Five Cleveland Browns whose stocks are up after the Browns staved off the Colts in Week 5.
Stocks are up across the board for the Cleveland Browns, who improved to 4-1 with a victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.
You’ve seen the memes going around by now. The Browns are 4-1 for the first time since 1994, a time when Bill Belichick was the head coach, and Nick Saban was scheming the defense. Those Browns went on to make the playoffs as the Wild Card and earned the franchise’s last playoff win–a home victory against the New England Patriots.
It may be a tad early to seriously talk playoffs, but this win could be huge in December, especially if the Browns are battling the Colts for a Wild Card playoff berth. The first tie-breaker is the head-to-head matchup, and now the Browns hold the trump card.
Here’s five players whose stocks are up after the Browns staved off the Colts to earn their third win in a row.
1. Sheldrick Redwine
The Browns have a safety problem, yet there was no fix. Fans kept witnessing the same thing, week after week.
Sheldrick Redwine was sitting on the depth chart, yet couldn’t sniff the field. Through the first four weeks, the 2019 fifth-round pick was relegated to a special teams role.
Opportunity knocked against the Colts, though, and Redwine answered, scoring a big interception in the fourth quarter. He had replaced Ronnie Harrison, who had stellar pick of his own, scoring a pick-six off Phillip Rivers in the third quarter.
It was one play, but that’s just it. It was a PLAY, something the Browns have been missing at safety for the first quarter of the season.
With the Browns pass rush crashing down, Rivers tried to power a throw to tight end Mo Alie-Cox in-between the hashes, but he never saw Redwine lurking.
Harrison got the start in place of Karl Joseph, and Redwine followed Harrison. “Next man up” is what teams preach, and Redwine put the mantra into practice.
2. Jedrick Wills
Jedrick Wills’ NFL career is five games old, but he’s playing like a seasoned vet as the Browns battle for their first playoff berth since 2007.
Wills played every one of the Browns’ 72 offensive snaps against the Colts and surrendered just two pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
Wills plays the premier position on the offensive line at left tackle, yet you didn’t hear his name and he plays all the time. If your the Browns, you couldn’t ask for anything more from your 10th overall pick.
As for the rest of the line, the unit was dealt some adversity when Wyatt Teller left the game with a calf injury. At first, it sounded like he’d return, but as the game wore on, it became clear he wouldn’t be back.
Chris Hubbard proved his value again, filling in soundly at right guard. Hubbard filled in a little bit against the Cowboys for Jack Conklin at right tackle. Rather than release Hubbard when it became clear he wouldn’t be a starter, the Browns wisely re-worked his contract to keep
3. Ronnie Harrison
“When would we see Ronnie Harrison more?” It was a question being asked weekly by fans of the Cleveland Browns.
Unfortunately, it took an injury to Karl Joseph for it to happen, but Harrison found his way into the starting lineup after it was announced Joseph would be inactive (hamstring).
The thinking was Harrison would take playing time away from free safety Andrew Sendejo, but the veteran 32-year-old was still out there and still surrounding big plays in Week 5.
While Harrison wasn’t at the position we thought we’d see him at, he still managed to do something the Browns never do: Score a defensive touchdown..
It was as easy a pick as Harrison will ever get, as Phill Rivers locked in on receiver T.Y. Hilton from the play’s onset. Harrison made the jump and could’ve walked into the end zone.
He later the left the game with a concussion. Hopefully, he’s able to rebound soon, because he, along with Sheldrick Redwine, are responsible for the secondary’s two biggest plays of the season.
4. Myles Garrett
OK, so I may have been drinking too much orange Kool-Aid this morning when I wrote Myles Garrett would sack Phillip Rivers three times.
Taking down the veteran is a hard thing to do, largely because he fires the ball out on short passes, so the rush really never has a chance to get to him.
Garrett got him once in the first quarter to continue his sack streak, and while the stats won’t show it, he really got him twice.
Garrett was the main disruptor on the play in which Rivers threw the ball away and was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone. The infraction resulted in two points for the Browns, which was HUGE. Cleveland only had a 27-20 lead at that point.
Making Indy have to overcome a two-possession deficit proved to be just too much for the Colts.
Garrett ended the game with five fo the Browns 11 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
5. D’Ernest Johnson
Running the ball was going to be a challenge against the Indianapolis Colts, who entered the contest with the league’s top rated defense.
Being without Nick Chubb was going to make the task even tougher, yet give Kevin Stefanski credit for continuing to pound the ball.
The commitment paid off at the end of the game, when the Browns needed to deliver Indy a knockout punch. The haymaker was delivered by unlikely star D’Ernest Johnson, who ripped off a 28-yard run that proved to be the final nail in the Colts’ coffin. Johnson finished with 32 yards on eight carries.
Kareem Hunt also turned in a respectable game, totaling 72 yards on 20 carries. He added three catches for 21 yards and a touchdown.
The Browns seemed prepared for the touch Indy run defense early on, and Stefanski looked like a genius when Baker Mayfield lit up the Colts in the first half. Mayfield struggled in the second half, going 2-of-9 with two interceptions.
Fortunately, the ground attack was there to bring it home for Cleveland.