PUSKAS: Browns find a way through fog to win

It was only fitting that Greg Joseph’s winning field goal was a wounded duck that barely cleared the crossbar in the final seconds of overtime.

The kick was ugly, but good — just like the Browns’ first AFC North victory in 19 attempts and their first Sunday win since Dec. 13, 2015.

(Just for the record, the Browns beat the San Francisco 49ers 24-10 that day. It was the final victory of the Mike Pettine Era in Cleveland.)

Joseph’s 37-yarder gave the Browns a 12-9 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens. As far as victories go, it wasn’t especially pleasing to the eye. At times, it was downright ugly.

But just as the first car you ever bought was beautiful to you in spite of its blemishes, a victory on a Sunday was something to behold for Browns fans, even if it had a few scratches and dents.

The Browns overcame an early Baker Mayfield interception that led to a Baltimore field goal.

They overcame continued kicking woes, as Joseph struggled in just his third week on the job since replacing Zane Gonzalez.

They overcame 10 penalties, missed opportunities and inconsistent play calls and execution on offense, including several more dropped passes.

They overcame a non-call on a play when Jarvis Landry was hauled to the ground by two defenders on a fourth-down pass earlier in overtime.

It was a game of fits and starts, gains and losses and perseverance and penalties. With the Browns at their own 5 and time running out in overtime, it seemed like a game no one wanted to win.

But then Mayfield found Derrick Willies for 39 yards on a key third down, and the Browns were in business on the Ravens’ side of the field.

But it’s the Browns, so nothing came easy. After all, Joseph’s missed extra-point kick — which bounced off the left upright in the second quarter — was a big reason the game went to overtime.

Joseph also had missed wide left from 55 yards with a chance to win the game late in regulation.

But this time he split the uprights, even if the ball appeared to be quacking on its way through.

There were other factors that helped the Browns secure the win.

Rookie cornerback Denzel Ward blocked a field goal, the Browns allowed the Ravens to convert just 4 of 16 third-down situations (25 percent) and Mayfield continued his development against a defense known for being tough on any QB, let alone a rookie.

Mayfield was 25 of 43 for 342 yards, including a 19-yard TD pass to Rashard Higgins.

Mayfield completed passes of at least 24 yards to five different players, including Willies, who entered the game after Higgins went out with a knee injury.

It might have been the NFL equivalent of a 1978 AMC Matador, but just like that first car got you places, this win delivered something for the Browns.

The message? The culture change that has been talked about and promised so often over the years might have finally arrived in Cleveland, where the Browns always seemed to find a way to lose.

Instead, on a day that began with FirstEnergy Stadium shrouded in fog and progressed with both teams and the officiating crew also seemingly in a fog, the Browns found a way to win.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.