The Cleveland Browns played their best game of the season in Week 7, as they improved to 2-5 with a 31-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The game was played in the rain, and featured a mixture of nice
runs by RB Quinshon Judkins, timely turnovers forced by the defense, beneficial officiating calls early on, and Miami being a terrible football team. Let’s get to the full game recap.
1st Quarter – Browns vs. Dolphins
The Browns received the opening kickoff with the rain falling, and after QB Dillon Gabriel bootlegged for a 6-yard run on the first play, their next two runs by RB Quinshon Judkins and RB Jerome Ford were stuffed for no gains. Cleveland punted, but the ball went to the end zone for a touchback — although a holding penalty by Miami brought the back a little.
Miami converted a 3rd-and-3 situation with a wheel route pass from QB Tua Tagovailoa to WR Malik Washington for 14 yards, but then faced a 3rd-and-15 on the next third down situation, a quick pass went for a loss and led to a punt. WR Gage Larvadain returned the punt to the Browns’ 31 yard line to begin their second drive.
The Browns’ second drive faced a 3rd-and-9 situation right away, and then a false start by RT Cornelius Lucas, who is making the start for RT Jack Conklin, had a false start to push it to 3rd-and-14. The offense was bailed out by an illegal contact penalty on the defense to give the Browns a fresh set of downs. Right after that, the pitch to Judkins went for a loss of 6 yards. On 2nd-and-16, Gabriel let a pass rip to WR Jerry Jeudy that looked like it was intercepted, but somehow the defender missed it and Jeudy was able to pick up 16 yards and a first down toward midfield.
The Browns got the benefit of another ticky tack call off of a roughing the passer penalty called on Miami, moving the ball to the Dolphins’ 40 yard line. After a 5-yard run by Judkins, Judkins got the next carry and bounced it to the outside for a gain of 17 yards to the 17 yard line.
Two more runs set up a 3rd-and-5, but Gabriel’s pass was thrown into the ground as Jeudy fell down from contact and Gabriel missed seeing his running back open. K Andre Szmyt came on and hit a 30-yard field goal to give Cleveland the 3-0 lead.
The Dolphins began the next drive with a 46-yard run by RB De’Von Achane down to the 32 yard line, as CB Tyson Campbell chased him down from behind. That was followed by a playaction pass that went for another first down to the Browns’ 17 yard line.
2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Dolphins
The Browns’ defense was able to come up with a stop and force a field goal by Miami to begin the second quarter, tying the game at 3-3.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cleveland began at the 17 yard line after RB Dylan Sampson muffed the initial catch. A 17-yard catch-and-run on a short screen to WR Malachi Corley gained 17 yards. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-6, Gabriel looked downfield for TE Harold Fannin, but the pass was overthrown and intercepted. However, the Browns got yet another beneficial call from the officials, as the defense was flagged for pass interference. One play later, Judkins made them pay as he broke free up the left side for a 46-yard touchdown run to give the Browns a 10-3 lead:
Cleveland’s momentum didn’t stop there. Miami fumbled on the kickoff, with S Grant Delpit punching it out and S Rayshawn Jenkins recovering at the Dolphins’ 46 yard line. After a 12-yard pass to Hannin, Miami was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness after the shoved Gabriel to the ground after he had already handed the ball off. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-8 at the 12 yard line, a screen pass to Ford got 8 yards and a first down.
On the next two plays, Gabriel came off the field and Judkins lined up at Wildcat. He gained 1 yard on the first try, and on the second try, despite bobbling the catch of the snap, he recovered, spun, and punched it in for a touchdown to give the Browns a 17-3 lead.
The Dolphins got a nice kickoff return on their next drive to begin at their own 47 yard line. They struggled to get traction, though, but were bailed out by a 3rd-and-13 illegal contact penalty on the Browns. On the next play, LB Carson Schwesinger darted through the pack to stuff a run for a loss of two yards. Two straight incomplete passes led to a punt, which Larvadain fair caught at the 10 yard line with 4:04 to go in the first half.
This drive didn’t go well for Cleveland. Judkins was stopped for a loss of 2 yards and then no gain, making it 3rd-and-12 at the 8 yard line. Gabriel dropped back to pass on third down, and was nearly hit for a safety before getting back out to the 1 yard line on the sack. P Corey Bojorquez had to get the next punt off quickly, which he did, but Miami returned it to the Browns’ 40 yard line to start their attempt at a three-minute drill.
