Oh, No! Bears WR Darnell Mooney Drops Game-Winning Hail Mary, Browns Survive
One of the best games of the Sunday early-afternoon slate turned out to be the Chicago Bears visiting the Cleveland Browns. Shocking, I know.
It didn't look like a great game early, as the teams went to halftime with a 7-7 tie in a very sloppily played first half. The teams combined for eight punts on the first eight drives before something exciting happened.
Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, owner of a brand-new one-year contract, threw an interception. It was a very, very bad interception, too.
Chicago cashed-in and took a 7-0 lead. Cleveland responded with a long drive and tied the game with a touchdown of its own.
In the second half, Flacco made another massive mistake. It wasn't ALL his fault, but he tried to fit a ball into a well-covered Cedric Tillman who got DECKED as soon as he touched the ball. It popped up in the air and Chicago took it to the house for a pick-6.
The Bears eventually stretched the lead out to 17-7. Chicago intercepted Flacco third time near the end of the third quarter right after the Browns recovered a muffed punt at the Bears 20-yard line.
However, the Bears ended up with a fourth-and-1 at the Browns 35-yard line and couldn't convert. That failed fourth down ended up playing a major factor in the game.
The Browns got a field goal to cut the lead to seven on the ensuing possession, later scored a touchdown to tie and later got into position for a late go-ahead field goal.
Justin Fields and the Bears offense got the ball back with just 32 seconds left down by three points with zero timeouts. Tyler Scott made an incredible catch-and-run on the second play of the drive to get the ball over the Browns half of the field and got out of bounds.
With 25 seconds left and the ball on the 45-yard line, the Bears had a great opportunity to setup for a game-tying field goal.
But, Justin Fields made a terrible play on the next snap. He killed 10 seconds off the clock before throwing an incomplete pass. At that point, the Bears didn't have the ability to throw a pass to the middle of the field and spike. So, after another incomplete pass, they had to throw a Hail Mary.
And, they NEARLY completed it. The Cleveland defense batted the ball down, but it went right into the chest of Bears receiver Darnell Mooney who had fallen to the ground.
Unfortunately, despite getting both hands on the ball, Mooney couldn't bring it in. In fact, it eventually hit his foot and went into the hands of a Browns defender for a game-ending interception.
A heartbreaking end for the Bears, who blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead. That's become a theme in Justin Fields' career.
And, it happened again on Sunday.