Tag: Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos

Myles Garrett frustrated with getting ‘the Shaq treatment’ from officials on being held

Garrett added 1.5 sacks to his league-leading total despite the officials letting the Broncos OL get away with some really bad holding

Myles Garrett added another 1.5 sacks to his NFL-leading total on Thursday night in the Browns’ 17-14 win over the Denver Broncos. It could have been even more if not for some truly egregious holding by the Broncos offensive line that went almost completely ignored by the game officials.

Despite several obvious holding infractions in clear view of the officiating crew, Denver was flagged just once for holding Garrett all night, a penalty that was declined because he wound up sacking QB Teddy Bridgewater despite the hold. Garrett voiced his frustration with the chronic holding he faces every week after the game.

“Refs to take off their glasses or get some new ones,” Garrett said after the game. “It is tough. I have a lot of respect for their offensive line and (Broncos LT Garett) Bolles. I do not have a problem with what he is doing because if they are not going to call it, then there is no reason for him to change his game. He can keep doing what he is doing to stop pass rushers like myself. If you go by the book, it is holding. The refs are kind of giving me the Shaq treatment right now so hopefully, I can get around that.”

Garrett is referencing Shaquille O’Neal in the NBA. Much like Garrett, Shaq in his prime was simply too physically dominant to stop by any legal means. Teams did things to O’Neal that would result in flagrant foul calls against less physically impressive players and the NBA officials would swallow their whistles and let it go.

Based on what happened in the win over Denver and the rest of the season, Garrett’s analogy holds true.

In spite of all the holding, Garrett still leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks in seven games.

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D’Ernest Johnson runs wild in leading Browns to victory over Broncos

Johnson ran all over the Broncos in leading the Browns to a win in his first career start

The Cleveland Browns are noted for having the best one-two running back punch in the NFL in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. On Thursday night, D’Ernest Johnson proved that the punch goes even deeper.

Johnson ran for a career-high 146 yards on 22 carries in his first career NFL start in leading the Browns to a 17-14 win over the visiting Denver Broncos. The fourth-year reserve had a phenomenal game filling in for the injured Chubb and Hunt, also catching two passes for 22 yards.

“It’s unexplainable,” Johnson told the FOX Sports crew after the game. “The O-line did a great job setting things up for me.”

Johnson took quite a path to helping the Browns break a two-game slide. Undrafted in 2018 out of South Florida, Johnson worked as a fisherman while also getting his professional football career started in the now-defunct AAF. When that league fell apart, he latched onto the Browns practice squad.

He showed Cleveland glimpses with a nice performance in last year’s shootout with Dallas, but this was Johnson’s first time as the featured performer. His banged-up team needed every one of his first downs.

Cleveland outplayed Denver on both sides of the ball but struggled to convert yards into points. After Denver cut the lead to a field goal late, coach Kevin Stefanski had no qualms about trusting Johnson to run the clock out. Johnson responded with 56 rushing yards on six carries, racking up four first downs. Mission accomplished.

Case Keenum: What he brings to the Browns vs. Broncos as Cleveland’s starting QB

Case Keenum: What he brings to the Browns vs. Broncos as Cleveland’s starting QB in place of an injured Baker Mayfield

Now that it’s officially Case Keenum time for the Browns, it’s time to try and remember what Case Keenum is as a quarterback. The new Browns starter, taking over for at least Week 7 for an injured Baker Mayfield, brings another interesting angle to Thursday night’s matchup with the visiting Denver Broncos.

Keenum, now 33, played in Denver as the Broncos starting quarterback for the 2018 season. It did not go well. Keenum threw for 3,890 yards and 18 touchdowns, but also tossed 15 interceptions and ranked 29th in average yards per attempt. Those Broncos finished 6-10 in part because Keenum was not enough of an upgrade over the Trevor Siemian/Brock Osweiler combination from the year before.

Broncos fans don’t remember Keenum fondly. Nor do Washington fans from the following season, where Keenum sputtered to a 1-7 record as a starter despite playing better than he did in Denver. He’s never been able to recapture the magic of his 2017 campaign with Minnesota, where he was brilliant with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski as his QB coach.

In that year, the hyper-efficient best of Keenum came out. He completed 67.6 percent of his passes, tossing 22 TDs against seven INTs after usurping oft-injured Sam Bradford. The Browns are hoping this version of Keenum resurfaces on Thursday night. And if he does, they have a chance.

Keenum doesn’t have a big arm, nor is he a big guy capable of taking a lot of physical punishment. But he’s very good at taking what the defense gives him and at keeping the trains running on time, in a football context. The accuracy, the decision-making, the ability to create a little when the protection breaks down, these are qualities Keenum displays well at his best.

There is no question he knows Stefanski’s offense, and he’s been in Cleveland long enough to have some chemistry with the receiving corps. As long as the Browns don’t ask him to play “hero ball” and try to win games by making difficult throws into tight coverage, Keenum can be fine. He’s generally regarded as one of the NFL’s top backup quarterbacks for good reason.

Where fans will notice the biggest dropoff from Mayfield to Keenum is in the deep passing game. Keenum just doesn’t have the downfield velocity or accuracy when he has to uncork the deeper throws. Based on his history, Keenum isn’t as apt to look for those downfield shots, either. That constricts an offense that will already be without top RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and perhaps without both starting tackles once again.

One of the reasons Mayfield works in Stefanski’s offense is his aggressiveness on deeper options and willingness to let it fly if a play goes off-script. Keenum can’t do that. As long as he’s not completely rusted over from inactivity, Keenum will do well enough operating the base offense. Hopefully that will be enough against a banged-up Broncos defense to squeak out a victory for the injury-ravaged Browns.