Browns Digest

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos Game Thread

The Cleveland Browns will face off against the Denver Broncos on the road with both teams trying to get their third win of the season and give themselves a fighting chance to compete in their respective divisions. A loss for either team may effectively kill their hopes of making the playoffs this season.

Pete Smith

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos Game Thread
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos Game Thread /

At 2-5, the Cleveland Browns enter this game against the Denver Broncos needing a win. If they are unable to get one, their season is effectively over even if it isn't mathematically the case. From general manager John Dorsey to head coach Freddie Kitchens to Baker Mayfield and the rest of the locker room, they need to come out of this game with a victory and be able to roll it over into something positive the next several weeks.

The Broncos enter this game with third string quarterback Brandon Allen, finding themselves in the all too familiar position of the Browns; multiple quarterback injuries and hoping for the game to be close enough to somehow give them a shot to win. They have some pieces but on offense, but don't offer a ton of firepower to threaten the Browns.

Defensively, the Broncos are a talented group. They don't play the run particularly well, but if the Browns don't protect the football, a defense led by Von Miller, Chris Harris and Justin Simmons can punish them for it.

This game should feature a significant amount of Nick Chubb and have the offense branch out from there to try to create plays down the field, look more effective in general. The Browns have been able to move the ball against most every opponent they've faced but turnovers are the biggest reason they find themselves in this desperate position.

This could be a showcase game for Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon against a mediocre group of tackles for the Broncos. Garrett, tied for the league lead in sacks at 10, could be in for a monster day if Brandon Allen holds onto the ball too long.

Browns will be without Pharaoh Brown, who is recovering from a concussion. The team signed Stephen Carlson to ensure they had three tight ends today. Eric Murray had a knee scope this week and is out for a few weeks. Damarious Randall is still missing time with a hamstring injury.

The Denver Broncos are without their starting right tackle in a game when they will be facing Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon. DeMarcus Walker had been contributing in the absence of Bradley Chubb, so they are really shorthanded up front.

Their secondary is also missing multiple players as Will Parks and Bryce Callahan are unable to go in this game.

First Quarter

The Browns won the toss and deferred. They'll get the ball to start the second half and hopefully be able to get good field position if they can come out firing on defense.

The Broncos start on their own 25 after letting the ball out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. Not surprisingly, they start the game on the ground with a run to the right for two.

Brandon Allen finds nothing open while pressure is around him, but he manages to find a running lane to the right and scrambles for five before Mack Wilson tackles him, setting up 3rd-and-3. Allen tries to get a quick pass out to an arrow route to the left but misfires behind him. Denzel Ward was on the coverage. Risky place to miss as Ward could intercept a misfire inside.

The Broncos are forced to punt. The Browns hold on the return despite no attempt to field the ball and start their first possession at their own 17.

Nick Chubb opens the possession trying to find right, finding nothing, then runs out to the left before cutting back inside for 7 yards. Baker Mayfield follows up by scanning the field before finding an open Ricky Seals-Jones for a hitch, who then stiff arms the opponent as he gets the first down.

Going back to Chubb, they pick up 4 before going to the shotgun and running a playaction mesh to the left before trying to hit Jarvis Landry on a slant, but he's unable to come up with the pass, setting up 3rd-and-6. Mayfield then makes a poor decision, failing to see the linebacker on the crosser and is lucky the pass isn't intercepted. Landry ran the wrong route, accounting for two mistakes on as many plays. The Browns get one first down, but have to punt it away.

On the return, the Broncos run it up the left side where Jamie Gillan forces the returner out of bounds. The Broncos get solid field position after the Browns are unable to secure the tackle early in the return.

After Joe Schobert makes a stop in the hole against Phillip Lindsay, Allen throws another pass out to the left that's off target, forcing his receiver to dive back for it. The two plays combine for a net of two yards, setting up 3rd-and-8. The pass rush on third down goes way too far inside from Chad Thomas, giving Allen a wide open running lane to the right, enabling him to pick up the first down on the scramble.

The Broncos are doing nothing of note on offense, but they are picking up first downs through nickel and dime plays. The Browns aren't doing a great job of staying in their lanes thus far on the pass rush.

Allen goes play action, then shuffle pass to the tailback, who is eaten up by Sheldon Richardson for a tackle for loss. Larry Ogunjobi follows that up by knocking down a pass at the line of scrimmage.

