Browns 'butterfly effect': 5 plays produced 5 wins in the last 2 minutes

BEREA — The Browns have found a flair for the dramatic this season. It's a big reason why they've guaranteed their fourth winning season since 1999 and are closing in on a possible AFC wild card spot.

Five times the Browns have won with scores in of the final two minutes of regulation. Four of those have come down to field goals of some length by Dustin Hopkins with varying amounts of time left on the clock.

Yet, wins like that don't occur without a bit of the butterfly effect. Change a play, change the outcome, especially when the difference is so slim.

What follows is a look at one play in each of the five Browns wins in the final two minutes that, had they not made the play, the games could've ended with much different results.

These aren't scoring plays or near-scoring plays. Instead, these are plays that may not be lost to time, but most definitely deserve a little more attention.

Week 6 vs. San Francisco 49ers: David Bell's fourth-down catch

• Again, go-ahead kicks don't count in this exercise. Nor do potential game-winning kicks missed, which is why Jake Moody's kick isn't here.

• David Bell doesn't catch many passes. When the Browns second-year receiver does, though, they're usually on fourth down. Such at this one with less than seven minutes remaining in what turned into a Browns 19-17 win over the 49ers. The Browns were faced with a fourth-and-4 at the 49ers 40, and trailed 17-13. P.J. Walker, who started in place of an injured Deshaun Watson, delivered a pass to Bell just beyond the first-down marker. Bell needed to come back for the ball, but he was able to make the catch for 6 yards and a first down.

• The Browns turned that conversion into the first of two field goals by Hopkins in the quarter to make it 17-16 with 3:21 remaining. The Browns got the ball back after the defense forced a three-and-out, leading to Hopkins' game-winner with 1:40 remaining.

Week 7 at Indianapolis Colts: Elijah Moore's 30-yard catch

• The Browns were down to two plays, had 2:27 on the clock and had 80 yards to go if they wanted to score. They also needed to go all 80 yards because they were in a five-point hole to the Colts.

• Moore did a little out and up move on the right side of the formation, which allowed him to get behind the cornerback and in front of the safety. Quarterback P.J. Walker, who entered the game in the first quarter in place of an injured Watson, threw the ball to the perfect spot for Moore, who caught it at the Browns 45, right in front of Watson on the sideline, and gained 5 more yards to midfield. The Browns needed nine more plays, not counting two negated by Indianapolis penalties, before they were able to score the go-ahead TD on Kareem Hunt's 1-yard run with 15 seconds left.

Week 10 at Baltimore Ravens: Wyatt Teller's fumble recovery

• The surest way to not be able to complete a comeback is to not have the football. The Browns' rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in Baltimore in Week 10 likely would not have occurred if Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller had not had the presence of mind to jump on a loose ball after Watson was sacked by the Ravens' Odeh Oweh at the Browns 22.

• Had Baltimore, which was leading 31-30 at the time, recovered the ball, it would've had a short field to work with and just 2:22 left in the game. Even had the Ravens only gotten a field goal out of the recovery, that would've forced the Browns to go the length of the field with less than two minutes left and likely out of timeouts. Instead, the Browns only needed to get to the Ravens 22 to send Hopkins on for the game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expired.

Week 11 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Ogbo Okronokwo's fourth-quarter tackle for loss on Najee Harris

• This is how the play reads in the official gamebook: "2-10-CLV 40 (5:03) N.Harris left guard to CLV 45 for -5 yards (O.Okoronkwo)." Translated, it means this: On second-and-10 from the Cleveland 40, with 5:03 left, Najee Harris ran toward the left guard, where he was dropped for a 5-yard loss by Browns defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo.

• Why is this here? On the next play, third-and-15 from the Browns 45, the Steelers completed a 7-yard pass and had to punt. This is, mind you, in a 10-10 game. If Harris had gained anything on that run, there was a chance the Steelers would then have been able to convert the third down. That would've allowed them to continue to run clock and, potentially, score. Instead, they punted, but so did the Browns.

• Then Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was errant on three consecutive passes to once again give the ball back to the Browns, who turned that possession into another game-winning kick by Hopkins. Again, these weren't necessarily the plays that garnered all of the attention. This one didn't, but could've very easily changed the game had it gone the other way.

Week 15 vs. Chicago Bears: Cameron Mitchell's fourth-down trip of Justin Fields

• This isn't unsung as much as another example of inches meaning everything. The Browns scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat the Bears. However, had Bears quarterback Justin Fields been able to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Browns 33 on the first play of the fourth while leading 17-7, that comeback would've been tougher to pull off.

• The Bears came out with a tight bunch to the right side of the formation. Rookie cornerback Cameron Mitchell was lined up on receiver Darnell Mooney at the middle of the bunch, and stayed there as the outside receiver went in motion left. On the snap, Mitchell got sucked into the action of the play, which was going to the left. Fields, though, reversed to the right on the bootleg and ran toward the first-down marker. Mitchell was pushed backward by Mooney, who thought he was getting the Browns rookie out of the play. Instead, it allowed Mitchell to make the play by just getting enough of Fields to trip him up.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2-minute drill: Cleveland Browns winning games in clutch situations