BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Deshaun Watson’s return was brief, but the Browns found a way to win again.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from another thriller, a 39-38 win over the Colts without the $230 million man.
The defense gave up a ton of points and yards but there were plenty of heroes in Indianapolis – Kareem Hunt, Dustin Hopkins, Myles Garrett, and the officials come to mind.
Hunt broke the plane of the goal line on fourth down with 15 seconds remaining to give the Browns the come-from-behind win. With Nick Harris lined up at fullback, Hunt was able to get the ball over the goal line. Hunt, who was questionable going into the game with a thigh injury, tied the game early in the second quarter at 14 with a two-yard run.
Garrett had himself a small career in one half as he became a one-man wrecking crew. Garrett strip sacked Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew twice in the first half and both resulted in touchdowns for the Browns. The first saw linebacker Anthony Walker recover a loose ball at the Colts 32. Five plays later, Hunt tied the game at 14 with a two-yard TD run. Garrett blocked a 60-yard field goal try by jumping over the Colts line after the snap. Denzel Ward scooped the ball up and ran 19 yards to the Indianapolis 26 to set up a 44-yard field goal for a 17-14 lead. Then with 1:42 remaining in the first half, Garrett blew Minshew up in the end zone, the ball popped loose and bounced around before linebacker Tony Fields II covered it for a touchdown and a 24-21 advantage. Garrett deflected a pass early in the third quarter and finished with seven tackles. Garrett passed Hall of Famer Reggie White (80 sacks) for the most sacks by player prior to his 28th birthday since the NFL began tracking the stat in 1982. Can he play quarterback, too?
Watson cleared a concussion test and was held out of the remainder of the game as a precautionary measure according to CBS sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala. Watson completed one pass for five yards with an interception before departing. Thankfully Watson’s turnover did no damage. After escaping pressure, Watson, who just returned after resting three weeks from a rotator cuff strain, threw a deep ball to Elijah Moore that almost was intercepted but was overruled following a replay review. Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingo hit Watson, causing him to hit the back of his head on the turf causing P.J. Walker to be summoned again from the practice squad.
Walker was painful to watch at times but managed to go 15 of 32 for 178 yards and an interception. For every good throw, Walker seemed to have two bad ones. The Browns got lucky in back-to-back weeks but there's no way this backup QB situation can be sustainable going forward.
It had been a couple of weeks, but Jerome Ford broke one again with a 69-yard touchdown run that saw him blow by the Colts defense for an early 7-0 advantage on the game’s third play. Ford left with an ankle injury after carrying 10 other times for just five yards.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins continued his sensational season Sunday. Hopkins hit a pair of 54-yard field goals, a career-long 58-yarder plus a 44-yard kick. He is 7-7 from beyond 50 this season and he set an NFL record with a make from beyond 50 in a fifth consecutive game.
Hunt’s game-winning score was set up thanks to a pair of controversial penalties on the Colts in the closing minutes. An illegal contact penalty on Darnell Baker Jr. wiped out a third down strip sack of Walker by E.J. Speed and the recovery by DeForest Buckner at the Indy 39 with 47 seconds on the clock. Baker was called again for pass interference on the next play, but replays showed the football from Walker was not catchable. It will be a call Colts fans will be angry about for a while. The second flag put the ball at the 1.
The Colts first touchdown came on a broken play and opportunistic strike from Minshew to Josh Downs for 59 yards after Garrett jumped offsides giving Indianapolis a free play that tied the game at 7. Minshew ran in from 17 yards out for a 14-7 lead with 4:28 left in the opening quarter. He scored a second time from 4 yards out to put Indianapolis up 21-17 in the second quarter. Michael Pittman blew through tackles for a 75-yard catch and run that made it 38-31 Colts with 5:38 remaining. Minshew completed 15 of 23 passes for 305 yards with two TDs and an interception.
Cleveland’s top-ranked defense got carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey. They allowed a season-high 456 yards, including 168 rush yards. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor finished with 75 yards and a 5-yard touchdown on 18 carries and Zack Moss added 57 on 18 runs. But the only that that matters is the final score, and the Browns came out on top, somehow for the second week in a row.