The wild Week 13 finale between the Browns and Broncos featured 952 total yards, 47 first downs and six Jameis Winston touchdowns — four to Browns teammates and two to Broncos defenders.
Here are five takeaways from Denver’s 41-32 win.
Sticking with Deshaun Watson cost the Browns
Cleveland’s loss on Monday means it will finish the season with a losing record for the 22nd time in its 26 seasons since rejoining the league in 1999.
If head coach Kevin Stefanski benched quarterback Deshaun Watson before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear, maybe the Browns would still be in playoff contention.
The Browns have been much more competitive since Jameis Winston became their starter in Week 8.
In Winston’s five starts, Cleveland has averaged 21.8 points and 398.4 yards per game. In Watson’s seven starts, the Browns averaged 15.6 points and 253.9 yards per game.
Jerry Jeudy makes most of Denver return
“I just want to go back up there and whip their a–,” Jeudy said about his trip back to his first NFL home. While his team didn’t leave with a victory, Jeudy had one of the best revenge games of the season.
The 2021 first-round pick had nine receptions, 235 yards and a touchdown. Per ESPN’s broadcast, it was the most receiving yards by a player against his former team in NFL history, surpassing Terrell Owens’ 213 yards in 2008 against the 49ers as a member of the Cowboys.
Broncos secondary is a problem
Denver’s secondary was exposed in the win. With corner Riley Moss (knee) out, Winston repeatedly attacked backup corner Levi Wallace.
Winston had a career-high, and Browns single-game record, 497 passing yards and wide receiver Elijah Moore joined Jeudy with over 100 receiving yards, finishing the game with 111 yards.
Per Pro Football Focus, Wallace allowed seven receptions, 164 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets. The unit intercepted the turnover-prone Winston three times, but its glaring weakness opposite 2022 First-Team All-Pro Patrick Surtain II will be more challenging to overcome against quarterbacks better at protecting the football.
Nik Bonitto deserves to be a Pro Bowler
The third-year Broncos linebacker’s breakout season continued with an excellent Monday night performance.
The 2022 second-round pick (No. 64 overall) had a 71-yard pick-six to give Denver a 21-10 lead, two passes defended and a sack as he bolstered his Pro Bowl resume.
He entered Monday night ranked 16th in ESPN’s pass-rush win-rate rankings among edge-defenders. With his sack against Winston, he has 11 this season, a half-sack behind Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson for the league lead.
AFC playoff field is nearly set
With Denver’s win, it built a two-game lead over the Colts (6-7), who it plays following its Week 14 bye, for the AFC’s final playoff spot. That game could decide who makes the playoffs in the conference.
The Broncos’ final three games include road dates against the Chargers (8-4) and Bengals (4-8) and a home finale against the Chiefs (11-1).
Per ESPN Analytics’
Matchup
Predictor, Denver is projected to lose its final three games, increasing the importance of its Week 15 showdown against Indianapolis. With a win in its next game, the Broncos should be playoff-bound.
