CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The offense battered and bruised, the Browns did what the good teams do.
Win regardless.
D’Ernest Johnson, the No. 3 back on the depth chart, carried the load and delivered the knockout punch in the closing minute of the 17-14 Browns win over the Broncos.
Here are our Top Takeaways from Thursday night.
1. That was a professional win. No other way to put it. It wasn’t pretty and it didn’t have to be. The Browns went out and got the job done on both sides of the ball and that’s what counted Thursday night. “We have a great group of guys and they fought their tails off,” quarterback Case Keenum said. Couldn't have said it better.
2. Minus Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the Browns still pounded the Broncos on the ground. Johnson ran for a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown surpassing his previous high mark of 95 yards at Dallas October 4, 2020. In total, the Browns racked up 182 yards rushing using six total players. Johnson helped the Browns bleed the clock over the final 5:17 after the Broncos climbed within three and made sure they didn’t get the ball back. After appearing to seal the game with a 9-yard run on third down, David Njoku was called for an illegal motion penalty. Not a problem for Johnson, who went ahead and ripped off an 8-yard run to move the chains. Impressive to say the least.
3. Johnson’s performance was the stuff of legends. He was speechless after the game when asked about LeBron James tweeting about it. “LeBron? Man, that is my favorite basketball player. I am not going to lie to you,” Johnson said. “LeBron? LeBron James? Wow, that is big time. That is amazing. LeBron James, I appreciate it, bro. That means a lot. Wow.” Johnson even admitted after scoring his first NFL touchdown he didn’t know how to react in the moment. “It's unexplainable,” Johnson said. “I wanted to celebrate but I didn't know what to do. It's been a long journey.” Johnson's moment in the sun makes this game, and sports in general, so great.
4. Keenum did exactly what a veteran backup was supposed to do. He wasn’t flashy or sensational, just efficient. Keenum completed 21 of 33 passes to 10 different receivers for 199 yards with a touchdown and a rating of 90.3. He also converted a critical fourth down with a run to the 1 before throwing a touchdown to fullback Johnny Stanton IV to give the Browns 17-7 advantage.
5. Jarvis Landry was back and boy was he missed. Landry provided a spark early. He caught 5 of 7 targets for 37 yards but the energy he brought was hard to miss and might have meant more. “It was tough watching, but it also gave me a lot of perspective about the game and not taking it for granted,” Landry said. “Tonight, I was just excited to get back out there with the guys.”
6. The Browns won the toss and took the ball. That’s not a typo. Kevin Stefanski went against his norm of deferring, and it was the right call. “We just felt like the wind might be a significant factor in the second half so we felt like we wanted to have it in that direction in the fourth quarter,” Stefanski said.
7. The opening drive was a thing of beauty. Jarvis Landry started it off with a 7-yard catch off play action. Case Keenum then dumped it off to Austin Hooper over the middle, who chugged 34 yards into Broncos territory. Johnson's first carry went for 20. Then he ran for 10 more before punching it in from 4 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 12:20 remaining in the first quarter.
8. Chase McLaughlin drilled a 52-yard field goal extending his perfection streak to 10 consecutive field goals, including four of them beyond 50 yards, this season. The kick capped a 12-play drive and gave the Browns a 10-0 first quarter lead. “He can make those. He has done it in games He does it in practice,” Stefanski said. “It is certainly a weapon for us in those areas where we do not want to punt and we can’t go for it. We do have faith in him to come through.” McLaughlin’s perfecto streak was ended by Broncos defensive end Shelby Harris, who blocked his 41-yard field goal with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.
9. Safety John Johnson III read your tweets and listened to your phone calls. Actually, he benefitted from a terrible throw to the end zone by Teddy Bridgewater to grab his first interception as a Brown early in the second quarter but it was good to see the defense create a turnover, a rarity early on this season.
10. Myles Garrett keeps getting held and yet still is able to add to the sack counter. “The refs are kind of giving me the Shaq treatment right now so hopefully, I can get around that,” Garrett said. Garrett was credited with 1 ½ more sacks moving his NFL leading body count in the front yard cemetery to 9 ½. With 52 career sacks, Garrett moved into second place on the Browns all-time sack list past Michael Dean Perry and he trails only Clay Matthews Jr. for the team record by 10.
11. We learned Thursday night that the chemistry with Odell Beckham Jr. might not just be a Baker Mayfield thing. But give Beckham, who was active after suffering a right shoulder injury against the Cardinals, credit for playing through it despite a short week. Yes, he dropped a pass over the middle, was whistled for an illegal formation and he slipped on a third-and-13 breaking on a route in the first half but the effort continues to be there. Beckham reached out with one hand to haul in a 6-yard completion in the third quarter and followed it with a 17-yard grab. In all Beckham caught 2 of 6 targets for 23 yards.
12. Broncos linebacker Von Miller didn’t get to take one of the Browns offensive tackles home in a body bag after jokingly saying earlier this week he was going to “kill” one of them. Miller was unable to play the second half after suffering an ankle injury. “My pride is hurting more than anything else,” Miller said. “I talked a lot of s*** before this game and I made it personal. I wanted the animosity. I wanted this to be that game. I wanted to win and leave it all out (on the field).”
13. The Browns much maligned defense came out strong in the first half limiting the Broncos to 0-4 on third down and just two first downs in the first 30 minutes. After pitching the shutout for a half, the Broncos managed to convert 5 of 7 on third down and score 14 points in the second half, but the defense did plenty to win. “We do not want to be a first half team. We want to play a complete game,” linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. said. “We had some good moments in the first half, but we want to finish games better.”
14. Cornerback Denzel Ward was ruled out in the fourth quarter due to a hamstring injury. It’s a shame the injury bug keeps biting Ward, who when healthy has the talent to be an elite corner.
