Saints Beat Browns 23-22 in OT on 15-Yard Johnson TD

Q: Why did the Browns risk the game on a two-point conversion in overtime instead of kicking the tying extra point?

The Browns went for two because, under the current NFL overtime rules, that play was their best chance to win immediately. After New Orleans scored a touchdown on its opening overtime possession, Cleveland still got a full chance to answer. Once the Browns matched it with Harold Fannin Jr.’s touchdown, an extra point would only have tied the game at 23-23 and extended overtime. A successful 2-point conversion, however, would have ended the game on the spot with a 24-23 win. That logic has become more common in the NFL. Coaches increasingly weigh the roughly 48% league-average success rate on 2-point tries against the uncertainty of continuing overtime, which is often treated like close to a coin flip. In a road game, against a Saints defense that had pressured Shedeur Sanders much of the afternoon, Cleveland’s staff may have decided one controlled play from the 2-yard line was preferable to giving New Orleans another chance in a tight, mistake-filled game. Game context also supported the gamble. Both offenses had struggled in the red zone, possessions had been uneven, and the Saints had just driven for a touchdown to open overtime. Rather than risk losing momentum or field position in extended play, Cleveland chose the high-variance option: try to win with one snap. It failed because Carl Granderson forced Sanders off his spot, and Sanders’ rollout throw fell incomplete along the sideline.

3 articles · Updated · NewOrleansSaints.com · Nov 8

Juwan Johnson’s 15-yard touchdown catch with 4:17 left in overtime lifted New Orleans to a 23-22 win, after Cleveland answered with a 39-yard TD but failed on a two-point try.
Tyler Shough drove the comeback before overtime, leading a 55-yard march capped by Audric Estimé’s 2-yard run with 1:48 left in regulation; Andre Szmyt’s 51-yard field goal then forced the extra period.
Shough finished 21 of 35 for 265 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Olave had seven catches for 98 yards and Estimé ran for 72 yards; rookie Jordyn Tyson posted four catches in his debut.
Carl Granderson recorded two of New Orleans’ five sacks on Shedeur Sanders, becoming the only Saint with multiple sacks in four straight games and the first NFL player to do so since 2013.
The win moved the Saints to 3-5 and 1-3 at home after their bye week, while the Browns fell to 5-4 and New Orleans pulled into a tie for first in the NFC South pending Sunday night’s result.