Mooney drops Hail Mary as Browns rally again

Courtney Cronin
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Courtney Cronin

ESPN Staff Writer
Jake Trotter
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Jake Trotter

ESPN Staff Writer

Dec 17, 2023, 07:39 PM ET

CLEVELAND — Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney had a Hail Mary ball on his chest in the end zone Sunday.

But instead of securing what would’ve been the winning touchdown, he deflected it off his right foot into the arms of Cleveland Browns safety D’Anthony Bell for an interception as time expired.

A chance at a last-second comeback was within the Bears’ grasp, as quickly as it slipped away in a 20-17 loss.

“I tried to tip it and didn’t hold onto it,” Mooney said. “It hit my chest before I could [secure it]. I was already falling. It’s tough. It would have been crazy. … How many times do you see a Hail Mary work and then actually fall into being able to make a catch? It’s tough. I wish I would have had it, but it is what it is.”

Three of Chicago’s losses this season have come from squandering double-digit leads in the fourth quarter.

On Sunday, the Bears led again 17-7 in the fourth, but couldn’t hold on as Cleveland scored 13 straight points, capped with Dustin Hopkins‘ 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining to give Cleveland its first lead.

But on the ensuing drive, Chicago quarterback Justin Fields found rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott for a 30-yard catch-and-run to Cleveland’s 45-yard line. Two incomplete passes set the Bears up for a Hail Mary attempt. Fields made his way out of the pocket to his left before launching a deep ball into the end zone.

The pass was tipped and found Mooney as he was falling backwards. But Mooney couldn’t finish the completion.

“I’m fine. Once again, it’s a Hail Mary,” said Mooney, who sat in the end zone for several moments as the Browns celebrated. “It’s not like targeted for me. It just ricocheted and I just happened to be the guy in position right there to try to get the ball. It’s a wild play. It could have been crazy. I wish I wasn’t falling; it would have been easier to catch it.

“It’s unfortunate. It shouldn’t have to come down to those things just to throw the ball up in the air and make some things work. It’s an unfortunate thing that I wasn’t able to hold on to it.”

At 5-9, Chicago’s late push for a playoff spot seems all but over.

The Browns, meanwhile, set a franchise record with their fifth win this season with a winning score in the final two minutes of regulation, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The Browns are now 9-5 and the 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

“Who could’ve wrote this story?” said Browns defensive end Myles Garrett of Cleveland’s season. “Not even Dr. Seuss.”

Down to only one healthy starter on its offensive line (right guard Wyatt Teller), the Browns struggled offensively through the first three quarters.

Quarterback Joe Flacco threw three interceptions, including a Tremaine Edmunds pick-six and another one that Eddie Jackson returned to the 1-yard line, which set up Fields’ only touchdown pass.

“Believe me, part of you wants to crawl into a hole somewhere and hide from everybody, but you can’t do that,” Flacco said of his early struggles in his third start with the Browns. “You just have to keep your eyes on what’s next. You have to continue to look forward and continue to have faith that your teammates are going to get themselves in the right positions for you to get the ball to them.”

In the fourth quarter, that’s exactly what Flacco did.

He finished with 212 passing yards in the fourth, the most by any Browns quarterback in any quarter over the past 45 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He threw a 51-yard touchdown to Amari Cooper, then engineered the winning field goal drive, highlighted by a third-down completion to tight end David Njoku for 19 yards.

“Joe made some unbelievable throws there when we needed him,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Just can’t say enough good things about how he played in that fourth quarter and leading that football team.”

The Browns became the only NFL team this season to win two games after trailing by double-digits in the fourth quarter, the other coming in a Week 10 victory at the Baltimore Ravens.

“This is just another step in our journey,” Garrett said, “another opportunity for us to write a very peculiar but great legacy.”

The Bears, meanwhile, became the first NFL team since the 2015 New York Giants to lose three games in one season after leading by 10 or more points in a fourth.

“Of course, there’s many games we want back, many plays we want back,” Fields said. “We have to be better in [these] situations.”