Miami nearly mucked things up. A false start on first down was followed by Delpit blitzing off the edge and sacking Tua for a loss of 6 yards. On 2nd-and-21, though, Achane had another burst, this time up the right side, for 23 yards to the Browns’ 28 yard line at the two-minute warning. The defense kept up the intensity to hold Miami to a field goal attempt. The field goal was pushed to the left and off the upright, but the Browns were flagged for unnecessary roughness as they knocked the long snapper down. That gave Miami a fresh set of downs.
The Dolphins had a mishandled snap on first down, leading to a loss of 9 yards. A couple plays later, on 3rd-and-13, Tua had an opening up the middle, but the defense stopped him before he could run for a first down. The Dolphins had to settle for a short field goal from 26 yards out to make it a 17-6 game at the half.
3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Dolphins
The start of the second half belonged to Cleveland. Miami got the ball, and on their first play, Tua tried to throw a short pass to his receiver. The pass was high, tipped, and then intercepted by CB Tyson Campbell! He walked the tight rope along the sideline to stay in bounds and then took it 34 yards to the house for a touchdown to extend the Browns’ lead to 24-6.
The Dolphins went three-and-out on their next series, as they turned their aggressiveness up a notch. DE Myles Garrett had a sack on third down to force a punt.
On the punt, the Dolphins were flagged for two penalties, including unnecessary roughness, to start Cleveland’s drive at the Dolphins’ 44 yard line. Cleveland had a golden shot at moving the chains, but after Gabriel found a wide open TE Blake Whiteheart, he just lost the ball while running, and then had to cover up on his own fumble, which prevented a first down. Despite being at the Dolphins’ 38 yard line, Cleveland opted to punt, pinning Miami back at the 8 yard line.
Achane gave Miami some breathing room with an 8-yard run to start the Dolphins’ next drive. A short pass play made it 3rd-and-1. They tried to run it up the gut, but the Browns came up with the stop. On 4th-and-1, Mike McDaniel kept his offense on the field — although he then called a timeout as the play clock went down. They still had the offense on the field after the timeout and went for it at their own 16 yard line. They ran it up the middle again, and just barely got it to keep the drive alive mid-way through the third quarter.
Later in the drive, Cleveland brought a blitz that was picked up, and Tua found an open receiver for 28 yards, into Cleveland territory. The defense came up with the stop after that, though, and on 4th-and-8 from the Browns’ 35 yard line, Miami went for it again. Tua got a pass completed over the middle, but Delpit was ready at the sticks and drilled Washington shy of a first down, for a turnover on downs with 3:13 to go in the quarter.
Gabriel had a nice playaction fake to begin the drive, and it looked like it got completed to WR Jamari Thrash, but the officials ruled it as incomplete. On second down, the quick screen to Sampson got 9 yards, setting up 3rd-and-1. Cleveland gave it to Judkins from the fullback spot, and he got the distance needed to move the chains. A few plays later, to end the quarter, Gabriel found Thrash for a 23-yard catch-and-run.
4th Quarter – Browns vs. Dolphins
A holding penalty stalled the Browns’ next drive, but they still drained some clock and set up a punt that was perfectly downed at the Dolphins’ 5 yard line. The Browns’ defense was aggressive, forcing two run stops for a loss of 2 yards. On third down, Tua tried to throw from his own end zone, and saw a blitz coming from Delpit. He threw the ball erroneously, and then it was picked off by Jenkins and returned to the 2 yard line!
Judkins lined up in Wildcat again and ran it in for a touchdown to put the Browns up 31-6.
After an 11-yard pass by Tua, he was picked off on his next throw as he tried to go up the seam, with S Ronnie Hickman being the benefactor this time. He returned it 16 yards to the Dolphins’ 42 yard line. Cleveland went three-and-out and opted to punt, but this time the ball went to the end zone for a touchback.
QB Quinn Ewers came on for Miami, and his first pass was nearly intercepted by CB Myles Harden. A quick out set up a 3rd-and-12, and Ewers muffed the snap and was sacked immediately on the aborted play. Both teams traded punts, with Cleveland draining more clock. The next Browns punt was downed at the 8 yard line with under four minutes to go.
Inside of two minutes, Ewers got a 40-yard bomb completed up the left sideline, despite tight coverage, to get into Cleveland territory. The drive went no further, including another sack by the Browns on fourth down. A kneeldown after that by Gabriel ended the game.
Quick Hitters
- QB Dillon Gabriel: 13-of-18 for 116 yards.
- RB Quinshon Judkins: 25 carries, 84 yards, 3 TD.
- Cleveland won the turnover battle 4-0.
- This was the first time the Browns scored more than 17 points in a game this season.
- The Browns only had 206 yards of offense, but the defense constantly set them up with short fields, and they protected the ball.
Next up, the Browns are on the road to face the New England Patriots.
