Browns: D’Ernest Johnson rips Broncos in win (3 Good & 3 Bad of Week 7)
By Chad Porto
The Browns held on to defeat the Broncos behind D’Ernest Johnson’s big game.
The Browns were able to ride D’Ernest Johnson to a victory on Thursday night against the Broncos, winning 17-14. Cleveland came into the game down Andy Janovich, Jack Conklin, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and Baker Mayfield, forcing Johnson and Case Keenum to step up.
The first quarter saw the Browns start off driving pretty well. Case Keenum completed two passes in the first drive, one massive one to Austin Hooper, and D’Ernest Johnson banged his way in the endzone for the score. It was a fast first drive and started off the right foot with Kevin Stefanski keeping tight ends and fullbacks in. A field goal would make it 10-0.
The second quarter would not be as productive as Keenum kept passes short, and overshot a few deep passes. The offensive line did its job, for the most part, and kept Keenum upright but the Browns couldn’t hold.
The Broncos’ offense wouldn’t get going until the third quarter, where they marched down the field over 13 plays and were able to swing a pass to Melvin Gordon for a touchdown. The Browns responded by driving down the field and tossing a short pass from Keenum to Johnny Stanton, giving the 27-year-old his first career touchdown.
The fourth quarter didn’t see too much offense, but Johnson was able to grind out the final few minutes behind an effective and dominant offensive line performance. Stefanski did to the Broncos what he should’ve done to the Chargers and it paid off.