'BatKid' saves San Fran - and a bit of faith in humanity

Every so often we're reminded that, yes, there is good out there still in this world.

There are small examples almost daily.

We just don't usually see them unless we're the ones carrying them out or are on the receiving end (as I write this, I just heard about a five-second slam on the car horn from outside my apartment).

Some days, though, the greater good of humanity, is on grand display - and it really is something to which we could all take notice.

Friday was one of those, as the whole city of San Francisco made a boy's wish come true.

Miles, a 5-year-old leukemia survivor, became "BatKid," saving the San Francisco Giants' mascot Lou Seal and helping apprehend The Riddler, and Penguin. The Department of Justice even sent out a press release, probably the greatest one I've ever read, about the arrests. 

The boy's mom said he likes to be a superhero and is one. She couldn't be more right - and all of those people who cheered for him made him know he was one.

They made him feel special.

"Our superhero is in remission. And today, I think we gave him a little bit of his childhood back," Patricia Wilson of the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area Foundation said, just before Miles was given the key to the city by the mayor.

The Nebraska football program did it for Jack Hoffman, a brain cancer survivor who suited up in uniform and scored a touchdown in their spring game last year.

This is the joy we can reap when we act at our finest.

Too often, we're barraged with lawmakers squabbling or criminals polluting the news.

And truly, we really don't do nice things for each other enough. Whether it seems awkward or we're just too busy, most of us are guilty of failing to carry out kindness.  I try when I can but I don't do it enough either.

For ages, philosophers have argued over whether humans are innately selfish or good. 

San Francisco, or "Gotham City" as it was also known Friday, offered a compelling case for the virtuous.

Davone Bess redeems himself, makes head coach Rob Chudzinski’s aggressive calls pay off

Davone Bess was just hoping not to drop the ball this time.

How the critical fourth down in the waning minutes of Sunday's game played out was uncannily similar to one week ago in Kansas City – except for the result.

“The guy got a pretty good jam on me,” Bess said. “I turned around on my route and saw Jason scrambling and it looked exactly how it was last week.”

Quarterback Jason Campbell joked after the game that he wasn’t sure he even called the 4th and 1 play, which he tabbed as the game’s biggest, correctly.

“It was a play where we were trying to get something quick and get the ball out of our hands but also make sure we get the first down,” Campbell said.

Campbell did not, however, want to just throw it if someone was not open. So he bought himself time.

“He was rolling,” Bess said. “He threw it at me and I just came over and caught it.”

No pain-staking drop this time for Bess, as was the case on the late-game 4th and 7 against the Chiefs, when Campbell again rolled to his right avoiding pressure, threw across his body and put the ball on target.

“I dropped the one last week and that definitely went through my head - didn’t want to make the same mistake,” Bess said.

With 3:12 left in the game, Bess’ fourth down grab continued the drive that sealed the Browns’ 24-18 win over the division-rival Ravens.

It was Bess’ second key fourth down grab of the game, making good on his head coach’s aggressive decision-making.

Early in the game, Rob Chudzinski kept the offense on the field on a 4th and goal at the 1. Bess came through with a one-yard touchdown catch at 8:24 in the first quarter.

“I think it was important in this game for our guys to have the mentality to play to win and that drive I think exemplified that,” Chudzinski said.

The fourth quarter fourth down call marked an opportunity to take the game.

“It was a potential punt situation but Baltimore was playing so well and able to drive so well I felt good about our guys and us being able to convert that first down,” Chudzinski said. “Jason made a whale of a play. He scrambled, bought himself time. Davone kept working to get open...and a huge play.”

The veteran receiver caught just three passes but all were instrumental to the victory.  His second of the game was his second touchdown, a 20-yard catch and run on a crafty juke move that fooled Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb.

Bess never lost the faith of his head coach, even with his struggles in Kansas City.

“I trust him and I know the type of person he is,” Chudzinski said.”He’s gonna bounce back from the week before. You get to know people and you get to trust people and feel about them in that way.

Davone Bess is one of those people.”

