Browns 21, Panthers 18: A Penalty Erases an Interception Late

The Carolina Panthers led the Cleveland Browns 18-13 with 2:36 left on Sunday when cornerback Akayleb Evans intercepted Deshaun Watson in the end zone. The interception did not count. Linebacker Bobby Okereke was flagged for roughing the passer, Cleveland kept the ball at the Carolina 14, and three plays later Watson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. The Browns won 21-18 at Huntington Bank Field, their home stadium.

Carolina, which beat Atlanta 34-3 a week earlier, is 1-2. New Orleans and Atlanta are also 1-2 and Tampa Bay is 0-3, so no team in the NFC South has a winning record after three weeks. Cleveland is 2-1.

The last 2:36

Watson was hurt on the play that drew the flag and missed one snap. He came back on third-and-10 and found Fannin for the touchdown with 1:48 left, then threw a two-point conversion pass to make it 21-18.

"I saw him get hit in the head by somebody's hands. I don't know who that was. But we can't do that," head coach Dave Canales said. "We have to go lower on the quarterback when the ball's in the air, you have to make that decision right at the end to either put your hands on the quarterback or not, and we made the wrong decision in that case, and extended the drive."

Okereke said he was trying to keep his momentum from carrying into Watson's head or neck. "I just got to be smarter, go lower in that situation and yeah, just not leave it up to the refs," he said.

Carolina's first answer went nowhere. Quarterback Bryce Young was sacked on third down, and a fourth-and-16 pass to Darren Waller came up 8 yards short, turning the ball over at the Carolina 24 with 1:17 left. The defense then got it back. After the Panthers spent all three timeouts, the Browns went for it on fourth-and-1 at the 15, and outside linebacker Pat Jones stopped the run for a 2-yard loss.

Young took over at his own 17 with 1:01 left and no timeouts. He hit Waller for 11 yards and receiver Brycen Tremayne for 20 to reach the Carolina 42. With 16 seconds left, his pass for Waller was intercepted by safety Ronnie Hickman.

Young and the offense

Young completed 26 of 48 passes for 291 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and was sacked three times. The team says he is the first player in franchise history to throw for at least 280 yards in each of a season's first three games. His 939 yards through three games trail only Cam Newton's 1,012 in 2011.

He also visited the medical tent during the game. Canales said Young was "working through something" and agreed with a reporter that it was fair to call it a lower-body injury. Asked about it, Young said: "Nothing. Just football."

Carolina outgained Cleveland 360 yards to 259 but ran for 98 on 23 carries. "We missed some blocks up front," Canales said. Chuba Hubbard ran 19 times for 82 yards, a season high. Tetairoa McMillan, the team's second-leading receiver entering the game, caught two passes for 17 yards. Tremayne set career highs with four catches for 83 yards, and three tight ends, Waller, Tremble and Mitchell Evans, caught at least three passes each.

Field goals, not touchdowns

Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald made all four of his field goal attempts, from 35, 41, 53 and 37 yards. According to the team, four field goals is a career high for him, and he is the first Panthers kicker with four field goals in a game since Eddy Pineiro in November 2024.

"A couple of red zone and fringe opportunities, we came away with field goals, not touchdowns - big difference there," Canales said in his opening statement.

The clearest example came on the second-half kickoff. Linebacker Maema Njongmeta, signed from the practice squad the day before the game, forced a fumble on the return, and outside linebacker Thomas Incoom recovered at the Cleveland 30. Carolina gained 8 yards on three plays and settled for Fitzgerald's 41-yard kick. Canales called the fumble "unbelievable" and said it "really gave us a lot of life."

Carolina was 1 for 3 in the red zone and 0 for 3 on fourth down. Cleveland scored after one of them. Late in the first half, on fourth-and-1 at the Carolina 40, Young's pass to tight end Tommy Tremble fell incomplete, and Cleveland drove 40 yards for Fannin's first touchdown, a 2-yard catch with 1:37 left in the half. "For us, it was an absolute no-brainer to go for it," Canales said. "But I like the decisions."

The go-ahead touchdown came with 4:25 left, an 8-yard pass from Young to John Metchie III, his first touchdown as a Panther. The two-point run that followed failed, which left the lead at five.

Injuries

Cornerback Jaycee Horn hurt his quad on Cleveland's final touchdown. Canales said Horn "was nowhere close to getting back out there during this game." Receiver Jalen Coker left with a quad injury and did not return, and cornerback Mike Jackson hurt his groin. Left guard Damien Lewis was injured and came back.

"I'm just frustrated," Coker said. Asked how serious the injury is, he said, "Not bad, not like anything crazy."

Linebacker Devin Lloyd, safety Nick Scott and receiver Xavier Legette were inactive.

Cleveland's side

Watson completed 16 of 30 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns and ran 11 times for 45 yards, including a 21-yard scramble on third-and-3 on the winning drive. The Browns were penalized 12 times for 84 yards.

"How cool, really," Browns coach Todd Monken said of Watson. Later in the same answer, he added: "To get knocked down, then come back in and make a play, and then a two point conversion, this is about him."

Next

Carolina has scored 89 points and allowed 83 through three games. The Panthers play the Detroit Lions, who are 2-1, at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 4.