Player Grades: Cleveland Browns Fall to Cincinnati in Week 14
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Cleveland Browns dropped their eighth game of the Eason at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals in week 14. The Bengals controlled this one by defending home field, 23-10.
We're going to look at some player grades here simply from watching the game. Some thoughts can change after viewing all-22 but this is where I stand as of now.
Quarterback: C+
Deshaun Watson threw an interception, took a bad sack, and missed a couple of throws. But it was the improvement that he made from last week that stood out. Cleveland lost and the playoffs look unrealistic at this point but Watson looked more comfortable after a substantial time off.
Watson finished 26-of-42 passing for 276 yards and a touchdown. Running the ball, Watson scampered for 33 yards on six carries.
Making plays with his leg is a new part of the offense that can be schemed in. It will make defenses game plan a bit different, as well as approach later downs differently. This week was a step in the right direction for Watson.
Running backs: C
Running the ball was a no-go for the Browns on Sunday. Much of that had to do with DJ Reader on the other side, he was a one-man wrecking crew against this offensive line. Nick Chubb finished with just 34 yards on 14 totes, there simply was nowhere to run the football.
Chubb and Hunt combined for five catches for 26 yards. Watson uses his check down a ton, so they were an option there.
Wide receivers & tight ends: C +
Donovan Peoples-Jones had a very good game outside of a jump ball that he should have brought in on fourth down late. Still, Peoples-Jones was Watson's favorite target and caught eight passes for 114 yards.
David Njoku had a nice day in his first game with Watson. He had 59 receiving yards and a touchdown. Amari Cooper was kept in check for just two catches resulting in 42 yards. After the first drive of the game, the Bengals kept Cooper out of this one.
Offensive line: D
This was collectively a bad performance from the entire offensive line. Watson didn't help himself at times on the dropback, but he was pressured a ton by the Bengals. Watson was sacked twice but had to escape the pocket multiple times.
On the other hand, penalties were a problem. Both tackles and Joel Bitionio were flagged, as was the center Hjalte Froholdt. Cleveland is hurting due to having a player playing out of position at center due to need.
Defensive line: C+
If the Browns had NFL caliber interior okay the edge players would look that much better. Myles Garrett ended a drive himself with a sack, then batted a pass against the Bengals. Garrett ended with four tackles and two sacks against the Bengals.
Jadeveon Clowney had a couple of pressures and a nice tackle in the run game, he also had a whiff on run contain that hurt the team.
Linebackers: C+
Deion Jones recorded an interception on a play where he was in the right place at the right time. Jones had seven tackles, tied for the team lead. Jones did a good job of working sideline to sideline at times but is often just simply run by.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah continues to make good diagnoses at the line. He can keep offensive linemen from getting to him to make tackles at the line. Against Cincinnati, JOK had six tackles.
Secondary: C -
Ja'Marr Chase had his way against the Browns with 10 grabs for 119 yards. Luckily for the Browns' secondary, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins essentially did not play in this one due to injury. Still, the Bengals had their way. Both Greg Newsome II and Denzel Ward made good plays on the ball, but they didn't come away with turnovers. Tackling continues to hurt players like John Johnson III.
Special teams: C
Tony Fields II came back to earth this week after playing lights out last week. His error came from a lack of awareness on special teams. Fields were not all that close to blocking the punt, instead picked up a roughing of the kicker on fourth down.
Corey Bojorquez punted the ball with a 55-yard average on four punts. That is a plus for what he's done lately. The return game didn't offer much as the Bengals weren't going to let Peoples-Jones get loose as he did last week.
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Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter @BrandonLittleFB here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter here.
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