'I forgot what winning felt like': Browns get to exhale after beating Ravens, ending skid

CLEVELAND — "Must-win" is a phrase that is thrown around a lot in sports. That's even if the game the team won was, by the definition of the term, really something the team needed to win.

The Browns won a game Sunday 29-24 over the Baltimore Ravens that could be viewed by some as a "must-win" game. They had only won once over the first seven weeks of the season, and were mired in a five-game losing streak.

Whether or not it was a true "must win" was not something the Browns were willing to debate afterward. They were mostly just celebrating the feel of a "win."

"Yeah, I don't know," safety Grant Delpit said. "We needed this one, though. I forgot what winning felt like, man. It's a great feeling. Shout out to the offense."

The Browns offense was central to the victory, running up season highs — by a large margin — in points (29), passing yards (334), total yards (401) and first downs (22). Leading that offense was quarterback Jameis Winston, who was starting for the first time this season after Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles tear.

Whether or not the win was the start of something, either for the offense in general or the Browns as a whole, will play out in due time. They have another home game next Sunday against another Harbaugh brother — this time against the Jim Harbaugh-coached Los Angeles Chargers — before they hit the bye week.

What was definitive as the Browns celebrated a feeling they hadn't had since Week 2 in Jacksonville was the importance of Sunday's win in setting the table for the future.

"A win like this is required to change the season around," Winston said. "We have to continue to come to work and apply ourselves every single day and keep scratching and clawing. We got a long way to go. I'm happy that we got this win."

The frustrations of the five-game losing streak, now in the rear-view mirror, were multi-faceted. Although an offense that struggled to consistently either move the ball or put it in the end zone was a prime culprit, there were plenty of others between a defense that missed too many tackles and a kicking game that seemed to be missing too many kicks of late.

Much like "must win," the phrase "complementary football" is one that gets a high level of usage by coaches and players combined. However, what the Browns did against the Ravens was textbook "complementary football."

While the offense was doing its part, the defense was swarming Baltimore's league-leading rushing offense led by quarterback Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins made every kick he tried, including a 48-yard field goal he bounced off the right upright and through for a 23-17 fourth-quarter lead.

"Yeah, this is the way we expect to play 'cause it ended with a W so that's what we expect," Diabate said. "We expect W's. We haven't met our own expectations in the building the last couple weeks, and this week we were able to meet our expectations. Those are the only expectations that really matter to us."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