Browns Make Costly Mistakes in MNF Loss to Broncos, 41-32: Game Notes
Despite an excellent effort, the Browns handed the Broncos the game with crushing errors in big moments.
A season filled with moments that are just plain hard to fathom had another moment on Monday Night Football. The Browns fell to the Broncos 41-32 in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Browns fight back from double-digits deficits on two different occasions before being unable to hold onto a late 32-31 lead.
The difference in the game was the turnover bug as both teams had multiple giveaways, but the Browns three were far more costly than the two from the Broncos. Jameis Winston set a Browns single-game passing yards record with 497 on the night, and found the end zone four times to three different receivers, but the veteran also threw the ball to the Broncos three times for interceptions — two of which resulted in six points the other way.
The Browns did what they had to in order to move the football as Winston dropped back to pass more than 60 times in this game due to persistent run game failures. The defense also yielded 400 yards and 6.6 yards per play, so the blame doesn’t fall squarely on Winston but the two costly mistakes shaped the outcome.
In the midst of some special throws, and a massive performance from Jerry Jeudy in his Denver return, it was particularly sickening to watch the game end as it did with the Browns near midfield and just needing a field goal to win the road battle. But this is how it goes when the organization is 3-9 and struggling to find consistency in the midst of a rough season. Their fight and will to win was still noticeable and that’s not nothing.
Plenty to discuss here so let’s do some Week 13 Game Notes.
So much of what Winston did on Monday night was fantastic. He consistently navigated the pocket well, stepping up, processing reads, and eluding pressure to extend plays. He missed a few downfield shots he wants back but he delivered on enough plays to score 28 points and win the game from plays he made.
The problem for Winston was the fact his crucial mistakes just shaped every bit of the outcome. His first interception off solid protection came throwing a check down to Jordan Akins where it seems he never saw Nick Bonitto. The final interception and return came off of a speed out vs man coverage where he was slow in delivery and left the ball inside. It’s confounding, really, on both mistakes because he was good in these decisions and situations almost all night. The final interception into the end zone, I’m not sure he saw Cody Barton pressing the perimeter on the gun-run action. It was a fitting end.
The run game continues to find very little success in under-center concepts. They’re failing to move the LOS in a meaningful way and there’s very little turning/movement on gap runs. They’re also not securing the first level well enough before coming off doubles teams to climb. It’s a mess. They found some success in gun run but most of it is RPO-based and leaves tough run boxes if defenses honor the fit. They need to find an avenue to some sustained run scheme success. We will study it more this week.
Jerry Jeudy was really special in this one, obviously. Two straight weeks of this. He was a problem on any in-breaker all night as he controlled the middle of the field right off the rip but he was also deadly in the vertical passing game where should have had two long touchdowns, and also put on a brief display against Patrick Surtain II with stop routes on the sideline. It was a dominant performance and he keeps trending upward. Winston does seem to bring out the best in these guys.
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