Jameis Winston's New Orleans Reunion Spoiled In Browns 35-14 Loss

The former Saints quarterback threw for nearly 400 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Cleveland Browns fell to 2-8 on the season

Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) huddles on a play against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Jameis Winstn's New Orleans Reunion wasn't filled with the warm and fuzzies he hoped it would.

There were certainly stretches where it looked like Winston was poised to play spoiler against his former team. The 30-year-old QB kept his well-documented wildness in check for the most part, completing 30-of-46 passes for 395 yards and two touchdowns. He put on an absolute show in his return to the Bayou.

His efforts became a footnote to the real star of the day, Saints Swiss army knife Taysom Hill, who tried to both give the game away and – arguably – won it for his team. Cleveland had no answers for Hill, particularly when he lined up behind center to take direct snap QB runs.

Hill finished the game with 206 all purpose yards and three touchdowns, as a Browns season defined by missed tackles, special teams miscues and big plays by an opponent reigned supreme once again.

It was Winston who was first up against his former team to start the game. The offense picked up one first down on the opening drive, leaning on Nick Chubb for two six-yard gains. Several plays later, Cleveland faced a fourth-and-one at the Saints 49 and Chubb's fourth touch of the drive was not quite so fruitful as Cleveland quickly turned it over on downs.

That set up that Saints in great field position as they marched to the end zone in six plays. The final three plays of the drive involved Hill, who completed an 18-yard pass, caught a pass for three yards and then ran in a 10-yard touchdown to punctuate the drive. It was a sign of things to come, as Hill tortured the Browns all afternoon.

Winston's second drive didn't go much smoother. On third-and-seven, Winston overshot a wide open Cedric Tillman and the Browns went three-and-out. The Saints punted on their next series though too, which is where Winston and the Browns really started cooking.

On the first play of their third drive, which started at the 11, Winston stepped up in the pocket unleashed a dart to Jerry Jeudy streaking across the field toward the sideline. Jeudy did the rest, dodging the last line of defense in Saints CB Kool-Aid Mckinstry – with a block assists from Cedric Tillman – to take it 89 yards for a touchdown.

It was the first play of 40 or more yards for the Browns offense this season, and the fourth longest touchdown in franchise history. A failed two-point attempt left the Saints with a one-point lead, but Cleveland was suddenly jolted to life.

The defense followed up the long touchdown with a Denzel Ward interception, after New Orleans tried to get cute and let Hill run a play at QB. It didn't work, as Hill took a deep shot toward Marquez Valdes-Scantling and came up woefully short. Ward snared it for his first interception of the season, and the first by a Browns defensive back this season.

Unfortunately, the Browns couldn't capitalize on the turnover, and the Saints quickly fired back with a three-play touchdown drive, that featured a 71-yard TD pass to Valdes-Scantling, who did most of the work after finding a soft spot in the Browns zone.

Each of the next two Browns drives ended in disappointing fashion, with Dustin Hopkins missing field goals from 51 and 27 yards respectively. The second attempt came just before the half, on a nicely executed drive by the Winston who got the Browns into field goal range after a Saints fumble deep in Cleveland territory. Hopkins missed from 32 yards first, then got another opportunity three plays late following a Saints penalty on his first try, and missed again.

Despite all that, the game was not out of reach for Cleveland and after forcing the Saints to punt on the opening drive of the second half, Winston and company had a counter-punch ready. The Browns executed a balanced eight-play, 92-yard touchdown drive to get within two of New Orleans. It was punctuated by a 30-yard seed of a pass in the back corner of the end zone to a toe-tapping Elijah Moore. After a successful two point conversion attempt the game was all tied up at 14.

Eventually the Saints broke through again, as Hill – remember him – who had also tried to give the game away – punched in his second touchdown of the day, taking a fourth-and-1 direct snap 33 yards for a score.

The Saints would added another touchdown after Dante Pettis set up the offense with a short field following a 53-yard punt return. Seven plays later Derek Carr hooked up with Jermian Johnson to push the lead to 28-14. Hill did the honors of playing closer with his third and final, knockout punch with a 75-yard touchdown run with 2:38 to play.

Just like that Winston's reunion had turned into a French Quarter style celebration for the Saints faithful. And the Browns head back to Cleveland at 2-8.