But in the most critical situation of the game, Brissett found his brain’s brake pedal.
Following the Panthers’ go-ahead field goal with just over a minute left, Brissett and the offense took the field from the Browns’ 25-yard line with the goal of reaching the Panthers’ 40, and he needed to command the offense with enough pace to leave time for a possible kick from York.
It’s the most stressful situation a QB could possibly face, and it’s one Brissett had seldomly experienced in his other 37 career starts — before Sunday, he had only completed three game-winning drives. The last one happened in 2019.
Yet one completion after another, Brissett chipped away at the distance to reach the 40. He completed three of his four pass attempts on the drive, starting with an incompletion to Donovan Peoples-Jones that drew a roughing the passer penalty against the Panthers. After a 2-yard loss on a completion to Kareem Hunt, he rebounded and went back to Peoples-Jones for a 13-yard gain and then found Amari Cooper for another 9 yards.
Just like that, the Browns were at the 40-yard line.
“He was calm, he was collective and he looked like he had done it for a while,” RB Nick Chubb said. “He has, and it showed.”
Brissett’s job was done, and as York boomed the kick through the uprights and players spilled onto the field, his emotions began to spill again.
After seven years of a roller coaster journey as a backup QB, no game felt as meaningful to his career as that one.
“I think that definitely played a lot into (the emotions),” he said with another tearful pause.
“Right now for me, thoughts and emotions are going through my head right now. These aren’t promised. So, whenever you get an opportunity, you cherish those opportunities.”
The highs. The lows. The pressure that truly never went away until the clock hit zero.
Brissett embraced it all — and came out on top.
“Playing in the NFL is a highlight every time, and that’s why I think I’m so emotional,” he said. “It’s because they just…
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