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.
The Good
Blocking
The Browns got Jedrick Wills back and with Blake Hance moving to the right side of the line to fill in for Jack Conklin, the Browns offensive line was much more impressive. The Browns still had some issues keeping Case Keenum upright in the pocket but considering the last few weeks, seeing Kevin Stefanski using fullback Johnny Stanton and two-tight end sets to start the game was a welcome sight.
D’Ernest Johnson
While it’s fair to say that anyone could probably do well in this scheme, you can’t deny that D’Ernest Johnson didn’t get the work done. He carried the ball 22 times for 146 yards and really helped keep the Broncos from getting the ball back. The Browns used him wisely in the second half, using him to kill the clock. Johnson also showed great awareness, breaking a run but dropping to the ground just before the endzone to ensure the clock ran out. The play would be called back, and the play was essentially erased but it didn’t change the fact that he knew what to do.
Case Keenum
Case Keenum wasn’t great, but he was fine. He wasn’t able to push the ball downfield but utilized the underneath quite a bit. A lot of slants and screens were called for Keenum and he was able to manage the game just fine. He threw a touchdown and didn’t turn the ball over, so you couldn’t ask for too much more.
The Bad
Case Keenum
Turns out you can ask for something more. The Broncos’ offense was garbage but the Browns’ offense wasn’t nearly as explosive without Baker Mayfield. Case Keenum tried to go deep several times during the game but he found no one and nothing when he tried. Keenum also forced the ball on several occasions and at least two of those passes should’ve been interceptions but the Broncos just couldn’t capitalize.
Inconsistent defense
Teddy Bridgewater did a lot of damage considering he was banged up. He threw two touchdowns and one of them should have absolutely been short, but Denzel Ward failed to tackle Melvin Gordon, who was able to eek in cross the goalline. Ward’s PFF score for the year was 66.6 coming into the game and it will likely go down after this week’s encounter with the Broncos.
Injuries
The Browns once again got bit by the injury bug during the game, with Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham both getting hurt during the game. Landry didn’t return but Beckham did. It’s going to be interesting to see if these are lingering issues that take them back out of the lineup. After all, it’s not uncommon for guys to suffer major injuries like Mayfield did last week and come back in. The good news is the Browns have 10 days off to recover.
Conclusion
The Browns are clearly not a better team without Baker Mayfield or Nick Chubb. Heck, or without Jack Conklin either. Those three men are going to be needed if the Browns have a serious shot of making it deep into the playoffs but with Mayfield’s injury, it’s now a lot more likely that he misses significant time; if not the rest of the season.
Case Keenum played fine, but he played conservatively, which is fine when you have the lead. The Browns were lucky to have that lead, however, as the Broncos have been having issues all season trying to score. Many fans out of Denver were hoping to see Drew Lock get time under center but that didn’t end up happening.
Part of the issue is that Teddy Bridgewater is hurt and not as mobile as he usually is. This allowed the Browns to go off on the former first-round pick and really give him a rough night. Five of the Browns’ eight drives ended in no points or a punt and that’s not going to do it against the higher-end teams in the league.
Myles Garrett should also consider writing a complaint to the league office. While everyone complains about his holds, the Browns offensive line does the same stuff. Yet, there was one hold that was so egregious it has to be acknowledged. The Broncos left tackle had Garrett by the color of his jersey and was blatantly holding him. It’s inconceivable that no one saw this, and needs to be a point of order to punish these types of calls. It was an obscene hold.
While the offense and defense were largely held in check today, the Browns were able to get the win due to a combination of smart schemes from Stefanski, D’Ernest Johnson’s hard running, and being bold enough to try things on offense. Kudos go out to Johnny Stanton for securing his first NFL touchdown as well. Watching him block was a treat, and clearly, a sign that Stefanski knew he should’ve played Stanton more on offense last week.
The Browns are off until Halloween when the Steelers come to town.