Cleveland Traveled to Indianapolis and outlasted the Colts 39-38 on Sunday. Myles Garrett had a career day to lead the Browns to victory. We give our thoughts immediately following the Browns win.
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00:10 >> It's a victory Sunday for the Cleveland Browns, 39-38 and
00:14 one of the most dramatic endings that you probably could imagine for an NFL game.
00:20 Cleveland looked like they were gonna run away with the game early and
00:22 then there were some moments where you just figured out there's no way that
00:25 the Browns are gonna hang on or even come back when they trailed.
00:29 They kept scratching and clawing and gave themselves a chance late.
00:33 And on fourth and goal from the one yard line, Kareem Hunt punches it in just
00:37 barely, getting the nose of the football across the plane.
00:40 The Browns defense holds up for the final 15 seconds and
00:44 Cleveland stuns Indianapolis, 39-38.
00:48 Brendan Gulick and Anthony Meglin with you from Lucas Oil Stadium,
00:52 with a very happy Cleveland Browns team heading out of the locker room to go get
00:56 on an airplane and come home with back to back wins.
00:59 Anthony, back to back wins, that's something we haven't said a lot
01:02 the last couple years.
01:03 This team hasn't been able to get that done very often.
01:06 It wasn't pretty for a lot of the game today.
01:08 This game was nuts, but ultimately it was enough and they got it done.
01:12 >> I was gonna say this is what we call a win streak.
01:15 This feels good.
01:16 This is two in a row that the Browns come out victorious.
01:19 I mean, at the end of the day, you have more points than the other team and
01:22 that's really all that matters.
01:24 That game was such a roller coaster up and down and we're gonna run away with it.
01:29 The Colts are gonna run away with it.
01:30 I'd rather have the defense out there to score points opposed to the offense.
01:34 There was so much that happened throughout the game, but
01:37 you just commend that team for the fight that they had.
01:40 How many times, and we said the same thing last week, but how many times does
01:44 a Browns team get down like that or get punched back in the mouth and just fold?
01:50 Or how many times do they have to go on a final drive and it ends poorly?
01:54 It just was impressive that they just step in it, continue to fight,
01:57 continue to battle, and at the end of the when the clock struck triple zeros,
02:01 they had more points than the Colts, man, and you move the four and two.
02:04 And that's all that really matters.
02:06 >> A game that will be remembered for so many reasons.
02:08 First and foremost, Miles Garrett played like he was a little kid and
02:13 just the unadulterated pure joy that he exuded
02:18 in a performance that was legendary.
02:21 A couple of sacks, couple of forced fumbles,
02:24 an incredible blocked field goal that when I just got out of the postgame press
02:28 conference and he was asked about, hey, is it difficult to leap over a lineman like
02:34 that and not touch him, and Miles who walked into the press conference with his
02:38 music blaring, all this swag, love in life, he goes, well, not if you're me.
02:43 The unbelievable aura of confidence around that guy right now is just,
02:51 it's magnetic, it's so contagious.
02:53 And I think you could certainly argue that he single-handedly lifted this team
02:58 to victory, especially when things started to go south there in the second and
03:03 third quarters.
03:04 >> Yeah, today was a day that in hopefully 10 and
03:06 15 years when he's walking across the stage in Canton,
03:10 it's gonna be blown up on the big screen.
03:12 Like on October 22nd of 2023, he did this, this, this, and
03:16 this all in the first half of a game.
03:18 It was spectacular, you just never seen anything like it.
03:25 The jumping over somebody from a four-point stance, I mean,
03:27 he looked like a jaguar, like was in his four-point stance and
03:29 then leaped over a human being who's not small,
03:32 like offensive linemen aren't very small.
03:34 And then he full stretched out, almost caught the kick, and
03:37 then he's just an incredible freak athlete.
03:40 And having him on display today was special.
03:43 Beyond the fact they needed every single bit of that to win the football game,
03:47 it just was like really, really, really impressive that when the team needed him
03:51 most, he just took over a football game.
03:54 And it was really cool to watch and witness.
03:57 You got to witness it firsthand, but just watching on TV was unbelievable.
04:01 >> And I don't laugh or smirk to make light of it.
04:04 It's one of those days where you know you'll never forget,
04:09 hey, I was there when, and in this case, when I saw 95 play like he did today.
04:15 He is, I know the Browns have a franchise player in their franchise quarterback.
04:22 To me, Miles Garrett's the face of this team.
04:25 He is the guy, and this is not disparaging of Deshaun.
04:30 Miles Garrett is the guy that I think this team rallies around, his personality,
04:33 his swag, his confidence.
04:36 When he is out there making plays, they know they are really tough to beat.
04:41 And even on a day where Gardner Minshew goes out and
04:44 balls out and throws for 300 yards.
04:47 And puts up 500 yards almost of offense against a Browns team that came in as
04:52 the number one defensive team in the league and
04:54 today allowed five touchdowns and a field goal.
