It was ugly… there’s no other way to put it.
The Cleveland Browns traveled to Denver with the hopes of leaving 8-3, but suffered a bad loss on the field and even more injuries off it as the Broncos came out victorious Sunday, 29-12.
Kevin Stefanski is known as an offensive mind, but his game plan against the Broncos left a lot of people wondering why the run game wasn’t more heavily utilized.
Despite facing Denver’s 32nd ranked rush defense, the Browns only ran the ball 16 times and threw it 42 times with DTR – a rookie QB making his first career road start.
DTR, who did play better than last week, threw his first career TD to Harrison Bryant on a 4th and goal play. However, DTR suffered a concussion in the 3rd quarter on a late hit from Baron Browning and did not return.
His status for next Sunday vs. LA is TBD. Joe Flacco could be in line to start after PJ Walker turned the ball over twice in just over a quarter of action in relief duty.
The Browns defense wasn’t as good as it had been of late, allowing Russell Wilson and the Denver offense to slice and dice its way down field for two long scoring drives in the first half.
Cleveland needed an A/A+ defensive effort to win — it got about a C at best.
Myles Garrett said after the game he heard a pop in his left shoulder and isn’t sure the extent of the injury. That’s the same shoulder he injured last year in the car accident.
Amari Cooper also left the game with a rib injury but his x-rays came back negative afterwards.
With the loss, the Browns drop to 7-4 on the season and face the LA Rams in SoFi Stadium next weekend.
FANATICS LINK: www.fanatics.com/UCSS
Subscribe and ring the bell for the latest talk about the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Cavaliers and Ohio State Buckeyes: https://bit.ly/ucss_subscribe
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ultclesports
Watch live on YouTube 11 a.m.-1 p.m. weekdays on YouTube and WKYC+ on your Roku and Fire TV apps!
The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show is your daily source of the best conversation about the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Cavaliers and Ohio State Buckeyes, as well as sports throughout Northeast Ohio. Hosted by Jay Crawford, Adam the Bull, G Bush, Jason Lloyd, Brad Sellers and Tyvis Powell.
NATIONAL DISCLAIMER: 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.