The Cleveland Browns’ highest-rated quarterback of the season?

Hint: It’s not Brandon Weeden or Brian Hoyer.


It’s punter Spencer Lanning, who was involved in a couple of pivotal fakes Sunday in the Browns’ 31-27 victory over Minnesota, and finished with a 152.1 passer rating.

As the holder on a 29-yard field-goal try, he picked up the ball and tossed a pass to a wide-open Jordan Cameron, who scored an 11-yard touchdown.


“The only thing I was thinking was not overthrowing him,” said Lanning, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "[I] just wanted to get him the ball. I didn’t want to zip it out there. We’ve seen guys around the league run the same play and overthrow the guy.”

On the drive before that, the Browns ran a fake punt, gaining 34 yards on a snap to upback Josh Aubrey.


Lanning even did some kicking, booting the final extra point after a quadriceps injury to kicker Billy Cundiff.

According to the NFL, Lanning is the first player since Philadelphia’s Sam Baker in 1968 to have a punt, an extra point and throw a touchdown pass in the same game.


ALSO:

Some routs just don’t follow the rules


Colts topple the 49ers; Dolphins upset Falcons

NFL Week 3: Packers learn, painfully, what ‘reversal of fortune’ means