MINNEAPOLIS -- Only a hometown boy and lifelong Browns fan such as Brian Hoyer can truly understand the pain and anguish Browns fans felt all week in the wake of the Trent Richardson trade and how much a big victory would restore their faith.

So Hoyer, the North Olmsted native and St. Ignatius grad, strapped the shell-shocked Browns on his back and carried them to a 31-27 come-from-behind victory over the Vikings with a last-minute touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron in the earsplitting Metrodome, overcoming three interceptions and a muffed punt along the way.

"It probably will (hit me) when we're back driving home,'' said Hoyer. "I just hope I did not put my wife (Lauren) into labor by having it end the way it did. But it will definitely go down as something special.

"You guys ask me a million times, ‘Does it mean more playing for your hometown team?’ Yes, obviously it does, and to win and get that first win is huge. Now hopefully we can just build on it and keep it rolling.''

In his fifth NFL season, it was Hoyer's first career victory in his second career start, and improved the Browns to 1-2 in a week when many fans were convinced the team had given up on the season.

"I used to think that way, too,'' Hoyer said of the gloom and doom vibe around town all week. "Hopefuly this is a change. But I know how everyone feels.''

It also gave another lifelong Browns fan in Rob Chudzinski his first victory as an NFL head coach -- and he, too, understood the depth of pain of long-suffering fans. When linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who refused to let his teammates sulk all week, pressed the game ball into Chudzinski's hands in the locker room, the coach got choked up.

"It was good for him,'' said Jackson. "He's from Ohio. He knew what he was signing up for, but I don’t know if he was ready for that last week.''

Chudzinski steered his team through the rough few days and gave a riveting Saturday night speech about pulling together.

"They just didn't listen to any of the noise and any of the negative things out there,'' said Chudzinski. "They just continued to believe and work hard. It just says a lot about those guys, their character. They’re winners in that locker room.''

Hoyer, who got the nod ahead of Jason Campbell when Brandon Weeden went down with his sprained thumb, completed 30 of 54 attempts for 321 yards, with three touchdowns and three picks for a 68.5 rating. He benefited tremendously by the return of the suspended Josh Gordon, who lit it up with a career-high 10 catches for 146 yards, including a 47-yard TD on the second possession of the game.

But it was Hoyer's clutch two-minute drive -- the kind you'd expect from his former mentor Tom Brady -- that will prevent Chudzinski from going back to Weeden next week, even though he wasn't ready to admit that just yet.

"Just all those guys in that huddle, looking in their eyes when we went in there and right before that drive, they believed,'' said Chudzinski. "Brian gave us a spark today and did a great job, made the plays down the stretch when you had to make the plays. I can’t emphasize enough these guys in this locker room and how they’ve responded. We talked a little bit earlier in the week about a needing just a little more. They gave it to us today.''

Hoyer, whose two third-quarter interceptions had helped the Vikings rally from a 24-14 second-quarter deficit, took over at his 45 with 3:21 remaining, trailing 27-24. He knew that kicker Billy Cundiff was sidelined with a pulled quad muscle and in no shape to kick a potential tying field goal.

"I was thinking we need a touchdown,'' said Hoyer. "With Billy questionable, we didn't want to leave it to overtime or a field goal to find out. I told those guys in the huddle, ‘Let’s just go win it right here.’

"Not everything was perfect, and I think that is a mistake that some people make, thinking that in a two-minute drive everything has to be perfect. A few throw-aways, a few quick plays, and in the end, it worked out. You just have to keep going until you get the right opportunity.''

Hoyer, without much of a running game, completed six of 11 attempts for 55 yards, including passes of 11, 3 and 10 yards to Gordon, an 11-yard catch and run by Chris Ogbonnaya and a 13-harder to Cameron to go along with his 7-yard TD -- one of his three TD catches on the afternoon. Cameron lined up on the left side, with three receivers on the right. When Hoyer noticed Cameron singled up with the safety, he fired it into the end zone with 51 seconds remaining, lofting the ball over a blitzing linebacker.

"It was a hot read,'' said Cameron. "They brought the house and I just ran to the corner. Brian put the ball where no one else could get it and it was a great throw.''

The defense, which forced three turnovers and held Adrian Peterson to 88 yards, came up big. Vikings QB Christian Ponder, who ran for two TDs, moved to the Browns' 34 with 10 seconds remaining, but T.J. Ward knocked down one Hail Mary and Desmond Bryant sealed the victory with a sack, the sixth of the day by the defense.

"I had no doubt in my mind about these guys,'' said Chudzinski. "I see them every day. You talk to them; you know what they believe in. They’re true professionals and they've got the hearts of lions. I’ll never doubt these guys in this locker room. They never quit.''

In a week where folks suggested otherwise, Chudzinski did anything but. On a second-quarter punt, he called for a direct snap to rookie Josh Aubrey that went for 34 yards and led to a field goal. Later in the quarter, holder Spencer Lanning stood from field-goal formation and threw an 11-yard TD pass to a wide-open Cameron for the 24-14 lead.

Does that say Tanking it for Teddy Bridgewater to anyone?

"That’s always going to be our mentality,'' said Chudzinski. "We’re going to play aggressive whether it’s the fakes, whether it’s going for it on fourth down; that’s the way we’re going to play. We’re going to be aggressive in any situation. I think our guys relished that. They rallied to that.''

Added Jackson: "He made some gutsy calls today. If they don’t work, with everything that happened this week, he was in for it. It shows you who he is. He coaches us a certain way, he says we’re going to be a certain way and it was good to see that."

The day began with an ESPN report that the Browns were fielding trade offers for Greg Little and Gordon, and had received a quality offer for Gordon, who's one failed drug test from a potential year's suspension. But it motivated Gordon on Sunday.

"It was definitely that sense of a feeling,'' he said. "I wanted to go out there and prove myself.''

His first three touches of the game, he gained 99 yards: the 47-yard TD after a nifty double move, a 30-yard screen on which he stiff-armed his way through several Vikings and a 22-yard end around. The latter two set up a 19-yard TD pass to Cameron for a 14-7 edge.

"From the start of the suspension, I knew this week was going to have to be a huge week for me,'' he said. "I wanted to feel that way for me and for the rest of the team, so if I could help fire the guys up, get them motivated, don’t ever get down. When we were behind I was trying to stay up and rally the guys from the sideline as much as I could.''

Gordon couldn't deny Hoyer's energy and poise, even with the three picks that Hoyer admitted were tough to shake off.

"I can’t really say enough about the guy,'' said Gordon. "He’s such a fireball of energy out there. He wants to go out there and prove himself. He can rally the guys up around him. He’s not willing to quit or give up on anything. That’s what I can really appreciate about a guy.”

While the locker room was filled with hugs from owner Jimmy Haslam and congratulations from Jim Brown, some had an us-against-the-world mentality after the week that was.

"With everything going on with the trade and Brandon not playing, I felt the only people who gave us a chance were the guys in the room,'' said Jackson. "For fans to even say that we’ll tank the season, it’s a slap in the face as a player and as a coach. All the time we spend preparing, our bodies ache, the things we sacrifice, the things I do outside the building to take care of our body and so do other guys, you can’t even fathom anything like that.''

Added T.J. Ward, "Of course, it was a huge trade of a great player, but at the end of the day, this is a team sport. No one man makes this team, no matter who you are. We had our starting quarterback out. Hoyer came in and played great enough to win the game. It was a complete team effort. That makes it even better. ''