Jacoby Brissett plays hero for Browns in final expected start

As soon as Nick Chubb ran the ball into the end zone to seal the Browns win in overtime, the spotlight rightly was directed to Brissett, who opened his press conference with the one-liner of the season:

“I mean no disrespect, but in the words of Tom Brady, that was awesome,” he said, only he used an expletive that starts with the letter “f” before he said the word “awesome.”

The finish was awesome, though, and it all started the moment he fired a pass to TE David Njoku in the end zone on a fourth down with 37 seconds left in regulation. The Browns trailed 17-10 and were down to their last play from the Buccaneers’ 12-yard line, but Brissett saw the look he wanted — Njoku matched one-on-one against Buccaneers linebacker Devin White — and fired away.

In what should stand as one of the best catches in the NFL this season, Njoku threw his left hand in the air and made a one-handed snag on the ball as he fell to the ground.

“I threw it, and I thought I threw it too high and I was about to start crying,” Brissett said with a laugh. “I saw him pull it down, and I was like, ‘I could have ran up and kissed him.'”

The Browns weren’t done yet, and neither was Brissett’s opportunity to close the game with a bang. Credit belongs to the defense for keeping that opportunity alive — the Buccaneers got the ball first to start overtime and were halted by the Browns, and when the offense couldn’t generate points on its first overtime possession, the defense stepped up again and stopped Brady.

With 2:45 left, Brissett went back to work and saw exactly what he could’ve hoped for again on the first play of the drive: Amari Cooper running alone down the right sideline.

Copper managed to create his space with a juke move that sent Buccaneers’ CB Carlton Davis to the ground, and Brissett saw him immediately and lofted a pass into his hands. Cooper then broke free on a 45-yard sprint before he was tackled out of bounds 3 yards short…