On 3rd-and-11, Courtland Sutton starts outside then cuts back in on the slant, getting a false step out of Denzel Ward and picking up the first down.

He then follows up by going up and over Denzel Ward on a fade to the right for the touchdown. Ward was  in the right spot, but Sutton just went over the top and took the ball out of the air for the score. They convert the extra point, making it 7-0, Broncos.

The Browns start their next drive with a check down to Chubb for a gain of 6. After a short run of two by Chubb, Mayfield finds Odell Beckham on an arrow route to the left off of motion to move the chains.

They go back to Chubb out of gun for a gain of 4, then finds Beckham again for a gain of seven to the left, putting the Browns at midfield with a new set of downs.

On first down, the Browns go five wide in an empty formation and after looking down the field, Mayfield tries to step up in the pocket, only to get sacked by Justin Hollins coming back off of a Greg Robinson block.

Second down, Mayfield throws an off target ball to Landry, but he can't secure it. On 3rd-and-17, Mayfield tries to down down the field to Beckham, but it's a little high and bounces off of Beckham's fingers.

The Browns offense just doesn't function currently when they throw to Beckham and Landry. Mayfield, Beckham and Landry are all complicit in this failure. Another series of downs starts with a negative play, then results in a punt.

The Broncos start their third drive with a run to the left, but Myles Garrett is able to tackle it in the backfield. On second down, Devaroe Lawrence is able to get penetration and force a throw away.

Third down, with all kinds of pressure around him, Allen starts to go down before Olivier Vernon secures the sack, his third of the season. The Broncos punt near their own goal line. Dontrell Hilliard breaks a tackle and returns it 13 yards.

The Browns have fantastic field position to start their third drive, on the Broncos 40. Their last play of the quarter, Mayfield fakes the toss, looks deep, then finds Demetrius Harris wide open in the flat.

The defense has handed the Browns a great opportunity to get a score and tie the game as the game moves to the second quarter.

Second Quarter

The Browns open on the quarter on the Browns 28 and go to Chubb on power to the right, pushing ahead for three yards behind his linemen.

On second down, Mayfield is flushed out of the pocket and finds Harris coming back to the ball, able to connect on the pass. Right now the most consistent pass catcher on this team is Demtrius Harris. Words that should never be uttered.

3rd-and-3, the Browns run to the left and Chubb runs into a numbers disadvantage due to a corner blitz, gaining zero. The Browns opt to kick the 39-yard field goal and Austin Seibert connects, making the score 7-3. Seibert has been great this year and hasn't missed a field goal so far this season.

The defense simply not getting in their own way executing assignments, they can theoretically shut down the Broncos offense and get the ball back to hopefully get more points. Otherwise, they might have been better off going for fourth down there.

Broncos answer with the first play out of the drive, going play action and hit Noah Fant on a pretty routine crossing route. Jermaine Whitehead and Greedy Williams make pitiful efforts on tackles he simply runs through and Adarius Taylor wasn't able to do anything in his own right. Fant goes all the way for the score.

Injuries are playing a role for the Browns in personnel choices, but the bottom line is that neither Whitehead or Taylor are NFL defenders. Taylor is a special teams player only and Whitehead has been terrible for the Browns this season, save for the Baltimore Ravens game.

The Browns, now down 14-3, come out running the ball to Chubb for 6 yards. They come out with a nicely designed fake to the right before screening to the left to Antonio Callaway. Greg Robinson got the one block Callaway needed to get a huge play, gaining 41 yards and setting the Browns up at the 29.

New set of downs in position to score, They go with an end around to Beckham, who gets stopped in the backfield for a 5-yard loss. On second down, Mayfield checks down to the left to Chubb who's only able to get about a yard before two defenders fly up and stop him. The Broncos defense is playing incredibly fast.

On 3rd-and-14. Mayfield steps up in the pocket, scans the field, and finds no one in front of him, runs to the left, finds a block from Dontrell Hilliard and gets the first down. Huge conversion for the Browns to sustain the drive.

The Browns go to Chubb, first from under center, then out of gun, picking up a total of 5 yards, setting up 3rd-and-5. Mayfield tries to go to Callaway on a skinny post and Devante Harris is able to get a hand on the ball to knock it away. The Browns settle for another field goal attempt. He connects, making it 14-6.

