CLEVELAND — For the first time in seven years the Cleveland Browns will be playing meaningful games in the second half of the season.

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel with 8:59 left in the fourth quarter Sunday to give Cleveland the lead for good in a 22-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The win set up a showdown for a piece of first place in the AFC North on Thursday when the Browns (5-3) play the Bengals.

“It’s been a long time since the Browns were 5-3 and I like where we are,” said Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, who was a rookie in 2007 the last time it happened. “We’re closing out close games at the end. Since I’ve been here the close games have gone in the other team’s direction.”

The game came down to the wire, with the Browns having to stop a drive by Tampa Bay in the last two minutes to put it away.

The Browns came out of the locker room in the second half and put together a touchdown drive on the opening possession of the third quarter. Hoyer fired completions to wide receivers Andrew Hawkins and Gabriel on back-to-back plays for a combined 31 yards. The 11-play drive ended with Hoyer throwing a two-yard touchdown pass to running back Terrance West for a 16-10 lead.

Two possessions later, the Buccaneers (1-7) moved back in front, 17-16, on a three-play drive that started on the Browns 45 after a short punt. Quarterback Mike Glennon finished it off with a 24-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mike Evans to the right side of the end zone.

Tampa Bay led 10-9 at halftime and could have easily had at least 10 more points.

“We had opportunities, especially in the first half, to out more points on the board,” Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith said. “A three phases contributed, but special teams really hurt us.”

The Bucs took the opening drive to the Browns 13 but came up empty when a 31-yard field goal try by kicker Patrick Murray was blocked by Billy Winn.

The Browns scored first on a 49-yard field goal by kicker Billy Cundiff off the blocked field goal and then the Buccaneers missed another chance to get on the board when Murray’s 55-yard field goal attempt was short.

Another mistake by Tampa Bay led to Cundiff’s second field goal and a 6-0 Browns lead. Evans was wide open deep down the middle, but Glennon underthrew the pass. Cornerback Joe Haden tipped it and safety Donte Whitner intercepted. Whitner returned the ball 54 yards to the Tampa 21. The Browns could not penetrate the end zone and settled for a 29-yard field goal.

The Buccaneers finally scored by capping an 80-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Glennon to Evans for a 7-6 lead. Hoyer threw an interception on the next play and the Bucs were in business at the Browns 10.

Glennon gave the ball back to the Browns when a pass was picked off by safety Tashaun Gipson in the end zone before the two teams traded field goals before halftime.

What the Browns said:

“We’ve spent a lot of time as a group trying to figure out who we are and what we want to be. Now, to get to a point where we control our destiny is pretty special to us.” — Linebacker Paul Kruger on the Browns being 5-3.

What the Buccaneers said:

“We’d like to have those takeaways back. You can’t win if you can’t protect the all better than that.” — Coach Lovie Smith on two interceptions thrown by Bucs quarterback Mike Glennon.

What we learned about the Browns:

1. The Browns have settled on Ben Tate and Terrance West as a one-two punch at running back rather than go with the three-man rotation that includes rookie Isaiah Crowell. Crowell had one carry against the Raiders last week and none against the Buccaneers. West led the way with 48 yards on 15 carries.

2. Quarterback Brian Hoyer knows how to improvise. The 34-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel was supposed to be a quick pass, but the Browns picked up the blitz and that changed the play. Hoyer has instructed his receivers to go deep on such occasions. Gabriel was wide open when he caught the ball in the end zone.

–QB Brian Hoyer passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns while completing 17 of 33 throws. He became the first Browns quarterback since Brian Sipe in 1983 to pass for at least 200 yards in each of the first eight games of the season. Hoyer is 6-1 as a starter at home over two seasons.

–S Tashaun Gipson intercepted a pass in the end zone to prevent a touchdown in the first half. It was his league-leading sixth interception of the season. To put that in perspective, he is one catch behind tight end Gary Barnidge.

–S Donte Whitner intercepted a pass deflected by cornerback Joe Haden and returned it 54 yards in the first half to set up a field goal. For Haden, it was a case of returning the favor. Last week Whitner forced a fumble that popped right into Haden’s hands. Haden returned the ball 34 yards to set up a touchdown.

What we learned about the Buccaneers:

1. The Buccaneers have some serious deficiencies on special teams and the Browns took advantage of them for what amounted to a 13-point swing. The Browns blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt by Patrick Murray. A 55-yard try was short and a punt was partially blocked. The play led to a touchdown.

2. Gerald McCoy is a beast. The Browns devoted a large part of their preparation to blocking him, but he still sacked Brian Hoyer twice. The Bucs defensive tackle had five sacks at the start of the game.

–RB Bobby Rainey started for the Bucs and showed his former team he has some nifty moves. He rushed 19 times for 87 yards. Strangely, he did not touch the ball in the final two minutes when the Bucs had second-and-1, third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 at the Browns 37 while trailing 22-17.

–WR Mike Evans caught a pair of 24-yard touchdown passes from Mike Glennon and at one point flashed the Johnny Manziel “money sign” by rubbing his thumbs across his index and middle fingers. Evans, a rookie, and Manziel, the Browns rookie quarterback, were teammates at Texas A&M. After the game they swapped jerseys.

–DT Clinton McDonald got his first interception of the season on a deflected pass intended for Browns tight end Gary Barnidge in the fourth quarter. It was a huge play at the time because it stopped a Cleveland drive while the Buccaneers were ahead 22-17, but they did not get even a first down off the play and ended up punting.