Week 13’s edition of Monday Night Football, displayed the 7-5 Broncos and the struggling Browns in Denver. On paper, this game would appear to be boring and uneventful, however, there were many storylines at play. For starters, the Denver Broncos entered the game with the final playoff spot in the AFC, but in prime position to climb the standings if they win their next few games. The Browns, on the other hand, have been a major topic of conversation for all the wrong reasons. They entered this primetime matchup with one of the worst records in the NFL and with their starting QB, Deshaun Watson, on Injury Reserve. Cleveland’s new QB, Jameis Winston, has been pretty exciting to watch and he continued his rather polarizing play style on Monday.
Winston, a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, threw for an unbelievable 497 yards on 34/58 passing. He also threw four touchdown passes, but he was intercepted three times with two of them getting returned for touchdowns. Winston has been known to be a very erratic quarterback; he has obvious talent, yet his on-field decision-making has been a problem for him throughout the years. The most popular season of his career was 2019, when Winston threw 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.
The game was tied at seven by the end of the first quarter after Denver’s running back Javonte Williams and Cleveland’s tight end David Njoku found the end zone. The second quarter saw a combined 24 points, including a Nik Bonitto pick six and David Njoku’s second touchdown of the game. With the Broncos backed up inside their own 10-yard line at the start of the third, standout rookie QB Bo Nix fired a dart to Marvin Mims for a 93-yard touchdown to give Denver a double-digit lead. On the very next possession, however, Jerry Jeudy, a former Denver Bronco, went 70 yards to the house to bring the Browns a bit closer. He would also be on the receiving end of a two-point conversion to bring Cleveland within three points. Jeudy would go on to have 235 receiving yards.
The Browns took a one-point lead in the fourth after a Nick Chubb receiving touchdown, however, six minutes later Wil Lutz would drill another field goal giving Denver a two point lead. Winston was presented with a golden opportunity to deliver a memorable win for the Browns, but Ja’Quan McMillian had other plans; he picked the Browns QB off and returned it 44 yards to the house to ice it for the Broncos. Cleveland fell to the Broncos 41-32, despite outgaining them on offense by 152 yards.