BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown remembers the play, knows he fumbled and said he never blacked out or lost consciousness when he was given his concussion in the season opener against the Jets.

In fact, McCown said he felt pretty good through the entire process and the following days.

“But there’s a reason why we take the baseline tests ... ” McCown said Wednesday after being cleared by an independent neurologist and given back the starting quarterback job for Sunday’s game against Oakland. “You understand why they do those things because sometimes the testing will show things that our symptoms don’t show. So I’m thankful for that because it’s a serious thing.”

McCown might not have even been tested for a concussion had the league not placed an independent observer in the press box during games. In an offshoot of the Colt McCoy incident when James Harrison's vicious hit gave McCoy a concussion that nobody on the Browns saw, a neutral observer can radio down to test a player if he sees the player was hit in the head.

That is what happened with McCown. The press box observer saw the replay and radioed down that McCown should be checked. In this case, it seems the system worked in protecting the player from himself.

“Was there a huge part of me that wanted to just say ‘Hey, let’s go; forget about the test and everything else. Let’s do it’? Yeah, but I think that’s why they’re in place is to prevent some of those things from happening,” McCown said.

McCown said he felt fine on the field and in the days following, but his cognitive tests never went back to the baseline for tests he took before the season.

As for the dive into the end zone, McCown understands that looking back he might do something different.

“Any time you look back and something doesn’t go your way, you second-guess it for sure,” McCown said. “But would I do it again? I want to understand the situation a little better, but I can’t guarantee.”

The situation was this: McCown scrambled on a third-and-goal from the 14 at the end of a nine-minute, 90-yard drive. With open field in front of him, McCown decided to try for the end zone. He leaped, was hit low, fumbled, then hit high in the helmet as he helicoptered near the goal line.

“I think part of why I’m still around is I don’t give up easily,” McCown said.

He will try to think through the game situation the next time, but said he has a hard time apologizing “for that part of me because I feel that's a big part of what makes me me.”

The decision came down to sliding at the 5, which would have kept McCown in the game and given the Browns a 3-0 lead. Or go for the end zone, which could have resulted in a score, but wound up costing the Browns the score, the ball and their quarterback.

Neither coach Mike Pettine or offensive coordinator John DeFilippo questioned McCown’s competitiveness, and McCown pointed out any time he’s run as a Brown it’s been on third down as he tried to keep a drive alive.

“Holistically, first quarter and all those things, it probably would have been easier to slide,” McCown said.

He also pointed out that he’s chosen to dive three other times in his career, including last season in Carolina and two years ago in Chicago.

It worked -- until he joined the Browns.