The Cleveland Browns suffered a bitter defeat against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The team’s spirits were riding high after a handful of wins propelled the Browns into a race to be the AFC North champion. That feeling quickly ended against another wildcard competitor despite another strong showing from linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
The Broncos beat the Browns thoroughly. The Browns made things extremely difficult for themselves; they played poorly with no composure. The Broncos were far more prepared to play the Cleveland Browns than the other way around.
The team seemed to deflate after quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was knocked out of the game on a penalized hit. The Browns were quickly winning the momentum of the game before that moment. The Browns immediately compounded the problem by fumbling the ball on the next play to set up an easy Broncos touchdown. Replacing the starting quarterback while climbing out of a two-score deficit proved too much for the Browns.
The Browns will have a bad taste in their mouth after this game. They know they’re a much better team than the Broncos. And they know that the Broncos bullied them into a loss. Hopefully, our group has too much pride in themselves to get punked again this season.
Here are the studs and duds from this humiliating defeat to the Broncos.
Dud: CB Greg Newsome II
Greg Newsome II gave up multiple big plays to Courtland Sutton the entire game. On the first drive, he was penalized for a pass interference on 3rd and long to keep the drive alive. A few plays later, he gave up a 31-yard pass on a deep crossing route where he failed to navigate the scrum. The play set up the Broncos’ first touchdown.
Newsome had another challenging week tackling. While Newsome had seven tackles in the game, it was because Russell Wilson targeted him in both the run and pass. Newsome blew a tackle on second and long. Newsome ended the game with a dud after giving up a final long completion off a deep cross to Sutton. Newsome was unable to make plays the entire match.
I believe Newsome has all the talent to be a number-one cornerback in the NFL. What’s holding him back is his lack of physicality. It’s a problem that has haunted his game going back to his college days. Newsome does not seek out contact like most cornerbacks should. It’s a testament to his coverage skills that this is not a bigger problem.
A budding coverage concern for Newsome is his inability to play deep crossers as the outside cornerback. Sutton and the Broncos are not the first group to find this vulnerability. The Patriots beat the Browns, employing the same strategy of crossers off play-action with Bailey Zappe and Jakobi Meyers. The Browns need to find a solution for Newsome on the outside. He will continue to start when Denzel Ward or Martin Emerson Jr. miss games.
Stud: RB Jerome Ford
Jerome Ford played very well on Sunday. The running back looked like a stallion in his limited touches. Ford was quick and decisive in his cuts before galloping through multiple would-be tacklers. He finished the day with nine carries for 65 yards.
He needed to get the rock more on Sunday. The Browns are struggling mightily to use their three-back system. The team needs to play whichever running back is playing best that day. Instead, the team revolves around the three like spokes on a wheel. The Browns are unwittingly removing their best players when they are needed the most.
It’s difficult for teams to balance the run-and-pass games while preparing a rookie quarterback for playoff football. The Browns do not need to make that more challenging by juggling their backs.
Stud: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah played a fantastic game. The linebacker was all over the field and making plays when it mattered the most. He led the team in tackles with X. Owusu-Koramoah’s stats weren’t the result of stat padding late in the game. The linebacker was constantly making stop tackles on third and fourth down.
Owusu-Koramoah started the game off hot when he forced a fumble on 4th down. The linebacker delivered a perfect right hand to knock the ball out of Russell Wilson’s grasp. The punch was perfect; it’ll serve as a teaching tape for the team. He shows an uncanny ability of slipping by and knifing through linebackers.
Owusu-Koramoah is quickly becoming a top-flight linebacker in the NFL. Games like he had on Sunday prove he can become a top 3 linebacker in the league.
Dud: Every other linebacker
The Browns are missing the leadership and play of veterans Anthony Walker Jr. and Rodney McLeod Jr. The team has yet to find a proper replacement for Walker. Veteran linebacker Sione Takitaki is a high-intensity leader, but his lack of agility shows when he’s asked to play middle linebacker. The young safety duo of Ronnie Hillman and D’Anthony Bell are inexperienced in playing the subpackage linebacker role of McLeod’s.
The Broncos and Russell Wilson did a great job of game planning against the Browns’ linebacker. The Browns linebackers have to be cerebral. They need to correct the mistakes of an aggressive defensive line. In the run game, the Broncos attacked the linebackers with a lead zone read concept, forcing them to navigate the mess to find the ball carrier. At other points, the Broncos would attack the linebackers directly out of gap concepts like trap and crunch.
Takitaki, Jordan Kunasyzk, and Tony Fields Jr. fell victim to the Broncos offensive line. Kunasyzk might’ve been the worst of the bunch. The linebacker was pancaked so often that he could’ve worn an iHop uniform.
Thankfully, the Browns have solutions here. Anthony Walker Jr. should return within the next couple of weeks. The Browns signed veteran safety Duron Harmon to their practice squad last week. Harmon will be a serviceable backup once he becomes acquainted with the defense.
Dud: LT Geron Christian Sr.
When evaluating players, I am somewhat reasonable in my expectations. I do not want to judge a player too harshly for being a victim of their circumstances. Any left tackle that comes to a team off the street and blocks for multiple quarterbacks will play poorly. Geron Christian Sr. played worse than expected, giving up quick pressures on every dropback.
He seemed incredibly unprepared in every play. Christian seemed unaware of his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. He gave the speed rusher Nick Bonitto his outside lane multiple times without a fight. Christian makes it impossible for the Browns to call any 5 or 7-step dropbacks.
Christian isn’t horrible when run blocking. His lack of speed and ability to play in space has made it challenging for the Browns to run pin-pull run plays. The concept was the Browns’ best running play. After Sunday’s efforts the Browns need to be begging Joel Bitonio to play left tackle for them.