The Browns aren't going to win this game trading touchdowns for field goals. A few explosive plays, but unforced errors and a questionable end around call, the Browns are still searching for continuity on offense.

On first down, T.J. Carrie is able to tip the ball straight up in the air, but Myles Garrett misreads the ball in flight and jumps way too early, enabling a receiver to knock the ball away. It ultimately didn't matter as they called Ward for holding.

After five yards and a new set of downs, Ogunjobi blows up the ball carrier for a 2-yard gain. The Broncos then get called for a false start.

On 2nd-and-13, Schobert is able to punch the ball out on a quick pass to the short side, which Ward is able to recover, giving the Browns the ball on the Broncos 18.

Browns come out with Mayfield hitting Callaway to the left for 9 yards. They have Chubb run to the right guard behind a Joel Bitonio pull to pick up several yards and the first down, setting up the Browns at the 4.

The Browns try to run a stretch to the left and the Broncos do a fantastic job of forcing him further outside before corralling him in the backfield. On second down, Mayfield finds Harris in the back of the end zone, but Harris is unable to slow him self down enough to get his feet in when he jumps, making it incomplete.

On 3rd-down, Mayfield tried to go to Landry who got his legs tangled with a defender with the ball landing harmlessly. The Browns connect on their third field goal from Austin Seibert, which makes it 14-9.

Points are good, but it feels like a wasted opportunity as the Browns could have tied the game there off of the turnover and taken control of the game. As it is, the Broncos still lead by 5 and the Browns are still looking for an answer on offense.

With 3:37 left in the second quarter, the Broncos start their first drive with an explosive run through an uncovered gap with Whitehead behind matadoring the tackle. This defense is incredibly frustrating due to the feast or famine nature of it, balancing stars and simply awful football players. Mack Wilson once again getting victimized as the rookie has no idea what's going on at times.

After the big run by Lindsay, the Browns are able to get a stop and force a 43-yard field goal, which he makes. The Broncos are able to get it to a 17-9 lead. The Browns will get the ball back with 1:47 left in the half and an opportunity to put together another productive drive. 

The Broncos kick the ball out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. Starting at their own 25, Mayfield finds Beckham on a hitch to the right for 8 yards. Mayfield then finds Landry to the left for the first down. 1:38 left in the half. The Browns have all three timeouts.

The Browns run a draw to Chubb, which only nets 4, getting them to the 38. On second down, Mayfield connects with Ricky Seals-Jones on a crossing route to the left sideline. After initially trying to get more yardage, he steps out of bounds just short of a first down. Duke Dawson was called for a penalty and the Browns take that for the first down.

With a new set of downs and all their timeouts, Mayfield finds Callaway up the left sideline on a fade stop for 9. On 2nd-and-1, now in Broncos territory, Mayfield scans the field before throwing the ball away to stop the clock at :56.

3rd-and-1, Mayfield finds KhaDarel Hodge on a slant for a first down. That's Hodge's first reception as a Cleveland Brown. Good time for it, it would seem. The Browns call their first timeout.

:50 left at the Broncos 34, the Browns get lined up and the Broncos call their second time out. Out of timeout, Mayfield looks down field, then checks it down to his left to Dontrell Hilliard, who gets just 2 yards, but he got out of bounds to save the clock.

On second down, the Broncos run a stunt and Wyatt Teller fails to read it and Von Miller is able to get pressure and Mayfield barely got the ball out to save an incompletion.

3rd-and-8, Mayfield finds Landry wide open to the right on an out route for the first down, moving them into the red zone. On first down, Mayfield tries to go to Rashard Higgins but it's incomplete.

:31 left, Mayfield has plenty of time to scan the entire field with the Broncos dropping 8 in coverage, he's unable to locate anyone and throws it out of the back of the end zone. :24 left in the half, Browns with two timeouts.

On 3rd-and-10, Mayfield finds Seals-Jones on an angle route, but he's cut down at the knees for a gain of six, but the shot on Seals-Jones didn't look good and he's on the ground. He was able to walk off pretty quickly under his own power. But 4th-and-4, the Browns go for their fourth field goal of the game.

Seibert his his fourth field goal of the game, making it 17-12. Not getting touchdowns is going to haunt the Browns at some point. However, they were able to effectively work a two-minute drill to get themselves points. They were able to get Beckham and Landry going a little bit. And they get he ball back coming out of the half.

