He stood on the Metrodome sideline with a knot in his stomach and a glimmer of hope in his heart, waiting on the happy ending that never comes.
So often in D'Qwell Jackson's eight-year career with the Cleveland Browns, the underrated linebacker has been gut-punched by the football gods at pivotal moments. Only once during that span has the team won more than five games in a season, and the beginning of Cleveland's 2013 campaign played out like the early stages of a horror flick, with the inevitable carnage to follow.
On Sunday in Minneapolis -- three days after the shocking trade of highly regarded running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts -- the Browns were assigned the role of "helpless victim" by just about every football fan in America. Yet, as the team's former third-string quarterback marched Cleveland down the field while trailing the Minnesota Vikings by three points in the final minutes, Jackson experienced a strange sense that this time, things would be different.
"You couldn't write the script any better than what happened this past week, from everyone telling us around Cleveland that we were tanking the season to a quarterback coming out of nowhere and no one giving us a shot," an exhausted and elated Jackson said Sunday night via telephone. "Everyone thought they knew what the trade meant, but it was too early to know our fate.
"Man, I tell you what: I've seen a lot of ball played here, and I haven't seen a lot of those types of drives -- game on the line, us behind, and we take it down the field and win the game. And to see it finally happen to a young group of guys that everyone had counted out ... man, it does wonders for our confidence."
Forget the gut punch; this was a gut-check of the highest order. With fears of an organizational fire sale swirling and carcass-picking trade requests pouring in for, among others, All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas, the Browns (1-2) buckled down and pulled out a 31-27 victory over the Vikings.
The winning points came on Brian Hoyer's 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Cameron in the back of the end zone with 51 seconds remaining, as Cleveland secured an outcome that few saw coming.
A few hours after Jackson presented rookie coach Rob Chudzinski with a game ball in the locker room, causing the lifelong Browns fan to become choked up, the veteran defensive leader spoke glowingly of his teammates, who blocked out the noise and pulled out a choppy but inspiring victory.
It was Jackson's defiant tone during the week that helped lay the groundwork. "This is the week to go out and show the character of the guys in this locker room," he'd told reporters in the wake of the Browns' decision to trade Richardson (the third overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft) for the Colts' first-round selection in 2014. "The ship is still sailing."
On Sunday, the ship's new captain, a fifth-year journeyman quarterback, seized the moment. Jackson admitted he didn't have high expectations for Hoyer, who took over for injured starter Brandon Weeden, leapfrogging veteran Jason Campbell. And though Hoyer (who completed 30 of 54 attempts for 321 yards) made his share of mistakes, throwing three interceptions to go with his three touchdown passes, he likely did enough to convince Chudzinski to give him a third career start -- and possibly many more, even after Weeden (sprained thumb) -- who, like Richardson, was a first-round draft pick in 2012 -- is cleared to return.
In fairness, it should be noted that Hoyer benefitted greatly from the presence of second-year receiver Josh Gordon, who returned from a two-game suspension like a man determined to cram a month's worth of games into one Sunday. Gordon caught 10 passes for 146 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown catch on his team's second possession of the game, prompting one veteran Browns player to say this: "Bottom line, if you have a quarterback and a stud wide receiver, nothing else matters. See: Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne, Tom Brady and Wes Welker."
That might be a bit overly enthusiastic, though after Hoyer took over with 3:21 remaining and drove the Browns 55 yards to silence a cacophonous Minnesota crowd, some residual excitement was understandable.
"He was cool," Thomas said of Hoyer. "We could barely hear anything (in the huddle), which makes it easy. No speeches needed."
Instead, the Browns made a collective statement that brings a measure of hope to a long-suffering fan base.
"It changes the storyline," Jackson said. "One game made the difference. If we'd lost, I don't know how it would be around here this week -- I don't even want to think about it. But we won, and now it looks like our front office made a brilliant move."
Will Jackson and his teammates sustain their sudden momentum? That's a question we can't answer yet -- but we can ask three-dozen-minus-four others in the meantime, beginning with our reigning penthouse dwellers and ending with brand-new outhouse occupants:
1) Seattle Seahawks: Did Pete Carroll and his former defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, think about taking a page from Miami's 77-7 win over Savannah State and shortening the fourth quarter of Sunday's game to 12 minutes -- and is it overly harsh to view the Jacksonville Jaguars as the Savannah State of the NFL?
2) Denver Broncos: If the Broncosweren't one of the teams that called the Browns about Thomas, how long will it be until Peyton Manning picks up the phone himself?
3) Chicago Bears: If Marc Trestman reminds Martellus Bennett of Willy Wonka, does former Bears star William "The Refrigerator" Perry evoke images of this voracious golden-ticket holder?
4) Cincinnati Bengals: If you can turn over the ball on four consecutive offense possessions and stillbeat Aaron Rodgers, are you lucky, good or both?
