Browns’ fade continues against Saints despite Jameis Winston’s production against his former club

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jameis Winston smiled while embracing former New Orleans Saints teammates and looked almost triumphant as he raised his arm to acknowledge well-wishing fans on his way off of the Superdome field.

The Browns lost 35-14 to New Orleans on Sunday, fading in the fourth quarter after rallying to tie the game in the third. But Winston’s day wasn’t all that bad.

He threw for 395 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in his first game back at the Superdome since leaving New Orleans for Cleveland last offseason.

“We did some good things, but every week you do good things,” Winston said. “We have to find a way to finish drives so we can end up celebrating.”

The Browns (2-8) are in the midst of a dismal follow-up to last year’s 11-6 breakthrough.

Their latest collapse began with Taysom Hill’s go-ahead, 33-yard touchdown off a direct snap on fourth-and-1 with 13:22 left. Dante Pettis’ 53-yard punt return set up 1-yard scoring toss from Derek Carr to Juwan Johnson to pad the advantage, and Hill put it away with a career-long 75-yard run around left end in the final minutes.

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Winston appreciated the positive reception he received from the crowd after spending the previous four years with the Saints — primarily as a backup despite being the season-opening starter in 2021 and 2022. He just wanted a better result in his third start in place of Deshaun Watson, who ruptured his right Achilles tendon against Cincinnati on Oct. 20.

Intercepted three times and sacked six times in a 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, Winston rebounded in New Orleans with his highest passing total since he played for Tampa Bay in 2019.

He improvised while scrambling to his left on an 89-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy in the first quarter. He also delivered a pin-point, 30-yard strike to Elijah Moore in the back of the end zone in the third quarter.

A 2-point conversion pass to tight end David Njoku tied the score, but little went right for Cleveland after that.

Winston’s throws deep into double coverage were unsuccessful twice the next time the Browns had the ball, leading to a punt. A false-start penalty and two consecutive sacks torpedoed the following drive, and his last pass — a fourth down fade for Cedric Tillman — sailed well out of bounds with 2:43 left.

“Jameis is going to all of a sudden and take those shots down the field,” New Orleans coach Darren Rizzi said. “We did a really good job defending a couple of those in the second half. You’re always worried, even when we went up 14. It’s kind of like, we can’t have explosives here.”

Winston’s completion to Jeudy in the first quarter was the longest of his NFL career.

Still, the Browns’ 443 yards yielded just two touchdowns.

“A hundred yards of offense you’d think is roughly seven points,” guard Wyatt Teller said. “So when you have 400, you’d think you’d have at least 28 points and be good enough to win. We just didn’t execute, and we didn’t finish.”

Kicker Dustin Hopkins’ struggles in the second quarter did not help. He missed a 51-yard field goal that would have given the Browns a 9-7 lead. After he was wide left on a 32-yard attempt late in the half, he got a brief reprieve. A Saints penalty kept that Browns’ drive alive, only to end without point as Hopkins pulled a 27-yarder wide left again.

Previously, Hopkins had been 64 of 65 in his career from inside 30 yards.

“He needs to make those kicks,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He knows that. He’s been in this league for a long time, and I believe he will fix that issue that he had.”

The defense broke down, too, allowing the Saints’ Hill to set to career highs for yards rushing (138) and touchdowns (three) on seven carries — mostly off of direct snaps.

“It’s just not doing what we’re supposed to do,” said defensive end Myles Garrett, who also was held without a sack.

Hill is “one of the guys who’s integral to what they do with their offense, so we knew beforehand we needed to take care of it,” Garrett added. “We didn’t accomplish that.”

Cleveland played short-handed on offense after left tackle Dawand Jones fractured his left leg in the first half. Jones, now out for the rest of the season, was starting in place of Jedrick Willis Jr, who is trying to come back from a knee injury.

“He knew it right away, and I feel bad for him,” Stefanski said of Jones. “I felt he was doing some decent things over there.”

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