It was a wild day in Indianapolis in which things started looking very bleak for the Cleveland Browns. But the offense and quarterback P.J. Walker came through when the Browns needed them the most and a late score helped propel the Browns to a thrilling 39-38 victory over the Indianapolis Colts to move to 4-2 on the season and keep pace with and stay a half-game behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.
The Browns avoided a letdown following their huge Week 6 win over the San Francisco 49ers and now have won two straight and three of their last four as they now prepare for a trip to Seattle next week to take on the Seahawks.
Welcome to the latest (and special guest) edition of 4 Downs and another fun one following a big win.
1st Down: Myles Garrett is sometimes so incredibly athletic, it's scary
In keeping up with the tradition of having one down dedicated to a standout player, this week has to go to Myles Garrett. Everyone already knows he is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. He somehow seems to keep taking his play to the next level, as he did against the Colts.
Take his field goal block Sunday and how smoothly he was able to jump over the middle of the line to make the block. Sure, it was a 60-yard attempt for the Colts, so the ball had to traject a little lower, but still he just flew over bodies like Evel Knievel flying over anything you put in front of him. As it turned out, that block paid huge dividends for the Browns. Without it, the Browns would have needed that two-point conversion at the end of the game just to tie the score 41-41.
Add in his two strip-sacks — one of which was scooped up by Tony Fields for a touchdown — along with a pass defended and you get yet another eye-opening performance from one of the freaks in the NFL.
2nd Down: Browns decide to protect Deshaun Watson following injury scare, allowing P.J. Walker to deliver heroics
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson threw five passes against the Colts, completed just one of them for five yards and threw an interception. He went down with and injury and was later reportedly checked for a concussion and eventually cleared. Yet, he never returned to the field despite being cleared. He stood on the sideline, sometimes next to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said he just looking to protect his starting quarterback, paving the way for P.J. Walker to see the end of the game. Walker would finish 15 of 32 for 178 yards with one interception and a rating of 51.3. He was sacked twice by the Colts.
However, Walker drove the Browns 80 yards in 12 plays — the Colts were also called for an illegal contact on 3rd and 4 from the IND 13 that wiped out a Colts fumble recovery and gave the Browns a fresh set of downs — before Kareem Hunt scored from one yard out on fourth down to give the Browns the 39-38 lead.
Walker had the heroics for the Browns in Week 7 but Stefanski has already said Watson will start in Week 8 against the Seahawks. His shoulder was likely bothering him even before he left the game as Watson didn’t have his usual juice. So Stefanski let Watson rest and put the game on the arm and shoulders of Walker. It paid off and now the Browns are 4-2.
3rd Down: Dustin Hopkins' leg, Myles Garrett's block early help put Browns in position for thrilling win late
We touched on Garrett earlier here but it’s worth noting again on its own, along with the leg of Dustin Hopkins, how important those plays were.
Let’s start with Hopkins, who made NFL history today by becoming the first player ever to kick a 50-yard field goal in at least five consecutive games. He did so right before halftime by booting a 54-yard field goal. It was his second field goal of the day and it gave the Browns a 27-21 halftime lead.
Rewind a little further back to early in the second quarter. That’s when the Colts set up for a 60-yard field goal and would come away empty thanks to the freakish athleticism of Myles Garrett hopping over the offensive line and blocking the kick.
Put those plays together and you have a six-point swing. If either of those plays go awry, the Browns either don’t have any chance to rally late or they would have had to convert for two points following Kareem Hunt’s last-minute, fourth-quarter touchdown perhaps just to tie the game and force overtime.
Football games don’t often come down to one play, especially in the first half, but those two special-team plays ended up playing a key role in allowing the Browns the opportunity to stick around and eventually knock off the Colts.
4th Down: Stringing together this type of win following the 49ers game will go a long way toward the Browns' 2023 success
Knocking off one of the NFL’s last remaining undefeated teams will certainly take a lot out of a team mentally, emotionally and physically. The Browns scored the huge victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 and had to travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts in Week 7. The potential for a letdown was right there. The Browns didn’t let that happen.
To win that type of game, one on the road in which the offense made mistakes and couldn’t seem to get much of a rhythm going, one in which they had to drive 80 yards late to win and to do so after beating the 49ers is a major accomplishment. The Browns were staring 3-3 in the face and were set to let that 49ers win lose plenty of luster.
Instead, P.J. Walker made plays when he needed to and now the Browns are building a lot of momentum heading into a mini NFC West stretch with games against the Seahawks and Cardinals coming up. If the Browns do go on to make the playoffs — the Browns are now solidly in a wild-card spot and just a half-game behind the Ravens in the North –, this stretch here during the month of October — beating the 49ers and rallying to win in Indianapolis — is going to be looked at as a key reason why they are playing in late January.
