Tag: P.J. Walker

Browns WR Elijah Moore on playing with multiple QBs: ‘You gotta be able to adapt’

Cleveland Browns receiver Elijah Moore has already caught passes from three different quarterbacks in 2023. But he’s used to it from his time with the New York Jets.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore has already played with three different quarterbacks this season. But that doesn’t appear to phase him.

Moore told “Good Morning Football” on Friday that he and the Browns have been able to perform well and win games despite multiple changes at quarterback because of their ability to adapt and focus on their roles as players.

“I feel like you gotta just focus on yourself,” Moore said. “That’s what everybody kind of sleeps on. They get caught up into the media, get caught up into all the factors that don’t really play in what you really need to focus on anyway.

“As a receiver, my job is to get open. If I keep focusing on that, I’ll just make my job easier for any quarterback in the game.”

 

Moore – who was traded to the Browns from the New York Jets before the 2023 season opened the year with Deshaun Watson under center. But when Watson went down with a shoulder injury, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson took over. Next up was practice squad call-up P.J. Walker. Despite the fluidity at quarterback, Moore ranks third on the team with 33 combined touches – 25 receptions and eight rushes – and is second on the team with 43 targets behind fellow wideout Amari Cooper’s 47. Moore’s 237 total yards also rank third on the team.

Moore attributes his success despite continuity under center to his days with the Jets. Moore caught passes from four different quarterbacks in each of his first two seasons in New York – Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White, and Josh Johnson in 2021, and then Wilson, Flacco, White, and Chris Streveler in 2022.

“You gotta be able to adapt,” Moore added.” I gotta be someone that adapts. I think that’s the secret.”

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NEW: Deshaun Watson will sit vs. Seahawks; P.J. Walker to start for Browns

The Browns will once again be without their starting quarterback

For the second time in three weeks, the Cleveland Browns will start veteran quarterback P.J. Walker. After exhausting his three practice squad call ups, the Browns have signed Walker to the active roster as Deshaun Watson will focus on rehabbing his shoulder this week as the team prepares for the Seattle Seahawks.

Watson left the game against the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter after taking a hard hit along the sideline. He was evaluated for a concussion, but head coach Kevin Stefanski stated he made the call to sit Watson the rest of the game out of precaution. Walker then led the Browns’ offense the rest of the game, including a game-winning drive that included two big throws to move the chains.

The Browns currently sit at 4-2 on the season, getting ready to take on the 4-2 Seahawks. They then take on the struggling Arizona Cardinals the week after before back-to-back games against AFC North opponents. It would appear critical to get Watson back on the field for those matchups.

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Status for Deshaun Watson to play this week vs. Seahawks uncertain

Here’s the latest on Watson’s injury.

This week the Seahawks are hosting the Browns at Lumen Field and they’ll get one of their tougher tests yet of the 2023 season. Cleveland came into the season with one of the top rosters in the league and so far they have proven a true contender despite getting some awful results at quarterback.

The primary culprit is Deshaun Watson, who has continued to perform horribly this season, carrying over his struggles from 2022. In four starts he has only thrown for 683 yards and four touchdown passes to go with three interceptions. His QBR (41.8) ranks him No. 24 in the NFL this season, even lower than Mac Jones.

Nevertheless, his team keeps winning thanks to what was a historic defense before they allowed 37 points against the Colts on Sunday. The Browns enter this week with a 4-2 record, or as one meme put it:

Bad as he’s been, it can always get worse – and that’s been the case lately as Watson has had to sit out due to a rotator cuff injury. P.J. Walker has gotten the bulk of the work since and he’s graded out as the worst quarterback in the league this season by a wide margin.

Cleveland’s best option this week is probably starting rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who may have bombed against the Ravens in his first NFL game by throwing three interceptions, but deserves another chance.

Here’s the latest on Watson’s injury.

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Report: Browns signing QB P.J. Walker to active roster

The Browns have added the veteran to their active roster.

