TAMPA, Fla. _ Chandler Catanzaro needed redemption. So did the Bucs.
Having missed an extra point and a 40-yard field goal to win the game at the end of regulation, Catanzaro connected on a career-long 59-yard field with 1:50 remaining in overtime to give the Bucs a 26-23 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
It never should've come to this.
The Bucs and Jameis Winston probably deserved a better fate.
After Catanzaro's first miss, Winston tried to force a pass to Chris Godwin that was intercepted by linebacker Jamie Collins on the first possession of overtime.
The Bucs defense held. Then after the Bucs were unable to move the ball, Isaiah Johnson recovered a fumbled punt return by Jabrill Peppers at the Tampa Bay 48.
But Winston was sacked on back-to-back plays. He completed a pass to DeSean Jackson to get the Bucs to within field goal range.
Winston put the Bucs on his back and mustered one last heroic drive. He completed four passes and scrambled for a first down to set up Catanzaro's potential game-winning 40-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation.
But Catanzaro, who missed an extra point in each of the past two games, pushed the attempt wide right to force overtime.
The Bucs certainly needed a different performance on defense, which is why they fired defensive coordinator Mike Smith last Monday amid a three-game losing streak.
They got it in the first half, anyway.
But the Browns got things rolling the second half, erasing a 16-2 deficit.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was stopped on fourth-and-1 from the 1-yard line, preventing a possible tying touchdown and extra point with under five minutes to play in the game.
But following a 32-yard punt return by Jabrill Peppers, Mayfield hit Jarvis Landry on a 16-yard TD pass with 2:28 to play. The PAT tied the game at 23.
Winston threw a touchdown pass to O.J. Howard and ran for another score.
But he also lost a fumble and threw two interceptions.
Playing under new defensive coordinator Mark Duffner, the Bucs defense responded by sacking Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield four times.
What's more, they did it playing without starting defensive linemen Gerald McCoy and Vinny Curry. Tampa Bay also lost linebacker Kwon Alexander near the end of the first half with a knee injury.
The Bucs appeared to be cruising to a 16-2 lead in the first half.
DeSean Jackson scored the Bucs first touchdown on an end around, and Winston scrambled 14 yards for a TD.
The Browns got on the board again after Winston's fumble and David Njoku's 15-yard TD pass from Mayfield cut the deficit to 16-9.
Ronald Jones scored on a 2-yard run late in the third quarter until the Browns got even.
Under Smith, in three previous games, the Bucs had allowed more than 30 points in the first half of each contest.
Tampa Bay entered the game with only nine sacks this season. But they sacked Mayfield five times Sunday.
