CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – For the first time in nearly 25 years, the Browns enter the month of December with eight wins in their pocket.
The Kardiac Kids they might not be, but Sunday’s 27-25 nail biter in Jacksonville definitely brought out the Maalox and paper bags.
Once again, it was a team effort but here’s who gets our game balls this week:
Jarvis Landry – Landry, who arguably is the heart and soul of the team, celebrated his 28th birthday a day later with his biggest performance of the season – 143 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Landry made multiple difficult catches, validating the team-high 11 targets he received against the Jaguars. He extended his streak of recording at least two receptions to 106 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in the NFL and the fifth longest streak in NFL history.
Nick Chubb – We’re starting to run out of superlatives for Chubb, who cracked 100 on the ground for the third straight game and fifth time this season. The numbers don’t do his day justice – 144 yards rushing, 7.6 average per carry, his sixth rushing touchdown plus three catches and 32 more yards. He ranks first in the league with 10 rushes for 20-plus yards, adding two more Sunday. According to Gil Brandt, Chubb is on pace to become the third NFL player in the last 40 years to finish a season with at least 100 rushing yards per game and at least 6 yards per carry (min. 5 games played).
The previous 2: Adrian Peterson in 2012 and Barry Sanders in 1997.
KhaDarel Hodge – Hodge caught all three targets for 31 yards. Sure, the numbers aren’t impressive, but all three catches moved the chains. He caught a 17 yarder on third-and-10 and converted a third-and-3 on the same drive that led to a field goal. He also caught a 10-yard pass on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter keeping another drive alive that also ended in a field goal.
Baker Mayfield – Mayfield completed 19 of 29 passes for 258 yards and a pair of touchdowns to finish with a 116.7 rating while not throwing an interception for a fourth consecutive game. He made some absolutely brilliant throws and missed a few layups too, but still won his 20th game since taking over as the team’s starting quarterback in Week 4 of the 2018 season. His .500 win percentage (minimum of 5 starts) is second only to Brian Hoyer, who went 10-6 over two seasons, since 1999. With 66 career touchdowns, Mayfield passed Cam Newton (64) and Jared Goff (65) on the list of most passing touchdowns by a No. 1 overall pick in his first three years. He trails Jameis Winston (69), Peyton Manning (85) and Andrew Luck (86).
Andrew Sendejo – The much maligned by fans on social media safety broke up a potential TD on a deep ball intended for Jaguars receiver Keelan Cole early. Sendejo would make the biggest defensive play of the game when he picked off the potential tying 2-point try in the back of the end zone with 2:14 remaining.
BJ Goodson – The linebacker registered a team high six tackles and broke up a third-and-goal throw intended for Cole saving a touchdown.