04:58 >> It was incredible and beyond the fact that there's games when you're like, okay,
05:01 the defense needs to win this game.
05:03 And that was like today, but then you look back at the defense and
05:06 you're like your secondary is kind of struggling.
05:07 Not that they were struggling.
05:09 I think Shane Steichen, and we'll probably get into this at some point.
05:13 He's an elite play caller and he had that secondary scheme all the way up.
05:17 It was really impressive from their perspective.
05:19 But when you look at the defense, you're like, okay,
05:21 not only does the defense have to win the game.
05:23 But the defensive line has to win the game.
05:25 It got boiled down to that level and Miles Garrett answered the call.
05:29 It was just like, holy cow, it was unbelievable to watch.
05:33 >> We'll talk real quick on the offensive side.
05:35 A full team win for sure.
05:39 Obviously, Deshaun Watson starts the game.
05:41 That's the major storyline coming in.
05:44 Some weird stuff.
05:45 He gets hit.
05:48 Obviously, he's been dealing with an injured shoulder.
05:50 He's laying on the ground.
05:51 He's clearly uncomfortable, okay?
05:54 Comes off the field and we find out post game that Deshaun didn't know
06:00 that he was actually gonna be evaluated for a concussion.
06:04 Because somebody had buzzed down from up top and said, hey,
06:06 his head snapped back, hit the turf, check him for a concussion.
06:09 He never felt like he was gonna, he said he essentially felt fine, but
06:14 that he felt the pain in his shoulder at that point.
06:17 Well, Kevin Stefanski said, hey, look, he cleared concussion protocol.
06:20 It was my decision as the head coach to just say, look,
06:23 I'm gonna protect our franchise quarterback.
06:25 And that was that.
06:26 So Deshaun never even picked up a football again to even try to throw a pass and
06:30 see if he could put it together again.
06:33 So there were a lot of moments during the game where as a fan and
06:38 as a media member, you're left in the dark a little bit because it was just
06:41 ultimately a coach's decision to take him out of the game.
06:44 If the Browns would have lost,
06:47 I think there would have been a whole lot more noise around, well,
06:51 why was that the case?
06:52 Because Kevin said post game,
06:54 if PJ got hurt with Dorian Thompson Robinson inactive, he said I would have
06:58 because I felt comfortable with it and I would have had to put Deshaun back in
07:02 the game, but he said it was PJ Walker's team today.
07:05 And Walker went out and certainly had some frustrating moments, no doubt, but
07:09 he also made enough plays to guide this team down the field.
07:12 And thanks to maybe a couple defensive penalties late,
07:15 they were able to get it done.
07:17 >> Yeah, you just feel really happy for PJ Walker.
07:21 I wanna start there.
07:22 I think, let's just listen in to him talk the past two weeks after the games and
07:27 seeing what he's had to kind of go through for this team.
07:30 I think he's just a really impressive man and impressive person.
07:33 And isn't the best quarterback, but he's like gets the job done and
07:37 he does enough.
07:38 Today, outside of the one interception that was pretty much a punt,
07:43 it actually was a fine play, honestly.
07:45 It was third and 12 and he just chucks it up and you get either a pass interference,
07:48 a touchdown or an interception that lands at the one.
07:51 Actually turned out to be pretty smart, but
07:53 the ball is protected for the most part, got some help on that last drive.
07:56 So he did his job today.
07:57 Would love to see him start to pick up, if he's gonna have to keep playing,
08:01 like you gotta complete some more passes and be a little bit more efficient.
08:04 But just impressed by how he stepped in and
08:06 the whole Deshaun thing today was very odd.
08:09 Just kind of how you said, especially Kevin's comments afterwards or
08:12 Coach Stefanski's comments afterwards, saying that next week he's our starter.
08:17 You're like, wait a second, how?
08:20 How did we get there already?
08:22 But that's encouraging to hear for sure, but
08:26 it just makes you wonder what was going on.
08:28 Maybe he watched the first two drives and thought,
08:31 Deshaun does not have it today at all.
08:33 Wasn't seeing it, you think of that first pass to the running back was three yards
08:36 behind him and then the interception, then the next interception.
08:39 Hey, maybe he's not ready and we'll just use this to, we're gonna put him out and
08:43 get him a week of practice before, but very, very odd.
08:46 >> I mean, that's the weirdest part about it because it was like,
08:50 you asked Deshaun post game about the slow start.
08:52 He clapped back and said, it's like that wasn't a slow start.
08:55 I played two series, I got hurt and I was taken out of the game.
08:59 He was dismissive of the question, it was four quarters.
09:02 I think anybody watching was like, okay, well, some misses early.
09:06 It called a slow start, call it whatever you want, it wasn't great, right?
09:10 And then on the flip side, when Kevin Stefanski acknowledged post game,
09:13 he's like, look, Deshaun's our starter, he's gonna play next week, so on and so
09:16 forth.
