DENVER — Jerry Jeudy virtually were given to be homecoming king.
He handiest bogged down Monday night time to take in the jeers of enthusiasts who as soon as rooted for him, however the Jameis Winston curler coaster fell off the tracks with two alternatives within the ultimate two mins.
The Cleveland Browns rewrote some data however now not the total tale in their disappointing season, as Winston threw for a franchise-best 497 yards and 4 touchdowns but in addition had a couple of interceptions that the host Denver Broncos returned for ratings.
The Browns, now not uninteresting however nonetheless wicked, couldn’t conquer their sloppiness and Winston’s 3 giveover. Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian’s 44-yard interception go back with 1:48 excess got here when the Browns had been using to arrange a possible go-ahead ground purpose effort.
However that Winston whiplash handiest ended in extra sadness because the Broncos scored the overall 10 issues to store a 41-32 win in a competition that featured 5 top adjustments and 163 yards usefulness of landing passes in 11 seconds within the 3rd quarter.
The Broncos stepped forward to 8-5 and moved a step nearer to securing a playoff berth. The Browns suffered their 5th immediately street loss and fell to 3-9.
“I messed it up for us in front of the whole wide world,” Winston mentioned.
MCMILLIAN PICK-SIX TO POSSIBLY ICE IT.
: #CLEvsDEN on ESPN
: Wave on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/byTyDJ5y47— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2024
Jeudy had 9 receptions for 235 yards, essentially the most yards through a receiver going through his former crew in NFL historical past. He many times sprinted year the Broncos’ secondary and likewise blew year his earlier career-best competition of 154 receiving yards within the 2022 season finale.
Winston and Jeudy connected on a 70-yard touchdown early within the 3rd quarter to get Cleveland inside of 3. Within the fourth quarter, Jeudy joined Cincinnati Bengals big name Ja’Marr Chase as the one gamers to put up 200-yard receiving video games this season. Winston bested his single-game report of 458 passing yards in 2019 and Josh McCown’s Browns report of 457 in 2015. However nearest the Broncos settled for a ground purpose and a two-point top within the ultimate 3 mins, the McMillian interception on a sideline course necessarily ended the probabilities of Winston well-known a comeback on his large night time.
“Bad throw,” Winston mentioned, making it sunlit he didn’t wish to get into additional main points.
Regardless of Jeudy’s domination of more than one Denver coverages, Cleveland didn’t have him at the ground when McMillian made the interception. Browns trainer Kevin Stefanski mentioned Jeudy was once taking a play games to extra. Possibly it wouldn’t have mattered, however that’s the type of abnormal resolution — the select happened at the first play games out of the two-minute threat — that’s been connect to this Browns crew all occasion. In early October, Stefanski mentioned more than one instances that Deshaun Watson gave them the most efficient anticipation to win, and he caught with Watson regardless of the quarterback by no means throwing for 200 yards in a competition and Cleveland by no means achieving 20 issues in his seven begins.
Watson handiest threw for 421 general yards over his utmost 3 begins and handiest had 5 landing passes all season. Winston was once a few selections clear of surpassing that landing general in a single competition Monday night time.
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Jeudy sponsored up his earlier commentary that he’s “been open my entire career” with some other explosive efficiency towards the crew that traded him to Cleveland in March.
He had only one reception in each and every of Watson’s utmost 3 begins. Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman have grow to be playmakers within the Winston-led offense, too. It’s sunlit that the hesitance to switch quarterbacks ended any anticipation of the Browns salvaging this season, and what was once a joyless and reasonably hopeless offensive operation had its preferrred appearing Monday night time with 552 yards and 28 first downs sooner than the joys ended with Winston’s overdue interceptions.
The Browns were given to the 2-yard series year trailing through two ratings with 44 seconds excess sooner than Winston threw into visitors and was once intercepted a 3rd occasion through Cody Barton.
“I think we played our butts off all around,” Jeudy mentioned. “We just couldn’t finish how we were supposed to. That was a great team we faced. We just got to find a way to finish.”
Moore, the supposed receiver at the McMillian interception, mentioned the Broncos cornerback undercut the course. Moore blamed himself for hesitating and now not ensuring he touched McMillian in an instant in a while, which allowed McMillian to go back to his ft and dash for the landing.
Past due within the first half of, Nik Bonitto learn Winston’s ocular on a go that he stepped in entrance of and returned for a 71-yard rating.
BRONCOS PICK SIX
: #CLEvsDEN on ESPN
: Wave on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/X8eJpG9yUj— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2024
“I’m just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick sixes,” Winston mentioned.
Sure, he in reality mentioned that. He in reality did all that, too, liberating six passes that led to touchdowns — 4 to his crew and two to the Broncos. He going to Jeudy at the Browns’ first play games of the night time for a achieve of 44 and properly stored going again. Jeudy inspired the house people to boo louder nearest his first reception, and nearest his landing and resulting two-point conversion, he posed and invited the detest.
“They only boo when they know there’s something great in you,” Jeudy mentioned.
Coming into Monday night time, Jeudy was once twenty ninth within the NFL with 645 receiving yards and connect for twenty fifth at 14.3 yards in step with reception. Now, he’s connect with CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys for 5th with 880 receiving yards and 9th at 16.3 yards in step with reception.
For a lot of the night time, it gave the impression of Winston would additionally tug a bounce — and perhaps even into Cleveland’s generation plans. He carried a great passer ranking into the second one quarter. On his first two touchdowns, he confirmed some contact in striking the ball to other portions of the top zone the place handiest David Njoku may get it. The second to Njoku got here overdue within the first half of and adopted Bonitto’s interception, permitting the Browns to secure it a one-score competition.
Early within the 3rd quarter, Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a 93-yard landing accident to Marvin Mims Jr. The Browns replied at the then play games with the 70-yarder from Winston to Jeudy.
In the end, despite the fact that, maintaining it related — and Winston being related to an evening for the ages — ended with Cleveland doing the most efficient it would. Even with the protection two times forcing the Broncos into second-half ground objectives and two times intercepting Nix, Denver were given its defenders into the best playgrounds on the maximum a very powerful instances.
“The team doesn’t deserve that,” Winston mentioned. “Bad throws. I have to be better.”
(Photograph: David Zalubowski / Related Press)
