Browns Send Off Jacoby Brissett with Richly Deserved Victory
Effort, guts and a small amount of execution enabled the Cleveland Browns to earn some badly needed glory, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-17 in overtime. There were a handful of truly beautiful plays by the Browns that helped to deliver the victory, but the team fought and won a physical, ugly football game that needed all four quarters and the overtime period to be decided.
Jacoby Brissett ends his tenure as the starting quarterback with Deshaun Watson coming off of his suspension next week, so the team sent him off with a memorable achievement against his former mentor, Tom Brady.
This game epitomized what Brissett has meant to the Browns in his time as the team's quarterback. The Browns played with the same composure and resilience Brissett has displayed throughout the 11 games he played this season. Brissett wasn't great, only throwing for 210 yards, completing 21 of 37 attempts. He didn't surpass 100 yards passing until the fourth quarter, dishing out and taking his share of physical punishment in the process, but Brissett stayed focused and endured long enough to make a handful of plays in high pressure situations, something that has often eluded him this season.
The Browns went right down the field with the first drive of the game. That is the sixth time this season the Browns have scored on their first offensive drive. The Browns had little trouble marching down the field, able to take advantage of the rules of the Bucs defense, capped off by a 31-yard reverse to Anthony Schwartz for the touchdown, which included a big block from Brissett.
The Browns would go nine drives between touchdowns a week after going eight drives between touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills. The difference this week was the play of the defense. The Browns defense was successful for a half against the Buffalo Bills before collapsing in the second whereas they sustained for the entire game against the Bucs. Hardly perfect, the Browns gave up touchdowns to open both halves, but forced eight punts on the day, six of which on drives ending after just three plays.
In almost five quarters of football, the Browns only gave up 96 yards rushing on 20 attempts. That forced Brady to throw the ball 43 times at 5.7 yards per attempt. The Browns were able to sack Brady three times including 1.5 sacks from Myles Garrett coming on critical third downs.
The best player on the Browns defense was a rookie. Martin Emerson, selected in the third round this past April, was consistently locked up on Mike Evans. Emerson was relentless and sticky in coverage, using his physicality to combat the size and strength of Evans all day. He was called for defensive pass interference once, but Evans finished with just two receptions for 31 yards on nine targets.
The Browns had plenty of opportunities to win this game in regulation. The Bucs defense was formidable but the Browns made their own mistakes on multiple drives. Cade York made a 51-yard field goal to give the Browns a 10-7 lead, but missed a 39-yard attempt from the right hash badly, going wide left.
Nothing was more dispiriting than when the Browns decided to go for it on 4th-and-9 from the Bucs 44 and failed. The Browns and Brissett got the look they wanted and Amari Cooper was able to beat his defensive back badly, running wide open toward the right sideline on a deep out route but simply dropped the ball. Cooper, who has been sensational all season for the Browns, would get the opportunity to redeem himself.
After failing in their own end of the field, losing 10 yards in the process, Corey Bojorquez boomed a 57-yard punt from the Browns 23-yard line, which included a block in the back penalty. The Bucs started the drive on their own 20, lost yardage on a run that was snuffed out by linebacker Tony Fields II for a loss of three yards. Brady would be unable to connect with Evans on second down. Garrett attacked around the edge and Jadeveon Clowney coming inside combined for a sack that dropped Brady and the Bucs back seven more yards.
The resulting punt would go 48 yards and Donovan Peoples-Jones returned it 12 yards to the Bucs 46. The Browns flipped the field with 60 total yards on the punt, then defense caused the Bucs to lose ten more and returned a punt for 12 more, gaining the Browns a total of 31 yards of field position. DPJ only had two receptions for 16 yards, but he returned five punts for a total of 75 yards in the game.
With plenty of time to put together a good drive, the Browns handed the ball off to Nick Chubb three straight times. The first went for six which was followed by the two-minute warning. The next was a 28-yard run up the left sideline. The third was stuffed, only going for one.
Brissett would try to go to Kareem Hunt failing to connect, before the Browns tried to set up a tight end screen on third down that was snuffed out by linebacker Devin White who simply beat right tackle Jack Conklin to the spot.
On 4th-and-10 with the game on the line, the Browns had David Njoku lined up the left. He tried to get White who tried to slow him up coming off the line. With no other help, Brissett threw a high pass that no one but Njoku had a chance to get to in the back of the end zone. Njoku reached his left arm up to corral the ball down to himself, then grabbing onto the ball with both hands, embracing it against his chest as his back hit the ground for the touchdown.
Njoku was playing as well as any tight end in the NFL before sustaining a high-ankle injury. His second game in action after the injury, Njoku was able to make a franchise catch, which sent the game into overtime. Njoku only had five receptions for 29 yards in the game, but this is the one the team needed.
The Bucs started overtime with the ball and the Browns looked like they might create another three-and-out, but Myles Garrett was called for a neutral zone infraction, gifting the Bucs a first down. The Bucs would earn two more first downs before the drive would end.
The Browns would go three-and-out and look bad doing it. On the second Bucs drive in overtime, they were able to get a quick first down in two plays. The next set of downs, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was able to come up and stop a Rachaad White for just one yard. Brady would attempt to go deep to Evans against Emerson to no avail. On third down, Garrett made up for his neutral zone infraction, flying off the ball, bending around the edge and sacking Brady by his shoelaces, forcing the Bucs to punt.
At that point, Cooper would take over. Cooper caught a quick pass, muscling his way for 17 yards to start the drive before the two-minute warning. The Browns would attempt to run Chubb twice, but without much success. Third down, Brissett found a wide open Cooper on the right side of the field with room to run. Cooper had used his footwork to dismantle Carlton Davis, causing him to crumple to the ground. Cooper didn't drop this one, running 45 yards inside the Bucs five-yard line.
Rather than simply kicking the field goal, the Browns put their jumbo package on the field, complete with James Hudson III at fullback in front of Chubb. The Browns ran it twice, the first of which was stopped for just a yard. After a timeout, the Browns ran it again to Chubb, who charged forward, was knocked sideways before regaining his balance and pushing forward into the end zone for the Browns victory.
Chubb finished the game with 26 carries for 116 yards and the touchdown. Cooper chipped in seven receptions for 94 yards.
Brissett had played well in games for the Browns, but he wanted to be better when it mattered the most, disappointed in some of his late game mistakes He wanted to deliver in the clutch. With the help of Njoku, Cooper and Chubb, he was able to complete his resume with the Browns.
The win only moves the Browns to 4-7 on the season. They will need to continue to pile up wins to have any chance to be a factor in the postseason race, likely a fantasy at this point. But this game was bigger than the standings. The Browns wanted to win this one to prove to themselves they could and they wanted to win this one for Jacoby Brissett.
Even if Brissett signs with another team next season and this is his only season on the Browns, he continues to leave an impression on this team. Brissett isn't a great quarterback, but he's the embodiment of everything you want your team to be. For a team that wants to be smart, tough and accountable, rarely meeting that standard this season, Brissett consistently proved to be exactly the type of leader this team needed in a tumultuous season.