After exhausting his three gameday elevations from the practice squad, the Cleveland Browns are officially signing quarterback P.J. Walker to the active roster (according to The OBR’s Brad Stainbrook). Walker, of course, started in the win against the San Francisco 49ers, then played the majority of the game this past Sunday in the win against the Indianapolis Colts.

He even led a last-minute game-winning drive that included a third-and-long big-time throw to Elijah Moore, and a chunk over the middle to Donovan Peoples-Jones as well. With starting quarterback Deshaun Watson still day-to-day with his ailing shoulder, Walker could get the start again this week against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Browns now have three quarterbacks on the roster as rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will now be relegated officially to third string now that Walker is on the active 53.

Hopefully, this does not stop the Browns from looking at a more serious option if Watson’s injury continues to linger.

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Browns Studs and Duds: Which players helped secure an ugly win vs. Colts?

The Browns’ stars shine bright as Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and David Njoku help the Browns win against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Cleveland Browns narrowly escaped from Indianapolis with a victory over the Colts. The Browns extended their record to 4-2 with a second straight win this month. The game was chaotic from the very start to the last play of the game. P.J. Walker led the Browns to victory with the help of the Browns’ run game. Kareem Hunt scored two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown, while Jerome Ford had one touchdown on a 69-yard run during the first quarter. It was refreshing to watch the Browns rely on a strong run game to will the team to victory.

The Browns’ run game wasn’t the only unit that won the game for the team. The defense played extremely well against the Colts. They forced Gardner Minshew into multiple turnovers, including a costly fumble in the endzone that the Browns recovered for a touchdown. The victory over the Colts took the entire team. It was ugly, it was dirty, some may say it was undeserved, but a win is a win and I’ll take it any way I can.

Let’s shine a light on the studs and duds in the Browns’ messy victory over the Colts. 

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Browns sign Deon Jackson to active roster, promote 2 from practice squad vs. Colts

The Browns have made three moves as they get set to take on the Colts

The Cleveland Browns have made a few roster moves as they get set to take on the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow. After placing guard Michael Dunn on Injured Reserve, the Browns opened up a roster spot to fill. And while many thought that would be the signing of P.J. Walker, the Browns have instead signed running back Deon Jackson to the active roster from the practice squad.

Kareem Hunt entered this week hobbled with a thigh injury, and has a questionable gameday designation. With the signing of Jackson to the active roster, there is reason to wonder whether or not Hunt will play in this game against the Colts. Jackson becomes the fourth running back on the roster behind Hunt, Jerome Ford, and Pierre Strong.

The Browns then made their two gameday elevations from the practice squad. Here are the three roster moves the Browns made today, and one move they still have to make.

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P.J. Walker called a Browns legend for advice before start vs. 49ers

P.J. Walker sought out the advice of another Browns quarterback before Sunday’s game.

The Cleveland Browns are back! Despite a bad loss to the Baltimore Ravens before the bye week, the Browns put the ball in the hands of P.J. Walker for their Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers, and the veteran did just enough to squeeze out a win against the NFC juggernaut. A twist, however? Walker turned to another Browns legend in 2022 starter Jacoby Brissett for advice in preparation for the game (according to ESPN’s Jake Trotter).

And according to Trotter, Brissett’s advice was pretty simple: If Amari Cooper wins off the line of scrimmage, find him. Walker did just that twice for two massive gains on the day for the Browns. All in all, Cooper finished with four catches for 108 yards in this 19-17 win over the Niners.

Given the gutsy performance of Walker, the Browns now sit at 3-2 on the season as they now travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in Week 7.

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NFL Week 6 Awards: 49ers’ lethargic loss to P.J. Walker’s Browns shows they aren’t perfect team

Losing to an awful backup QB is just one sign the 49ers are more flawed than we thought.

They were likely never going to go 17-0, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who thought the San Francisco 49ers would lose to the Cleveland Browns Sunday. If there was even a singular person who actually believed in Cleveland’s chances, they seemed delusional about it once it was clear that a horrible backup like P.J. Walker would start against the 49ers’ ferocious defense.

