The Cleveland Browns spent all week talking about how they were not going to look past the New York Jets and be caught in a trap game after winning three in a row.
We also spent the week highlighting how strange things happen when the Browns are the road team against the New York Jets.
So would anyone be surprised if we told you it was another typical trip to the swamps of Jersey on Sunday, as the Browns saw their winning streak end in an ugly game??
Here are the winners and losers from the contest.
Week 5 Winners – Brownies:
The defense after the first drive: It what appears to be standard practice for the Browns, the defense allowed the Jets to go 80 yards in eight plays for a touchdown on their first offensive drive. From there, the Browns were back to their dominant ways as they forced the Jets to punt on their next five possessions and forced a fumble on the sixth.
The Jets managed just a field goal and a short-field touchdown after that opening drive, as the Cleveland defense did all it could to keep the team in the game.
Quincy Williams gave ‘em hell: In the lead-up to the first game against his old team, linebacker Quincy Williams promised to be a nightmare for the Jets, and he lived up to it. Williams finished with a team-high 11 tackles and forced three fumbles (unfortunately, the Browns only recovered one of them).
Pressuring the quarterback: Cleveland was without starting defensive tackles Mason Graham and Mike Hall Jr. due to injuries, but you would not have known it as defensive tackles Maliek Collins (1.5 sacks), Sam Kamara (1 sack) and Adin Huntington (half-sack) combined for three of the four sacks the Browns tallied against New York quarterback Geno Smith.
Andre Szymt on field goals: Cleveland’s second-year kicker converted both of his field goal attempts, running his streak to 24 consecutive made field goals, dating back to last season.
Denzel Boston, touchdown maker: Rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston caught his third touchdown pass of the season to tie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. for the team lead. The 29-yarder came in the fourth quarter to give the Browns the lead and broke a streak that saw the Browns punt on five consecutive possessions while gaining just 34 yards of offense.
Good Isaiah Bond: With wide KC Concepcion knocked out of the game early in the first quarter with a concussion (more on that in a moment), Bond saw his playing time increase and responded with three receptions for a team-high 74 receiving yards.
Week 5 losers – Frownies:
Cleveland’s pass protection: The Jets came into the game with nine sacks on the season, so naturally they pressured quarterback Deshaun Watson all day, sacking him eight times. This is the second time Watson has been sacked eight times in a game with Cleveland (the last was in 2024 against the New York Giants), and he has now been sacked five times or more in eight games as a Brown.
Bad Isaiah Bond: Those three catches, including a 30-yarder in the fourth quarter when the Browns needed to score, look good on the stat sheet. But Bond also dropped two passes (or was it three?) that would have kept the chains moving, and just missed catching a touchdown pass early in the game.
Andre Szmyt on extra points: A year ago, special teams let down the Browns in the loss to the Jets by allowing a pair of return touchdowns. This year it was Szmyt’s turn to misfire as he missed his first extra point of the season after Boston’s touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. That left the Browns with just a two-point lead. Everyone misses occasionally; it just seems like the Browns always miss at the worst possible time.
Rex Sunahara on long snaps: The miscues on special teams were not confined to Szmyt’s missed extra point. Four plays into New York’s next possession, Carson Schwesinger strip-sacked New York quarterback Geno Smith and Maliek Collins recovered. Cleveland went three-and-out, though, and Sunahara’s high snap went through the hands of punter Cory Bojorquez and the Jets recovered the ball on Cleveland’s 23-yard line. Three plays later, the Jets scored the game-winning touchdown.
Again, these things happen. But why do they always seem to happen to the Browns at the most inopportune time?
An ineffective offense: At the end of the third quarter, the Browns had seven first downs and 109 yards of total offense. After an explosive first half in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was back to bad football before the fourth quarter for the Browns.
The fourth-quarter magic was missing: Even after everything that had gone wrong, the Browns entered the fourth quarter trailing just 7-6, setting them up for their fourth consecutive comeback victory.
It wasn’t to be, though, as after a New York field goal pushed the lead to four points, Watson hit Bond with a 30-yard reception to move into New York territory. From there, it was a comedy of errors as the Browns finished the possession:
- Illegal formation
- Sack
- Delay of game
- Incompletion
- Sack
- Punt
The Browns blew an opportunity after recovering the fumble before turning the ball over on the bad punt snap, but still had two possessions while trailing by five points. The first ended in a three-and-out that gained two yards, and the final one ended with the eighth sack of Watson on the day.
Minkah Fitzpatrick is the worst: On Cleveland’s second possession of the game, New York safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was called for a facemask penalty after violently ripping off KC Concepcion’s helmet. Then, just four plays later, Fitzpatrick harkened back to his Pittsburgh days and delivered a violent cheap shot to Concepcion’s head that knocked the receiver out of the game.
Why the NFL puts up with this is anyone’s guess.
OK, so the loss drops the Browns to 3-2, but they could still find themselves in a four-way tie for first place if Baltimore loses tonight to Atlanta.
Let’s turn it over to you, Browns fans. Who were your winners and losers from today? Fire away in the comments!
