Browns Digest

Key Takeaways From Cleveland Browns 41-32 Loss To The Denver Broncos

Two Jameis Winston pick-sixes spoil Jerry Jeudy's return trip to Denver on Monday Night Football, as Cleveland drops to 3-9 on the season

Spencer German

Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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After an emotional Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11, the Cleveland Browns marched west to the Mile High City to take on the 7-5 Denver Broncos on another Prime Time stage, this time for Monday Night Football.

It was an opportunity fo Cleveland to string together it's first win streak of the season, in a city and stadium that has been a house of horrors over the years. The Browns entered Monday having won just two games in the shadow of the Rockies since 1972, and one game there since 1990. They couldn't quite exercise their Denver demons in Week 13.

The matchup also served as a homecoming of sort for Browns top wideout Jerry Jeudy. Traded from Denver, where he was drafted tenth overall in 2020, to Cleveland back in March, Jeudy was looking to exact some revenge against his former team.

Here are my key takeaways from the Browns 41-32 loss to the Broncos.

The Last Laugh

Much was said about Jeudy's return to Denver, and boy did he meet the moment. The Browns top wideout finished with nine catches for 235 yards and one touchdown, which came in the form of a 70-yard bomb from Jameis Winston, just five minutes into the third quarter. Winston and Juedy nearly hooked up for a similarly explosive score in the first half if the former hadn't overthrown him down the middle of the field.

Anyway, let's not miss the point here, which is that Juedy was incredible. He became just the third Browns wide receiver all time to go for 200-plus yards in a game. Only Josh Gordon (twice) and Amari Cooper (who set the franchise record with a 256-yard performance last season) have ever accomplished that feat. It was also the best performance by a receiver against his former team in NFL history.

It was evident pretty early on that Jeudy was poised to make a statement against his former team. He did that and then some and the Browns may just have themselves a WR one.

The Full Jameis Winston Experience

Winston was undeniably brilliant for most of this game. It's not by accident that he threw for four touchdowns and a franchise record 497 yards. That figure topped Josh McCown's previous mark of 457 yards back in 2015. He did plenty of things that gave the Browns a chance to win this game. He also did three major things that cost them the game, in the form of three separate interceptions. Two of them ended in pick-sixes for the Broncos defense.

It was the full Jameis Winston experience spread out over a 60-minute football game on prime time. On one hand, it highlighted how unfortunate it is that Winston wasn't given a chance to start sooner and give this Browns team an actual shot at making that playoff run it expected. On the other hand, it showed exactly why Winston may be a little too volatile to commit to as a bridge QB.

There's Something Familiar About Bo

Watching Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix in preparation for this game, it felt like watching the highlights from a certain former Browns QB. Nix has a little Baker Mayfield in him and I thought that rang through on Monday night. He finished 18-of-35, for 294 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. There were some brilliant throws, like the 93-yarder he squeezed to Marvin Mims Jr. in the third quarter. And some ill-advised ones, like the 50-50 ball he threw up for his second interception to Denzel Ward. All-in-all though, Denver's future at QB is in good hands. The Browns made things hard for him at times, but with some help from his defense he came out victorious.

What A Waste

Speaking of Denzel Ward, his performance will probably get overshadowed by Jeudy's night and the Winston roller coaster ride, but Ward put together another impressive performance in Week 13. After dropping a number of interceptions throughout the season, he made sure to snare one tonight and directly forced the first one in coverage on rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin.

On an expensive roster, the Browns face some tough decisions with some of it's more expensive players, but Ward is proving to be worth every penny. He's been incredible all season, leading the league in pass breakups. It's a shame his efforts will go to waste in a lost season.

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Spencer German
SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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