CLEVELAND — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck struggled most of the afternoon Sunday against a stout Cleveland Browns’ defense but when he had to be at his best, he was.

Luck mounted a 90-yard scoring drive in the final minutes and threw a 1-yard pass to T.Y. Hilton with 32 seconds left to edge the Browns 25-24.

The game-winning drive took 11 plays. The Colts (9-4) never led until they scored the go-ahead touchdown. Prior to the touchdown pass Daniel Herron picked up two yards on fourth-and-1 by sliding out to the right when he appeared to be stopped for no gain.

The Browns (7-6) have lost three of their last four games. Brian Hoyer played the entire game at quarterback for the Browns, completing 14 of 31 passes for 140 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

“This was definitely the worst loss we had this year, but we have to forget about it and get ready for Cincinnati,” Browns cornerback Joe Haden said. “This one hurts really bad.”

Both defenses dominated the first half in which the Colts were just one of eight on third down.

The Browns’ defense scored the first touchdown of the game when defensive end Desmond Bryant and linebacker Paul Kruger combined to sack Luck at the Colts 1. Kruger stripped the ball and it rolled into the end zone. Craig Robertson fell on it for the touchdown with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

“Good football teams find a way to win games no matter what happens, and that’s a good football team in that locker room,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “Our defense rose to the challenge today. They played lights out.”

The Colts tied the game 7-7 on their only sustained drive in the first half. Luck barreled into the end zone from the 11 when he faked out linebacker Chris Kirksey at the 3 to cap a six-play, 70-yard drive.

The Browns made it 14-7 with 1:14 left in the second quarter on their only sustained drive of the half. Hoyer missed wide receiver Taylor Gabriel wide open over the middle, then connected with wide receiver Travis Benjamin for 27 yards on the next play to set up a 9-yard touchdown run by running back Isaiah Crowell.

Another defensive touchdown by the Browns expanded their lead to 21-7 in the third quarter when rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert picked off Luck and returned the ball 21 yards for a touchdown. It wasn’t enough.

“There’s nothing like it,” said Browns safety Jim Leonhard, who had one of two interceptions thrown by Luck. “We knew we had to play well today. Please don’t try to split this team into offense and defense. We’re on the field defensively with the lead and in our minds we win that game.”

The Colts answered with 10 points before the period ended to slice the Browns’ lead to 21-16.

Adam Vinatieri, perfect on field goal tries this season, connected from 51 yards at 7:16 of the third quarter to make it 21-10 and then Luck hit wide receiver Hilton for 42 yards with a touchdown pass when Hilton got behind Browns Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden to make it a five-point game with 4:01 left in the third quarter.

“We struggled early,” Luck said. “That’s a credit to them. They put us in those situations. The (first) touchdown to T.Y. really opened things up.”

What the Colts said:

“Just glad we won. I had some real bonehead mistakes, two touchdowns on my account, against us.” — Colts quarterback Andrew Luck

What the browns said:

“Bottom line, playoff teams win these games. We worked our butt off all week but came up one point short.” — Browns safety Donte Whitner

What we learned about the Colts:

1. Andrew Luck does not have to be perfect for the Colts to win a football game. He turned the ball over three times against the Browns, but still made the biggest plays of the game on a 42-yard touchdown pass and a one-yard touchdown pass both to T.Y. Hilton.

2. The Colts defense does not have to be overwhelming to be good. The Colts held the Browns to just four conversions on 15 third down plays. The Browns made three first downs the entire second half. The key was putting the Browns in second and long most of the game.

–RG Joe Reitz left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. It is a tough loss for the Colts because Reitz was already playing in a substitute role for Hugh Thornton, who was inactive with an ankle injury. Khaled Holmes replaced Reitz and was on the field for the game-winning drive.

–LB D’Qwell Jackson made nine tackles to share the Colts team lead with LB Jerrell Freeman. Jackson played for the Browns from 2006-13. Afterward, he said returning to Cleveland was like playing a home game away from home. He said seeing former teammates was like seeing a younger brother.

–WR T.Y. Hilton led the Colts with 10 receptions. He caught most of them against Joe Haden, the Browns best cornerback. Both his touchdowns were scored with Haden guarding him. He has 78 catches for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns.

What we learned about the Browns:

1. Naming Brian Hoyer the starter on Wednesday did not make the Browns quarterback play any better. Hoyer has been in a month-long slump with only one touchdown pass in the last 19 quarters. Coach Mike Pettine isn’t ready to say whether he plans to switch to Johnny Manziel.

2. The defense continues to take the ball away. The Browns had a league-best 17 interceptions at the start of play Sunday and picked off Andrew Luck twice. Justin Gilbert got his first of the season and Jim Leonhard got the other.

–QB Brian Hoyer completed only 14 of 31 passes for 140 yards for the Browns. He threw two interceptions and now has just one touchdown pass and eight interceptions in his last four games. The Browns lost three of the four games. Hoyer’s completion percentage of 55.4 percent is near the bottom of the league for starting quarterbacks.

–TE Jordan Cameron caught four passes for 41 yards in his first game back after missing five games with a concussion, but he said he ran the wrong route on a pass that was intercepted in the end zone. He said he should have been more shallow. As a result of his mistake he and tight end Jim Dray were in the same area when the pass from Hoyer was intercepted by Mike Adams.

–RB Isaiah Crowell scored the only offensive touchdown from the Browns on a nine-yard run in the second quarter. He and fellow rookie Terrance West made sure to wrap up the ball when they ran after West fumbled last week. The rushing touchdown was Crowell’s eighth of the season. Crowell and West each rushed for 54 yards.