And yet, there the Browns were, upsetting the 49ers 19-17 in easily the most shocking individual result of this still-young NFL season. What happened? Why did the 49ers drop the ball after looking like an absolutely perfect buzzsaw en route to a 5-0 start?

As always, it’s never so simple to blame just one person.

For one, Brock Purdy had one of his worst games as the 49ers’ starting quarterback, completing just 12-of-27 passes for 125 yards while throwing one touchdown and his first interception of the season. The Browns’ defense deserves a ton of credit for rattling Purdy. But there were more than a few throws Purdy left on the field, potentially reigniting the questions about whether he is actually good enough to elevate the 49ers’ stacked offense against equally good defenses.

Injuries played a part, too.

San Francisco’s do-it-all offensive Swiss Army Knife Deebo Samuel would leave the game with a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, after suffering an ankle injury, left tackle Trent Williams tried to battle, even though it was clear he wasn’t 100 percent. None of this absolves the defense, either. The 49ers should’ve feasted on a woefully mismatched quarterback like Walker. It’s inexcusable that they let his one genuine safety valve — receiver Amari Cooper — carry the Browns’ offense.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t highlight Jake Moody, San Francisco’s highly-drafted rookie kicker, for missing the game-winning chip-shot attempt in the final moments:

The 49ers are probably going to be fine. By no means does one loss define what remains one of the NFL’s true Super Bowl contenders. But we thought this team was an unmitigated juggernaut headed toward a historic season.

As it turns out, they’re a bit more fallible and flawed than we believe. Even the “best” team in the league can still fall short on any Sunday. That’s something evergreen to keep in mind later this winter.

Alas, the rest of Week 6’s NFL Awards here at For The Win is a doozy. We’ve got backup running backs creating touchdowns with monster blocks. We’ve got an announcer intentionally avoiding an announcer jinx. We’ve got a superstar receiver ready on a moment’s notice for a creative touchdown celebration.

Heck, who am I kidding? We’ve got everything. Let’s dive in.

Browns Twitter goes wild after handing 49ers their first loss of the season

Cleveland gets a massive win and the fans celebrated on Twitter

There weren’t many people who thought the Cleveland Browns could pull off the upset facing the previously undefeated 49ers. But the team rode on the back of their elite defense and got just enough offense to win without quarterback Deshaun Watson and Joel Bitonio.

Some asked if the Browns’ defense is for real suggesting they hadn’t beaten any great offenses but they shut down Brock Purdy from the start a player who was getting MVP buzz around the league. It was an ugly and hard-fought victory but good teams find a way to win these games and Cleveland did just this.

All in all, this is a huge win for the Browns as they look to get to an easier stretch coming up as they look to make a run at the playoffs. 3-2 after five games two without your franchise QB is huge.

Let’s take a look at how fans reacted to the game on Twitter.

4 Downs: Ode to P.J. Walker, the dominance of Jim Schwartz, and the sought-after ugly Browns win

The Browns won a coveted ugly game against the 49ers. Welcome in to a victory 4 Downs!

They did it. The Cleveland Browns have shocked the world, beating the undefeated San Francisco 49ers by a score of 19-17. Starting practice squad quarterback P.J. Walker, they mustered up enough points for Jim Schwartz and his unit to do the rest. Ultimately it came down to a missed field goal from Niners’ kicker Jake Moody, but the Browns advanced to 3-2 on the season nonetheless (and made our entire Browns Wire staff look dumb in the process).

The Browns have lacked an ugly, gritty win. The Pittsburgh Steelers do it time and time again under Mike Tomlin and have done it twice in the AFC North this season alone. Niners’ head coach Kyle Shanahan routinely won games with C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullins under center. And now head coach Kevin Stefanski notches a much-needed gritty win with his back against the wall on his resume.

Welcome back in to another edition of 4 Downs, which always go down smoother after a Browns win. Enjoy it, Cleveland!