Just as Bess rewrote his own script, the Browns did too against the Ravens, to whom they had lost their previous 11 meetings.

“It’s been a long time since we beat Baltimore,” offensive lineman Joe Thomas said. “It’s kind of a hill that we’ve had trouble getting to the top of and to be able to finally do that I think is building confidence going into the bye week.”

The Browns’ last victory against the Ravens came back in 2007, Thomas’ rookie season, when Phil Dawson hit a 51-yard game-winner that bounced off the left upright, then the crossbar before going through the goalposts.

Finally, the monkey is off their backs.

“We’ve been the kid brother in this division for a long time,” Chudzinski said. “If you want to change that, you have to do things to change it. I think that the guys' approach this week was outstanding. They believed and it’s a matter of actions and getting it done on the field and we were able to get it done today.”

It was a belief Chudzinski helped instill in his players.

“Coach Chud just let us know that hey, it’s time to end this, end this beating we’re taking,” former Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger said. “This one means a lot because not only did we do what we know we can do, at the same time it’s a conference game and it puts us in a really nice position."

His quarterback agreed.

"They always say you resemble your head coach," Campbell said. "When it gets tough, we fight even harder. I think a lot of that comes because our coach is that way. He doesn’t quit."

Despite being under .500 at 4-5, the Browns sit in second place in the AFC North with two division wins and a pivotal matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals looming after the bye week.

So just how big is this win for the Browns' season?

“It’s too early to say if this is the biggest,” said linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, another guy who was around for that last triumph over Baltimore. “I’ll tell you that down the road when we win some more games and we’ll see really the significance of this win. Right now, we know we’re in the hunt.”

Browns' Jason Campbell: Ravens' Haloti Ngata 'isn't dirty player'

When all 330 pounds of Haloti Ngata landed squarely on Browns quarterback Jason Campbell, there was no doubt he felt it.

Ngata was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on the third down play in the first quarter and Campbell was forced out of the game for the rest of the series with a rib injury.

After the game, the two cleared up the situation and Ngata apologized.

“Ngata told me he wasn’t trying to do anything on purpose,” Campbell said. ”He actually was trying to jump over his guy to keep the guy from running into his legs…and just accidentally fell on me. He’s not a dirty player.”

As Ngata fell onto Campbell, the football was between the quarterback and the ground. It reminded Campbell of when, as a member of the Oakland Raiders in 2011, he broke his collarbone in a game against the Browns.

That injury, and the Raiders’ subsequent trade for Carson Palmer, kept Campbell from playing another down that season.

This time, Campbell was able to return to action.

“I wasn’t coming out of the game,” Campbell said. “You’d have to drag me out. I wanted to stay out there with those guys and keep fighting.”

Fight he did, through pain, in leading the Browns to the 24-18 win over the Ravens.

“I kept telling them [the offensive line] just give me time ’cause my ribs are really bothering me and hurting me,” Campbell said.

He went on to say that the injury caused him trouble with the speed and accuracy of a couple throws on which he wanted to “cut it loose.” Campbell got X-rays taken after the game but doubted that any of his ribs were broken.

Despite the injury, Campbell excelled for his second straight game as Browns starter, completing 23 of his 35 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

The numbers are similar to his stats in the close loss to the Chiefs last week, when he was 22 of 36 passing for 293 yards and two touchdowns.

Maybe even more importantly, Campbell has yet to commit a turnover in his two starts. Brandon Weeden, on the other hand, has thrown six interceptions and fumbled three times this season.

“He’s a pro’s pro,” cornerback Joe Haden said of Campbell. “Every time the offense moves the ball like that and does great things, you see the defense on the sideline, we’re so excited. That gets us juiced to go out there and get the ball back to them.”

Campbell’s ability to move around and prolong plays has also been a boon, as was evident on the fourth down conversion just past midfield late in the game.

“He’s a tough guy. He’s a team guy,” head coach Rob Chudzinski said. “The plays that he made were huge down the stretch.”

For the second time this season, it appears Chudzinski has made the right move in replacing Weeden with another quarterback originally behind him on the depth chart.