09:17 Well, Deshaun was asked, hey, if the shoulder's bothering you and
09:20 you didn't go back in the game, are you gonna have imaging tomorrow?
09:24 I don't really know.
09:26 How do you feel?
09:27 I don't really know, I guess fine.
09:28 Are you gonna start next week?
09:31 He goes, I'm not really sure.
09:33 So there is some weird disconnect that I think in some ways is really simple, right?
09:40 I don't blame Kevin Stefanski at all, I think he was being honest.
09:43 If he didn't think Deshaun was 100% healthy, and
09:46 he got off to a start that wasn't great, called a slow start, called something else.
09:50 He felt like the best thing to do was to give PJ Walker a chance to go out and
09:53 win the game.
09:54 That's Kevin Stefanski's job, I have no problem with that at all.
09:57 But I can understand where there's some level of like, well, is he healthy?
10:01 Is he not healthy?
10:02 Couple weeks ago was medically cleared to play but not functionally ready.
10:05 Today looked like he could let it rip a little bit.
10:07 The interception that he threw up the far sideline was on the run and
10:10 it was a pretty hardly throw ball.
10:12 I don't know, so it's just, there's an element of this that just feels weird.
10:18 >> Yeah, it just doesn't feel right.
10:20 And even to that interception, they cut it back.
10:22 I'm not sure if you were able to see it.
10:24 But then they came back from commercial and we played it.
10:26 It honestly was a great play by the safety.
10:29 Like Marquise Goodwin kind of got behind the defense and
10:31 felt like there should be nobody there and he threw it.
10:34 And the guy just made like a really good play.
10:36 The second one where he ended up ruling incomplete,
10:39 that was super questionable.
10:40 But it doesn't matter, none of that at the end of the day matters.
10:43 It's gonna be the conversation here for the next week, for sure, as it should be.
10:49 But it's just like you said, there's a disconnect somewhere and it just, again,
10:53 for another week's gonna feel super weird and very odd.
10:56 >> All right, I'll tell you one more thing here that is probably not gonna get nearly
11:00 enough attention in this game in particular.
11:03 But everybody wants to talk about Dustin Hopkins.
11:07 He had four field goals, he had three extra points.
11:10 He was terrific today, including field goals from 54-54.
11:13 And then the bomb from 58 that would have been good from at least another five or
11:17 six yards.
11:18 But for as well as he played, I wanna credit the special teams as a whole,
11:23 because I thought Bohorquez was terrific today.
11:26 He hit one inside the 20, had a long of 69 yards, and his five punts averaged 54.4.
11:33 It's weird to say that this was a game that really felt field position centric,
11:37 because it was such a high scoring game, right?
11:40 The game we all expected, Gardner, Minshew, and
11:42 PJ Walker to put up a game that had almost 80 points, right?
11:47 Nobody thought that, and yet, field position matters so much in this game.
11:52 And I thought Bohorquez in particular and the punt coverage team was great.
11:55 >> He was fantastic, and I love that you shouted that out,
11:58 because he's not gonna get talked about enough.
12:01 And I think as the weeks go on, he's stacked now two good games.
12:05 You think back to 49ers last week, that was your quintessential field position
12:10 battle where you're pinning guys deep, and he was spectacular there.
12:13 And then today he was awesome.
12:15 There were some times there in the second half that flipping the field was huge.
12:18 And yeah, you make a great call out there, him and that whole punt coverage team.
12:22 I think Pierre Strong almost made the play of the day.
12:26 The guy hits the punt return and he fumbles and it just bounces right back to him.
12:30 That would have been incredible, but yeah, Bohorquez was fantastic today.
12:34 >> Best news of the day, other than the win, Denzel Ward does not have a concussion.
12:40 So that's great news because the Browns
12:43 really don't seem like they can afford to lose him in the secondary.
12:47 Jerome Ford dealing with an ankle injury, he had 11 carries today for 74 yards.
12:52 Obviously 69 of those came on one touchdown.
12:54 The Browns didn't run it all that well as a team,
12:57 with the exception of that really long run at the outset.
13:00 Walker's final numbers 15 of 32 for a buck 78 and a pick.
13:04 Deshaun Watson was one of five for five yards and an interception.
13:09 Gardner Minshew finished the day 15 of 23 for 305, two touchdowns and an interception.
13:14 But the Browns get it done 39 38 in improbable fashion for sure.
13:19 Certainly a game that didn't lack any drama came down to the final minute.
13:22 The final drive, a couple of penalties that Browns fans loved and Colts fans hated.
13:27 But the ultimate answer is that the Browns stack wins for
13:30 the first time here this season.
13:32 They're now four and two on the campaign, and
13:34 they are getting ready to travel to Seattle next weekend.
13:37 For all the latest news and info on the Cleveland Browns,
13:39 make sure to check out brownsdigest.com and please subscribe to this YouTube
13:43 channel.
13:44 Anthony Meglin, I'm Brendan Gulick.
13:46 Good night from Indianapolis where Cleveland wins a second straight game 39 38.
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