Jameis Winston threw for 668 yards and six touchdowns on Monday night. Unfortunately for the Browns, 171 of those yards and two of the touchdowns were interception returns by the Broncos in Denver’s 42-31 win.
Winston still threw four touchdowns and recorded a franchise-record 497 passing yards. And before Ja’Quan McMillian returned Winston’s third interception 44 yards for a touchdown with 1:48 remaining, the verdict was in doubt.
“In times like this, it’s an opportunity to continue to glorify the Lord even through the toughest circumstances,” Winston said. “I know I’m better than this. I know. I’m just like praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick-sixes. Like that’s just, that’s not me. Like, phenomenal game, offenses do some great things, but I mess it up.”
His accountability was admirable but the intended receiver on the fateful interception, Elijah Moore, may have kept Cleveland in the game simply by touching McMillian while he laid on his back. Moore had eight catches for 111 yards but he felt terribly after the game.
“I got to have better awareness,” Moore said, per Cleveland.com. “What happened was when he jumped up and got it, I didn’t know if my hand touched him. So that was what had me, like, ‘Did I touch him, did I not?’ And then my coach is like, ‘Touch him again.’ So, it was just — I got to do a better job.”
Moore and Jerry Jeudy became the first pair of Browns wide receivers to each surpass 100 yards in the same game since Andre Davis and Quincy Morgan in 2003. Like Winston, Jeudy had a career night with nine catches for 235 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown. It was the most receiving yards by an NFL player against his former team.
And while Denver’s defense allowed its most total yards (552) since a 70-20 loss at Miami on Sept. 24, 2023, the Broncos’ three interceptions were the obvious difference. Linebacker Nik Bonitto also returned an interception for a touchdown, a 71-yard score late in the first half.
Bonitto also had a sack and enters Week 14 second in the NFL with 11 sacks. A key reason the Broncos (8-5) are well on their way to their first playoff berth since winning the Super Bowl in 2015, Bonitto is now a legitimate candidate for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Another award candidate, quarterback Bo Nix, was 18 of 35 for 294 yards with two interceptions, his most since he also had two in the second week of the year. The rookie’s best play of the night was a perfectly placed, 93-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims.
The Broncos also had a pair of 100-yard receivers, Mims (three catches, 105 yards) and Courtland Sutton (six for 102).
Denver will now emerge from its Week 14 bye with a solid opportunity to clinch a playoff berth, according to Pro Football Network. The Broncos do have a challenge after their bye, with a Week 15 home game against Indianapolis followed by a Thursday night road trip to play the Chargers in Week 16.
For more information on the Broncos and Browns, visit the Denver and Cleveland team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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