5) New Orleans Saints: When Robert Meachem caught that 27-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees in the first quarter of Sunday's victory over the Arizona Cardinals, who felt more burned: Arizona's secondary or San Diego Chargers fans?
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will re-air the Miami Dolphins' 27-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons from Week 3 on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. ET.
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6) Miami Dolphins: Is it possible that all those Dolphins who spent the offseason peering through "rosy-colored glasses" had 20-20 vision?
7) Kansas City Chiefs: When did Donnie Avery become Otis Taylor -- and after Thursday's outburst, will defenses have to think twice before rolling coverage to Dwayne Bowe's side?
8) Baltimore Ravens: Was linebacker Daryl Smith trying to honor predecessor Ray Lewis by nabbing a pick-six against the Houston Texans just before the likely Hall of Famer was inducted into the Ravens' Ring of Honor on Sunday, or did it just seem that way?
9) New England Patriots: If the producers of "After Effect" are looking to cast another ex-Patriots player in a horror flick, might I suggest Brian Holloway and his sweet party pad?
10) Dallas Cowboys: If, after Sunday's thrashing of the St. Louis Rams, Jason Garrett were to ask defensive lineman Jason Hatcher to give a fiery speechevery week, would you blame him?
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will re-air the Indianapolis Colts' 27-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers from Week 3 on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
» * NFL Network schedule*
11) Indianapolis Colts: Is it just me, or did Ahmad Bradshaw run with a renewed fury at Candlestick on Sunday in the wake of the Trent Richardson acquisition?
12) San Francisco 49ers: If Jim Harbaugh cried out, "Who's got it better than us?" in the locker room Sunday, do you get the impression that a certain pass rusher and running back exercised their right to remain silent?
13) Green Bay Packers: In retrospect, does coach Mike McCarthy wish he'd held on to that timeout before the Packers' final fourth-down play, which could have theoretically allowed Green Bay a last-gasp possession against the Bengals?
14) Atlanta Falcons: Will Roddy White get well soon -- and if he doesn't, will the Falcons' performance against the New England Patriots next Sunday night be stomach-turning?
15) Houston Texans: After apologizing for calling Arian Foster a "prostitute," did Dick Vitale get a congratulatory text from Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland?
16) St. Louis Rams: Other than perhaps Leo Farnsworth, has anyone owned the Rams more dynamically than Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray?
17) Detroit Lions: Can we all agree that, for better or worse, Ndamukong Suh just doesn't give a damn?
18) Tennessee Titans: Would Kenny Britt consider using this photo of Justin Hunter's game-winning catch against the Chargers as his new Twitter avatar?
19) Arizona Cardinals: Was there another Superdome blackout Sunday, or was that just the Cardinals' offense over the final three quarters against the Saints?
20) San Diego Chargers: Was the Chargers' newfound chemistry on display during that last-gasp lateral session against the Titans -- and how appropriate was it that a Cal guy (Keenan Allen) was involved?
21) New York Jets: If Kyle Wilsonkeeps this nonsense up, will Jets fans start referring to him as "Carlos Danger"?
22) Buffalo Bills: Did offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett mean he would give C.J. Spiller the ball "until he throws up," or until Spiller's fantasy owners barf?
23) Philadelphia Eagles: What did Chiefs coach Andy Reid appreciate more upon his return to The Linc last Thursday: ex-boss Jeffrey Lurie's classy video tribute or his former team's five-turnover salute?
24) Cleveland Browns: If Browns CEO Joe Banner were ordered by owner Jimmy Haslam to shake hands with either Lurie or former Browns president Mike Holmgren, would he consider amputation to be a third, more palatable option?
25) Minnesota Vikings: Does anyone else feel a hissy fit from Grumpy Fran Tarkenton coming on?
26) Carolina Panthers: Who has taken more abuse in Charlotte: Eli Manning on Sunday, or embattled Panthers coach Ron Rivera on every day butSunday?
27) Washington Redskins: Is Mike Shanahan having bad flashbacks to 1999 -- and if so, will it make him feel a tiny bit better that I'm not coming to town anytime soon?
28) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Now that Peyton Hillis' NFL career might be over, am I the only one who hopes he saved some of that "Hot 20" cash?
29) Pittsburgh Steelers: What's more unkempt: Brett Keisel's beard or the Steelers' offense?
30) Oakland Raiders: If Al Davis were alive, don't you get the feeling he'd find a way to blame the sewage flowing through his team's stadium on Lane Kiffin?
31) Jacksonville Jaguars: If the Browns can dump Richardson, doesn't it stand to reason to think Maurice Jones-Drew could be obtained on the cheap?
32) New York Giants: Who's getting less satisfaction right now: the Black Tim Tebow or his Pink-Faced Coach?
Follow Michael Silver on Twitter @MikeSilver.