Win Probability Added: +43.68
NEP: +5.38
The Cleveland Browns are the easiest team in the NFL to make fun of. They are the dinky roadside attraction to the rest of the NFL’s gallery of national parks, lakeshores, monuments, and historic sites. But even the pro football equivalent to “World’s Largest Ball of Yarn” sometimes finds ways to make games interesting, and that’s just what the Browns did in Week 3.
Tied 24-24, with just 26 seconds on the clock before overtime, the Miami Dolphins had the ball on their own 35-yard line. All they needed was 31 yards to get into field goal range -- a more than reasonable goal, considering quarterback Ryan Tannehill had diced the Browns’ secondary all afternoon through the air.
With two quick strikes and a spike, the game would be over. But that’s not what Browns’ defensive end Corey Lemonier had in mind. Lined up as the left end, Lemonier blew past right tackle Ja’Wuan James, turned the corner with a strong rip move, and strip-sacked Tannehill. Lemonier himself fell on the ball at the 27-yard line and recovered the fumble, giving the Browns a chance to put the game away with a kick.
They would lose in overtime, after kicker Cody Parkey missed the very makeable 46-yard try. But it wasn’t for lack of defensive effort at a crucial moment by Lemonier.