Quinshon Judkins Scores With 53 Seconds Left as Deshaun Watson Erases a 17-Point Hole in a 27-24 Win

Deshaun Watson threw for 11 yards in the first quarter on Sunday. He finished with 312, and the last big throw of the afternoon set up the winning score.

Quinshon Judkins ran it in from 5 yards out with 53 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns came back from 17 points down to beat the Houston Texans 27-24 in the rain at Huntington Bank Field. Cleveland heads into its bye at 6-4 and is 4-0 at home, its first 4-0 home start since 1963, according to Cleveland 19. Houston falls to 3-6.

A 17-Point Hole

For almost 19 minutes, Houston looked like the team that dropped 44 points on the Chargers a week earlier. C.J. Stroud hit Nico Collins for a 12-yard touchdown on the opening drive, Ka'imi Fairbairn added a 45-yard field goal, and Stroud found Xavier Hutchinson from 11 yards out early in the second quarter. Three possessions, three scores, 17-0.

Cleveland's answer started with a 49-yard Andre Szmyt field goal. Then one throw changed the half, a 65-yard strike from Watson to Jerry Jeudy, and Watson finished that drive himself on a 6-yard run. He missed a wide-open Jeudy on the final drive of the half, and time ran out before the Browns could try a kick. Houston led 17-10.

The Defense Flips It

Cleveland's defense owned the second half. The Browns forced three straight three-and-outs to open the half, and Stroud completed just 5 of 19 passes for 21 yards after the break. KC Concepcion tied it at 17 on a 6-yard touchdown run with 8:35 left in the third quarter, the first rushing touchdown by a Browns wide receiver since 2022, according to the team's public relations staff as reported by Cleveland 19. Szmyt then hit a 26-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the quarter for Cleveland's first lead, 20-17.

Houston got one more push. Szmyt missed a 54-yard try wide left early in the fourth quarter, and on the next drive rookie safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren intercepted Stroud, only to have it wiped out by a 37-yard pass interference penalty on Myles Harden. Two plays later, Stroud found Dalton Schultz for an 11-yard touchdown on Schultz's first target of the day. Houston led 24-20 with 9:17 left, and Calen Bullock picked off Watson at the Houston 23 a few minutes later.

One More Drive

Cleveland got the ball back at its own 46 after a Houston punt and a penalty. A 15-yard unnecessary roughness call on Kamari Lassiter erased a short loss, Watson found Harold Fannin Jr. for 30 yards to the Houston 5, and Judkins scored on the next play. Houston's final drive went backward on two holding penalties and ended with an incompletion to Hutchinson on fourth-and-20.

It was Watson's sixth game-winning drive of the season, according to Cleveland 19 and BrownsZone. He was back in the lineup after missing the Saints game with a concussion.

The Numbers Behind It

• 25 of 40 for 312 yards and an interception for Watson, who also led Cleveland with 49 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
• 13 penalties for 112 yards against Houston, compared with 2 for 47 against Cleveland.
• 4 sacks of Watson, two by Logan Hall and one each by Will Anderson Jr. and Jadeveon Clowney.
• 9 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown for Collins, on 16 targets.
• 7 catches for 91 yards for Fannin, Cleveland's leading receiver.

What It Means

The Browns snapped a two-game losing streak, stayed perfect at home and get a week off before hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 29.

Houston let a game it controlled slip away and lost running back Woody Marks, who left with what ESPN reported as a concussion. Next up is a short week, with the Indianapolis Colts visiting on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Stats from the official box score and play-by-play via ESPN. Reporting from BrownsZone, Cleveland 19, Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report and Heavy.