The Cleveland Browns pulled off a surprise win over Ohio rivals the Cincinnati Bengals last night, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett was clearly enjoying himself in front of the Monday Night Football cameras.
The Browns went into the game on a four-game losing streak and a defeat to Joe Burrow and the Bengals could have put their hopes of a play-off run on the brink, but they were dominant throughout FirstEnergy Stadium, winning 32-13 to improve to 3-5.
Brissett is in a strange position as the starting QB and the leader of the team, but only for a finite period, with monster-trade acquisition Deshaun Watson's suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy ending in time for the Week 13 visit to the Houston Texans.
The former Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots quarterback is having fun while it lasts, throwing for 278 yards and a touchdown in Monday's win over their AFC North rivals.
The Browns surged into a 25-0 lead on Monday thanks to a series of scores either side of half time, putting the game beyond the reach of the 4-4 Bengals.
With less than six minutes remaining in the game, the score was 32-13 and the Browns were bleeding the clock. On fourth down, Brissett was trying to bait the Bengals' defence offside for a five-yard penalty, but they would not budge.
On-field microphones captured what Brissett was saying as he faked the snap with the play clock winding down. He was heard shouting at Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson: "I almost got you, 55."
ESPN commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman laughed as another hard count followed from the QB without success and he told Wilson: "Come blitz". Wilson was heard shouting 'No' in reply and a delay of game penalty was enforced before the Browns punted it away.
Generally, the 29-year-old has played pretty well as the warm-up act for Watson and at times he has been let down by an underachieving defence, although Brissett has made costly errors of his own, too.
But for perhaps the first time this season, the Browns were functioning on both sides of the ball in unison on Monday night and their hopes of reaching the post-season are still alive as they head into their bye week. However, they do have the daunting task of facing the Miami Dolphins and Super Bowl favourites the Buffalo Bills in successive weeks after returning from their bye.
That is the big picture. For Brissett, there is his own storyline besides doing a job for the team. Of course, he wants to give Watson as much chance as possible of making the play-offs when he makes his debut in Week 13, but Brissett is also clearly relishing the chance to have a starting role and he is enjoying himself while he can.
"A great team win in all three phases," Brissett said in his post-game press conference. "That's what we've been stressing. We've got a lot of time left and just find a way to have one good play after one good play after one good play, in all three phases.
"We did that and the emotions in the locker room after the game were warranted. It's another division win, which is huge, that puts everything in front of us still.
"We understood the ramifications of this game, what we needed to do and what this meant for us, so I am extremely proud of the guys in the locker room."
