Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Shares Euphoric Emotions After Career Day

Cedric Tillman caught nine passes for 99 yards and two scores in the Browns stunning win over the Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) during the second half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cedric Tillman sat despondent at his locker following the Cleveland Browns 21-15 loss to the New York Giants in Week 3.

On fourth-and-four with a little over two minutes to go in the game, a pass came his way on a slant route with a chance to pick up a first down. He couldn't hang on. In his eyes, he had lost his team the game.

"I let the team down," Tillman said in the locker room afterwards. "Gotta make that play most of the time, but unfortunately I didn't make it today."

Five weeks later, Tillman made all the plays to help fuel a stunning 29-24 upset win over the Baltimore Ravens. Seven receptions. 99 yards. Two touchdowns, including a game-winning score with a little over a minute to go in regulation.

The performance conjured up much different emotions from the second-year wideout.

"My teammates and coaches they were there for me [after that]," Tillman said with a giant smile on his face. "They said they trust me, they know I'm gonna make that play. I got the opportunity to again today and I wasn't gonna do that. I knew I had to come through."

Tillman entered Sunday having yet to score a touchdown through the first 20 games of his career. That all changed with veteran Jameis Winston under center. Taking over for Deshaun Watson – who was lost for the season due to a ruptured Achilles last week – Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in the memorable win. It was the first 300-yard performance of the season for Cleveland and Tillman was his go-to target.

Even after a career day though, Tillman did some self-scouting on his first career touchdown.

"It felt really good," he said. "I gotta come better with the celebration but we gonna work out."

Nobody forgets their first touchdown. Tillman will remember that score for the rest of his career and beyond. Browns fans, though are more likely to remember his final touchdown of the day. A 38-yard bomb from Winston that eventually held up as the game-winning score.

"I was in a coverage with the safety, I knew I had to make a play," Tillman said of the play. "Jameis, he always says he's gonna throw it, he's gonna come back to me and we did that and executed at the end."

To date, that touchdown stands as the biggest play of the season. If it sparks some sort of run for the 2-6 Browns, it may go down as much more than that.