They have to be able to come out and find the end zone in the second half if they are going to win, but maybe that drive will help them get some chemistry out of the break and take control in the second half.

The Broncos pass for some reason to close out the half and Brandon Allen gives himself up for an Ogunjobi sack.

Halftime

Olivier Vernon continues his run of spectacular play the last few weeks. He got his third sack, but has been great generating pressure and defending the run.

Baker Mayfield is 16/27 for 145 yards. He was off target on some throws to Landry and Beckham. He was solid in the pocket, save for the sack he took. There were a couple of smart throwaways. There were also a handful of great throws. It got better as the game moved along, so if that trend continues, he should finish this game well.

Nick Chubb has 10 carries for 31 yards. The Broncos are doing everything they can to avoid letting him get loose. The overall running game is a little more productive numbers wise by virtue of a few Mayfield scrambles.

Antonio Callaway is the most productive receiver in this game with 3 receptions on 4 targets for 59 yards, but the mental mistakes continue to show up with him. The combination of Beckham and Landry have been targeted 15 times, connecting on 5 for 39 yards. The drive before the half was responsible for most all of the production, which hopefully means it will get better in the second half.

The offensive line is solid in pass protection, save for a missed stunt pickup by Teller that led to a pressure. Robinson's sack wasn't great for him, but ultimately that fell on Mayfield. Run blocking has been difficult and the Broncos have played stout up front.

Zero turnovers through a half, which is a key to the Browns. The scoreboard isn't where the Browns want it to be, but they have a shot as a result.

Defensively, it's incredibly inconsistent. The defensive line is largely doing well. The defensive backs are up and down, while there are multiple linebacker and safety struggles that are killing the Browns to this point. Jermaine Whitehead, Adarius Taylor, Mack Wilson and Greedy Williams have all been victimized in the running game as well as the passing game. It's difficult to play defense at a consistent level when several of the players on the field aren't NFL caliber defenders. That's difficult to defend in November.

Third Quarter

The Browns came out to the second half with the news that Ricky Seals-Jones was out for the game. They didn't do much with their first possession, forced to punt.

On the Broncos first drive of the second half, the Browns come out with some energy and immediately take control of the line of scrimmage. Mack Wilson was able to get his first sack of the season on 3rd-and-long, forcing the Broncos to punt. They shanked it and the Browns will take over on their 48.

Browns open up their drive with Derek Wolfe splitting Teller and Chris Hubbard on the right side and able to track down Mayfield for a sack. They follow that up going with a quick screen to Beckham, who's immediately taken down in the backfield for loss of three.

The Browns get bailed out by a personal foul penalty by Mike Purcell after the play. It goes from 3rd-and-18 to 1st-and-team and new life for the Browns.

The Browns then go with a playaction pass trying to get the ball to Stephen Carlson, but he was unable to catch a short throw.

On second down, Harris get the ball on what appears to be a very ill-advised smoke screen, but he's able to physically fight and drag opponents for about 8 yards. Nick Chubb then gets the ball and picks up the first down on the following play.

A bunch of fakes on 1st-and-10 later, Mayfield ultimately checks it down for a negative yard play.

They follow that up with a slant in an extremely tight window that Landry is able to snag out of the air and gain additional yardage to get a first down. 19 yards on the play.

New set of downs, the Browns hand it to Chubb and he gets grabbed by the facemask, but it's not called. Gain of one.

Second down, Mayfield finds Landry on a crosser to the right for 6 yards. In an homage to Eric Metcalf up the middle, the Browns hand it to Dontrell Hilliard up the middle for a short gain. He's short and the Browns prepare to go for it on 4th-and-1.

Mayfield takes the snap and goes to the B gap on the scramble and gets what appears to be enough for the first down, but the spot is marked short. 

It absolutely seems like the Browns got the spot, but Chris Hubbard got killed on the play. Reviewing it seems like a futile gesture, but Freddie Kitchens is going for it. This is quite possibly his Waterloo.

Browns of course lose the challenge and that feels like a terrible spot, but the result is the result and if the Browns can't win this game, that play will be the symbol of Kitchens' failed tenure.

Broncos come out and get a first down after a run and then a naked rollout where Allen is able to fit the ball over a defender's head to his receiver heading out of bounds.

