CLEVELAND _ On a sunny September day in Cleveland, things couldn't have looked any bleaker for the Ravens.
They trailed by 20 points late in the first quarter. On offense, quarterback Joe Flacco looked rattled and the run game was nonexistent. On defense, they weren't stopping the run or the pass.
Defensive coordinator Dean Pees called his defense together for a stern lecture. Wide receiver Steve Smith stomped around the sideline yelling at anybody who would listen.
It isn't clear what was the key play or the key moment in the Ravens' comeback. But they got contributions from all three facets in rattling off 25 unanswered points and beating the Cleveland Browns, 25-20, in front of an announced 67,431 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Justin Tucker's 49-yard field goal with 11:19 to play gave the Ravens their first lead at 22-20. Another Tucker field goal, this one from 41 yards, gave the visitors a 25-20 lead.
The Ravens then barely hung on with C.J. Mosley intercepting a beat-up Josh McCown just outside the end zone with 13 seconds to play. A play before the interception, Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor was called for a taunting penalty for tossing the ball off of Lardarius Webb after a sideline reception that would have put the Browns near the goal-line.
The Ravens improved to 2-0 on the season, while the Browns fell to 0-2.
After scoring the final 12 points of the second quarter, the Ravens cut the Browns' lead to 20-19 when Flacco found Mike Wallace alone in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard score. Wallace's second touchdown of the game, and third of the season, eclipsed his total from last year with the Minnesota Vikings.
The extra point cut the Browns' once 20-point lead to 20-19 early in the second quarter. The Ravens were in position to take their first lead later in the quarter, but Flacco was intercepted by Joe Haden in the end zone. Haden had position on Breshad Perriman and Flacco didn't get the ball outside enough and was picked off for the second time.
Anything that could go wrong for the Ravens in the first half did, leaving them at one point trailing 20-2. That marked the second largest first-quarter deficit in franchise history.
Their defense couldn't get off the field early after talking all week about how McCown was on third down. On the game's first drive, McCown led Cleveland on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that featured three completions on third down.
The first was an 8-yard pass to Andrew Hawkins, who broke a Shareece Wright tackle to get the first down. The second was a 28-yard McCown completion to running back Duke Johnson on third-and-5. And the third was McCown's 31-yard touchdown pass to rookie Corey Coleman in the back of the end zone.
Coleman beat Wright on the play and just his second foot in bounds to give the Browns the early lead.
The Browns needed only one play on their next drive to get back in the end zone. Running back Isaiah Crowell found a hole after nose tackle Brandon Williams and weak-side linebacker Zachary Orr were sealed off, he sprinted 85 yards to the end zone.
Crowell, who registered the longest run against the Ravens in their franchise history, was barely touched with defensive backs Wright and Webb perhaps getting a piece of his ankle as he ran into the end zone.
Flacco's sluggish play added to the Ravens' early woes. Two plays from scrimmage after Crowell's touchdown, the Ravens quarterback tried to force the ball into wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. However, cornerback Joe Haden, the Browns' top defensive player, stepped in front of the ball for the interception. Haden's 9-yard return gave the Browns the ball on the Ravens' 27.
After another third down conversion _ McCown hit tight end Gary Barnidge for 14 yards on third-and-8 _ the quarterback threw to the rookie Coleman in the slot. Coleman ran out of a Jimmy Smith tackle attempt and dove into the end zone to give the Browns a three-score lead.
Lawrence Guy blocked the ensuing Patrick Murray extra-point attempt and rookie cornerback Tavon Young returned it 63 yards the other way for the conversion attempt, which made the score 20-2.
The Ravens finally got something going on their next drive. However, on fourth-and-2 from the Browns 28, Harbaugh eschewed a field-goal attempt for a running play. Forsett was stuffed, getting only one yard as the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.
They finally got into the end zone two drives later when Flacco hit Mike Wallace on a slant for a 7-yard touchdown connection. The drive was set up by a 30-yard Flacco pass to tight end Dennis Pitta. On the next play, Flacco hit fellow tight end Crockett Gillmore for 22 yards, and a roughing the passer penalty on Stephen Paea was tacked onto the play. Paea hit Flacco low on his surgically-repaired left knee.
The Ravens got even closer before halftime as they converted Eric Weddle's late-half interception on McCown into a 52-yard field goal by Justin Tucker with no time on the clock at intermission. That made the score 20-12.
