants at 8:20 p.m. EST on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
