Analysis: Browns find formula for late-game magic — timely QB play, trustworthy kicker, great defense, situational awareness

Winning drives in the last two minutes are always special but nothing out of the ordinary in the NFL. Only a week ago, six games were decided on a field goal as time expired.What's common for much of the NFL has too often been unattainable for the Browns.Not this year.The drive in the final 78 seconds Sunday to beat Pittsburgh was the fourth in the last two minutes this season. The Browns have found the formula despite having to rely on three quarterbacks to direct the triumphant marches.They wouldn't be 7-3 and in playoff position without the clutch performances across the roster. They're an NFL-best 4-0 in games decided by three points or fewer.Deshaun Watson has shoulder surgery, expected to make full recovery before next season"It's special to be on a team that no matter what the score is in the fourth quarter that we're going to fight and we're going to fight until the end, until they blow the whistle," right guard Wyatt Teller said Monday. "I would rather win by 40 points and not have to worry about all these close games that I'm about to have a heart attack on the sideline. But put in those situations to be able to execute the way we have, it says something about the guys that AB has brought onto this team and that Coach has coached."General manager Andrew Berry's roster construction and coach Kevin Stefanski's preparation and play calling are certainly factors. They're joined by quality quarterback play at the right time, kicker Dustin Hopkins being fearless and dependable, a defense that keeps the team in just about every game, intelligent players and a little luck.The 13-10 win over the Steelers featured plenty of the above.Joe Flacco signed to practice squad, adds experience to QB room with Dorian Thompson-Robinson as starterThe second-half stagnation of the offense allowed the Steelers to rally from a 10-0 hole to tie the game with 7:40 left. The defense got two more stops, allowing rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson a final chance with 1:18 left.Stefanski called four good plays to start the drive, Thompson-Robinson delivered the ball accurately on all four and the targets caught the ball. Stefanski turned to two runs to finish the setup for Hopkins, who put the 34-yarder right down the middle with two seconds left."I just think that's this football team," Stefanski said of the late-game success. "These guys lock in when we have a job to do."Dorian Thompson-Robinson comes through in clutch, leads drive to beat SteelersThe first winning drive came in Week 6 against the 49ers for a 19-17 decision. P.J. Walker made his first start and led two field goal drives in the final 11 minutes. The second one was nine plays and 63 yards in 1:16, with Hopkins hitting a 29-yarder with 1:40 left.Walker didn't complete a pass on the possession but made a couple of big ones the following week in a 39-38 win over the Colts, including a 30-yarder to Amari Cooper on third-and-10 as the Browns went 80 yards in 12 plays to score a touchdown with 15 seconds left. The Browns benefited from a dropped interception and a missed field goal vs. the 49ers and a couple of questionable calls vs. the Colts.Deshaun Watson's turn came Nov. 12 in a 33-31 win in Baltimore. Unfortunately for him and the Browns, the 12-play, 58-yard drive that used the final 4:55 and capped a remarkable comeback was his last for the season. A broken bone in his right shoulder was discovered in the days following, he was placed on injured reserve and had surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles.Watson, who also played through a high ankle sprain, completed a 14-for-14 second half by going 3-for-3 for 30 yards on the final drive. He added a huge 16-yard scramble. Hopkins kicked the 40-yard winner as time expired.Four late wins, three field goals and three quarterbacks."I look at it as an offensive unit coming through. It's never about one person," Stefanski said. "Obviously that quarterback is the driver in those situations, but I just think all 11 guys understand what we are doing and what we need to do."Even though the 49ers got into field goal range after Hopkins' go-ahead kick, the defense had played great throughout the game. And against the Colts, Ravens and Steelers, it made late stops to allow the offense the chance to play the hero."It just proves everything that we're trying to show, and that's that we're the best defense in the league," said cornerback Greg Newsome II, who had a pick-six during the comeback in Baltimore. "And you earn those stripes not in the first quarter, not in the second quarter, third quarter. You earn that in the fourth quarter in big moments. So it just shows the resiliency that we play with."The execution in the most important moments isn't an accident. The Browns practice the two-minute drill throughout training camp and every Friday during the regular season in a competitive period, and Stefanski shows two-minute situations from across the league during a Friday morning meeting."I say it all the time to the team: shared situational awareness," Stefanski said. "It's not good enough for me to know the situation, I need all of us, I need our players to know it, I need the coaches to know it. Everybody has to understand what we're doing in those situations and why we're doing them."He pointed to the final decisions against the Steelers as an example.A 2-yard Kareem Hunt run moved the ball to the Pittsburgh 24-yard line and Stefanski called his final timeout with 20 seconds remaining. He could've waited until a few seconds were left but wanted to run another play and trusted his team to pull off the plan.After a delay of game penalty on the Steelers, Hunt ran inside for 2 more yards. Everyone got lined up, and Thompson-Robinson spiked the ball to kill the clock with five seconds left."I think every yard matters there," Stefanski said. "Felt really comfortable with the amount of time left that we could do that. I think inside of 16 (seconds) maybe you wouldn't do that, but felt confident. And it goes back to shared situational awareness. Our guys know the situation, they knew exactly what to do."It wasn't the first time.The post Analysis: Browns find formula for late-game magic — timely QB play, trustworthy kicker, great defense, situational awareness first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.