By Zac Jackson, Nick Kosmider and Tobias Bass
In their first “Monday Night Football” matchup since 1990, the Denver Broncos (8-5) defeated the Cleveland Browns (3-9) 41-32 at Empower Field at Mile High. With the win, Denver improves to 14-2 in their last 16 games against Cleveland.
In spurts, the Browns had opportunities to take control, but two costly pick-sixes and several stalled drives led to their downfall.
Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix continued to deliver in his debut season, completing 18 of 35 passes for 295 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions.
Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy had a career night against the team that drafted him in the first round in 2020. He had nine catches for 235 yards receiving yards and one touchdown. Jeudy’s performance broke Terrell Owens’ 2008 record (213) for the most yards against a player’s former team.
Denver, with its third straight win, currently sits in playoff contention as the third wild-card team heading into its Week 14 bye. Cleveland faces AFC North rival Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Nix overcomes error to lead winning drive
The Broncos took over at their own 20-yard line with 12 minutes, 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, leading by six points. They started to find a rhythm running the ball and had a chance to eat time off the clock. Instead, Nix threw deep into coverage for Marvin Mims on the first play of the series and was intercepted by Denzel Ward.
It was a curious decision by a quarterback who has been praised for his decision-making throughout his rookie season. He hadn’t thrown an interception since Nov. 3 and had thrown only one since the start of Week 3. But the deep pick by Ward was Nix’s second on Monday night, and it could have proved costly after the Browns followed with a touchdown drive to take the lead.
Coach Sean Payton said Nix’s interception was “my fault,” referring to the play call that led to the turnover.
But the rookie quarterback answered, leading Denver on a go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter. He completed five passes on the drive and had a 6-yard scramble to help move the Broncos into field-goal range and Wil Lutz kicked the go-ahead field goal.
It was the type of poised, clear-headed drive that has endeared teammates to Nix throughout the season. It wasn’t his best night. But he had a 93-yard touchdown pass to Mims on a third-down play from his own end zone earlier in the game, a dart of a throw that traveled 45 yards in the air. And, after a confounding interception, he responded. There isn’t much more the Broncos could ask out of a rookie quarterback who has this team poised to play in more big games in December and January. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos staff writer
Revenge game for Jeudy
Jeudy went nuclear. He’s been on a tear since late October, but he was extra juiced for his homecoming game — and the Browns went to him on their first play. They kept going to him, too, and by the time he was done he had a career night, cruising well past his previous career high of 154.
The Browns acquired Jeudy last March from the Broncos for a pair of third-day picks, which seemed like a fair price for the Browns to upgrade their receiver room. The Browns immediately giving Jeudy a three-year extension was an eyebrow raiser, but now that the Browns have at least competent quarterback play, Jeudy is playing at a high level. Jeudy is showing off his speed and his versatility; the Browns move him around the formation to find favorable matchups and allow Jeudy to display his ability to get open and create explosive plays after the catch.
This season is a total disaster for the Browns, and the future is somewhere in the range of muddy and bleak. But Jeudy has gone from having just one reception in three straight October games to playing at a Pro Bowl level, and if he can keep ascending, that’s obviously good news for the Browns going forward. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer
It wasn’t pretty, but Broncos got it done
The Broncos’ defense was shredded for almost 500 yards. They couldn’t do anything to slow their former wide receiver Jeudy, as he glided to one explosive play after another.
But on a got-to-have-it final drive, after Denver took the lead with a late field goal, the unit answered the bell. Ja’Quan McMillian’s 46-yard interception return touchdown helped end the threat as the Browns were nearing field-goal range. It was the second pick-six of the night for the Broncos after Nik Bonitto’s 70-yard interception return off Winston in the second quarter.
The Broncos won’t love the numbers they have to look at after this game. Parts of the film will be tough to digest. But Vance Joseph’s defense made the key plays when it had to have them, including five straight third-down stops to begin the second half.
The Broncos are 8-5, their best record this late in the season since 2016, and the defense showed Monday it could overcome the kind of adversity it had rarely faced this season. — Kosmider
Winston puts on a full performance
This was a wild shootout, obviously. And it reinforced that the Browns threw their season away months ago by not making a quarterback change.
Sure, Winston ultimately threw away the Browns’ chances to win this game with two interceptions that went back for touchdowns. He also kept the Browns in it with a bunch of big throws and explosive plays.
The Browns never got to 20 points or 200 yards passing with Deshaun Watson at quarterback. The offense was obviously broken and Kevin Stefanski refused to fix it by benching Watson. That decision was inexplicable then and it looks worse now. Winston isn’t perfect, obviously, but he’s a fearless and experienced passer with a cannon for an arm. He’s clearly still a starting-level quarterback who’s capable of getting hot, and he got really hot in this one. It was the full Winston experience.
We don’t know what the rest of December holds for the Browns or what the future holds for Winston, who’s again eligible for free agency in March. Maybe he’s too reckless to ever be great, but he’s certainly capable of great stretches — and was always the best option for this Browns team. — Jackson
Required reading
- Jerry Jeudy is heating up for the Browns, but Broncos were right to change WR picture
- Jameis Winston gets another chance to prove himself on MNF
- Check out the latest NFL playoff projections from The Athletic
(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)
