Offside Penalty Saves Browns After Blocked Kick, Szmyt Wins It
An offsides penalty on a blocked 42-yard attempt gave Cleveland one more chance, and Andre Szmyt converted from 37 yards out.
A blocked field goal that should have ended Cleveland’s chances instead became the setup for a 13-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 18. Baltimore defensive back Keyon Martin jumped the snap with two seconds remaining, deflecting Andre Szmyt’s 42-yard attempt. The offsides flag moved the ball five yards closer and gave the Browns one untimed down. Szmyt drilled the 37-yard kick as time expired.
The sequence erased what would have been Szmyt’s second high-profile miss in consecutive weeks. He pulled a 48-yard attempt wide left late in the fourth quarter after missing a point-after kick during a Week 5 loss to the New York Jets. That earlier defeat hinged entirely on special teams failures. Punter Corey Bojorquez mishandled a high snap from long snapper Rex Sunahara on a rain-soaked ball with 4:01 remaining, allowing the Jets to recover at the Cleveland 23-yard line and score the go-ahead touchdown through Braelon Allen.
1 / 3
Cleveland Browns vs Baltimore Ravens: Best photos from Week 6 NFL game
Oct 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns fans before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
(Scott Galvin, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
1 / 3
Cleveland Browns vs Baltimore Ravens: Best photos from Week 6 NFL game
Oct 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns fans before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
(Scott Galvin, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
2 / 3
Cleveland Browns vs Baltimore Ravens: Best photos from Week 6 NFL game
Oct 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) gestures before the game against the Baltimore Ravens
at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
(Scott Galvin, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
3 / 3
Cleveland Browns vs Baltimore Ravens: Best photos from Week 6 NFL game
Oct 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens
at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
(Scott Galvin, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Against Baltimore, those exact three specialists executed the final play. Sunahara snapped. Bojorquez held. Szmyt kicked.
“Fourth game winner, it feels pretty good,” Szmyt told reporters, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. The make ended a streak of 25 consecutive field goals, including 11 straight this season, broken by the 48-yard miss minutes earlier. “I just try to live in the moment, try to enjoy it with the guys.”
Szmyt misread the wind on his initial blocked attempt. He anticipated a left-to-right push based on conditions during an Oct. 1 Thursday Night Football win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when he hit a career-long 56-yarder with 10 seconds left. The ball stayed left instead.
“You flush it, you look at what the wind’s doing and kind of move on,” Szmyt said.
Bojorquez described the kicking unit’s approach as strict compartmentalization following the Jets collapse. “We don’t ever feel like we got a makeup or something,” Bojorquez said. “It’s just really down to every snap that we get.”
Cleveland has won four of its last five games.
