BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – With the Baltimore Ravens waiting in the wings, this was the Tune-up Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns needed.
Watson returned from a rotator cuff injury to throw a pair of touchdowns, and the Browns defense welcomed Cardinals rookie quarterback Clayton Tune to the NFL with seven sacks and three turnovers in a 27-0 rout of Arizona.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from the Browns’ blowout.
Watson settled in and let it rip on a couple of occasions downfield, connecting on a pair of deep throws to receiver Amari Cooper for 58 and 49 yards in the first and fourth quarter respectively.
Cooper caught his second touchdown of the season with 6:48 left in the first half after Watson’s pass got deflected by Cardinals defensive tackle Dante Stills and the ball landed in Cooper’s hands in the end zone for a 10-0 Browns lead. The second Cardinals turnover was turned into seven more points with Watson hitting tight end David Njoku on a quick slant for a 5-yard touchdown and a 20-0 lead. Watson’s final numbers: 19-30, 219 yards, 2 TDs, 107.5 rating before giving way to back up P.J. Walker with less than seven minutes remaining.
Cleveland’s defense was merciless getting after Tune. Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson had three sacks. Cornerback Denzel Ward snapped the Cardinals consecutive punt streak at three to open the game with his second interception of the season at the 49 early in the second quarter that set up the first touchdown of the day. Myles Garrett, who collected another sack, batted a Tune pass down on the opening drive and recovered a fumble in the third quarter following defensive tackle Shelby Harris’ strip sack of Tune. Sione Takitaki snagged a Tune pass late in the third quarter to give the Browns the ball at their own 24. It was the third turnover of the day for Arizona and the second interception thrown by Tune. It was the third career interception for Takitaki, including playoffs. Jordan Elliott and Za’Darius Smith also had sacks.
The Cardinals mustered just 58 yards of offense while the Browns racked up 326 yards. Tune had just 58 yards on 11 of 20 passing that included a pair of interceptions. Arizona netted 17 yards passing in the loss.
Kareem Hunt scored from 3 yards out with 7:48 left in the game. It was Hunt’s fifth touchdown since rejoining the Browns in late September. Hunt finished with 38 on 14 cvarries while Jerome Ford had 20 carries for 44 yards.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins broke the scoreless deadlock with a 30-yard field goal with 14:15 left in the second quarter. Hopkins also hit from 45 to end the first half and give the Browns a 13-0 lead at intermission. Hopkins missed wide left from 48 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Corey Bojorquez 73-yard punt in the third quarter to pin the Cardinals at their own 1. Bojorquez had a 67-yard punt that rolled into the end zone for a touchback in the fourth quarter.
With just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. was carted off with a significant right leg injury after Hunt was tackled and landed on the back of his leg.