Broncos' Biggest Studs & Duds in 29-12 Win Over Browns

We continue to sift through the aftermath of the Denver Broncos' win over the Cleveland Browns.

The Denver Broncos are the hottest team in the NFL right now, and they put an exclamation point on that fact in Sunday's 29-12 win over the Cleveland Browns. Five wins in a row have the Broncos in the playoff hunt, and the victory on Sunday will loom large because of the head-to-head victory over an AFC foe. 

It was a convincing win, even if the Browns were without a couple of their key players. Here are some players who deserve credit for coming up big and some who struggled on the night.

Stud: Sean Payton | HC

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Some were saying the Browns' defense was borderline historic. The Broncos’ offense put the end to that sort of discussion. Even so, the Browns do possess a good defense and the Broncos really took it to them. 

The offensive game plan by Payton was very good, and if not for some penalties and miscues, the offense would have likely scored more than the 27 points they put up.

The Broncos' offense didn't light up the box score statistically, but it was efficient and most of the calls were timely and effective. The offense will not be mistaken for the 2013 Broncos, but they are doing what it takes to move the ball.

Stud: P.J. Locke | S

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Right out of the gate, P.J. Locke set the tone for his good day by making a great open-field tackle on the second play of the game, which resulted in no gain. The very next play, he knocked down the Browns' third-down pass resulting in a three-and-out. 

Locke made plays all over the field, and they were important stops. In the fourth quarter, he blitzed which resulted in a strip sack that was recovered by the Broncos and essentially sealed the game. He finished the game with seven total tackles (five solo), a sack, a pass defended, and a quarterback hit.

Dud: Alex Singleton | LB

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Singleton was a tackling machine last season and earned a two-year contract extension. However, this season he is a missed tackling machine. 

Being a solid tackler has made up for Singleton's lack of game-changing plays. Against the Browns, he was lunging, leaving his feet, and taking bad angles. 

Some analysts will look at Singleton's 10 total tackles in the box score and think he had a fantastic game, but it was a rough outing. His missed tackles are hurting the run defense, and the coaches may be reacting to that by having Drew Sanders play more snaps as we saw against the Browns.

Stud: Nik Bonitto | OLB

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The Broncos' defense held the Browns to 12 points and Bonitto was huge in that effort. It took the defense until late in the game to get the pass rush going, and he was a consistent pass rush threat. 

Bonitto had 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits. He and the rest of the defense closed out the game by getting pressure on the quarterback.

Dud: Jerry Jeudy | WR

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Jeudy didn't do anything wrong or impact the offense in a negative way, he was just mostly non-existent against the Browns. He had two catches on three targets for 11 yards which is a lackluster performance for a former first-round selection, even in a rock fight. 

Three other wide receivers and a running back had better production than Jeudy.

Stud: Samaje Perine | RB

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It seemed like each of Perine's eight touches vs. the Browns were impactful. He had 7.9 yards per rush on seven carries and a touchdown. 

Perine had a rush of 24 yards and also added an 11-yard catch on his single reception.

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