The Broncos convert another first down on a rub slant to Courtland Sutton. He follows up with a pass to Noah Fant for 24 yards. Phillip Lindsay gets the ball on a handoff that goes for 30 yards and a touchdown that blows the game open. 24-12 Broncos as the season is on the brink of unmitigated disaster.

Fourth Quarter

The Browns enter the fourth quarter down 12 points with their season on the line. On 3rd-and-1, Chubb gets hit in the backfield, but manages to fight his way for the first down. Impressive effort to change his direction to get forward and have the power to get forward.

On a simple hitch to Beckham where he grabbed the ball over the corner's head, Beckham shows remarkable balance, gets more yards forward, spins and gets up the field for a huge play. Maybe it can be the spark the Browns need.

Chubb takes another run, bulling over multiple Bronco defenders for another big gain. Hilliard then takes the ball and gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage by Mike Purcell.

Mayfield finds Hilliard on a delayed release screen to the left and he's able to make defenders miss for several yards, setting up 3rd-and-7. Browns use their second timeout, having lost one to the failed challenge.

Coming out of the timeout, Mayfield tries to go to Beckham on a back shoulder throw. Chris Harris ends up wrapped completely around Beckham and gets called for pass interference.

Mayfield finds Landry on an arrow route to the left, who's able to make a defender miss and get into the end zone. That is Landry's first touchdown of the season. With an extra point that bounced in off the right upright, the game now down 24-19

So much about that drive had the feeling of "where has this been all year?" Chubb, Beckham and Landry all made huge contributions to get the Browns within one score. There's plenty of time left if they can get the ball back and find their way to a second trip to the end zone. The players are showing a lot of heart.

Broncos go with an end around to Sutton to the right to start the drive, gaining seven yards. The following play, the Broncos attempt to go up the middle and Mack Wilson makes a big stick at the line of scrimmage. Sheldon Richardson was there too, but Wilson laid the wood there for a loss of a yard.

After forcing a throw away on 3rd-and-4, the refs throw a flag on Richardson got hitting Allen's facemask with his hand. It's the difference between a punt and a drive the Browns can't really afford to let live.

After a holding penalty moves them back 10, Allen finds Devontae Booker, who makes Whitehead miss a tackle, because that's Whiteheads's move, gaining 14 yards.

Garrett Bolles gets called for a false start on 2nd-and-6, moving it back to 2nd-and-11.

A couple of incomplete passes later and another hold declined, the Broncos punt it away to the Browns, who will take over just beyond their own 10.

With just over seven minutes left in the game, the Browns open their drive with a run with Chubb that goes for 3. That's followed up with a hot route to Chubb in the flat against an all out blitz from the Broncos that connects. Chubb finds his way up the sideline for several yards before going out of bounds.

Beckham finds Beckham on an what looked like a curl... the pass was off to the right but Beckham reaches out and snags it, then bobbles it before getting down the field for more yardage, moving the Browns offense to the Broncos 34.

Mayfield has a pass batted down at the line on first down before handing it to Chubb on second for a gain of nine. 4:21 left to go in the game, the Browns have one timeout left. The Broncos have all three.

On 3rd-and-1, Chubb gets bubbled out to the left after Justin Simmons comes on a blitz untouched and unaccounted for, resulting in a loss of 3 yards. 4th-and-4, the Browns are set to go for it. The Browns call their final timeout. 

All things considered, this is the play they have to have, so getting it right is critical. They can also hopefully put Chubb back in the game. Hilliard was out there initially.

4th-and-4, Mayfield tries to go to Landry for the first down, but it's deflected away and the Browns turn the ball over on downs. They have time to get the ball back, but they can't afford to give up a first down.

Beckham had Chris Harris beat deep off the line of scrimmage, but Mayfield went to Landry.

The Broncos go with a wildcat look on a sweep outside that may well have just sealed the game. Adding insult to injury, Olivier Vernon is down on that sideline after the play. Vernon limps off the field with the training staff.

Brandon Allen gets in the victory formation to finish off what officially makes the Browns season a complete debacle. Fewer penalties. No turnovers. Moral victories this far into the season simply don't do it. It falls on deaf ears. Browns lose 24-19 and fall to 2-6.

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Pete Smith
PETE SMITH

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