NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Through three quarters Sunday, it seemed Travis Benjamin was risking his place on the Browns' roster.
The fourth-round pick in 2012 out of Miami had 27 career catches in two-plus seasons, one shortened by injury. He entered Sunday averaging less than a yard per punt return, then muffed a punt late in the third that Tennessee recovered before an out-of-bounds penalty negated the turnover.
Somehow, in the hour or so between then and the postgame handshake line, Benjamin altered his career arc -- and staved off a predictable early-season Browns spiral in a wild 29-28 win in Nashville.
The potential the Browns see in Benjamin manifested in a graceful leap by the corner of the end zone for the last of his two fourth-quarter touchdowns, turning his body slightly to catch a Brian Hoyer pass and keeping both feet in bounds to seal the win in LP Field, punctuating a historic comeback from a 28-3 hole.
Tennessee gifted the Browns on the turnover when Marqueston Huff didn’t return to the field immediately after getting knocked out of bounds on return coverage. Defensive back Jordan Poyer fielded the next kick safely.
“Like a kid going to Disney World,” said Benjamin about his chance to make good on his mistake. “The team’s happy, I’m happy, Coach is happy, the Cleveland Browns are happy.”
And relieved. For the second time in four games, the Browns absorbed a colossal deficit, clearly an unsustainable model for a full season.
But a good season requires unlikely heroes on the road, especially with a Josh Gordon-less receiving corps.
Benjamin was happy to oblige. With the Browns down 28-15 midway through the fourth, Hoyer dodged a rush by Shaun Phillips and Benjamin, as he remembered it, drifted back to the middle of the field when the defense shifted to the sideline.
Wide open, easy touchdown.
The second Benjamin score, with the Browns marching downfield after a turnover on downs fueled by Tennessee’s failure to convert on fourth-and-inches, required a fake to the inside and a dart to the corner. The 6-yard score with 1:09 left cemented the largest comeback in NFL regular-season history for a road team.
Wide open, difficult touchdown.
Benjamin said he had moved past the punt muff, but his last score made it easier for everyone else to do the same.
“I didn’t want to go out there and say I put the game on me because we lost,” Benjamin said. “When the defense gave us an opportunity to score on offense, I knew we were going to be able to get that next play.”
Benjamin showed his receiving skills Sunday but his punt returning is still in question. Benjamin said “I have no doubt” he’s confident he can return punts in the NFL and plans to enter Steelers week as the primary returner.
His quarterback wants to get him the ball. Hoyer and Benjamin grew close while rehabbing torn anterior cruciate ligaments together late last season.
“He’s quiet, but he was one of the guys who texted me over the bye week and said, ‘Hey man, we’re better than this. I’m sitting here watching these games. We can win in this league.'" Hoyer said. "To see a guy who doesn’t talk all the time, but who sends a message like that and shows how much it means to him ... I have a lot of faith in him."
