The Cleveland Browns beat the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, thanks to Amari Cooper's record-breaking day and Joe Flacco's second straight incredible performance.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
00:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:06 Well, hey, everybody, and Merry Christmas.
00:12 Welcome to our Browns Digest coverage here.
00:15 Browns Digest, part of the Sports Illustrated Media Group.
00:18 And the Browns certainly delivered a Christmas present
00:20 to Northeast Ohio today.
00:22 A pretty impressive win in an interesting climate
00:27 down in Houston.
00:28 They figured out a way to get out to an early lead.
00:30 The defense played well.
00:32 The offense played great.
00:34 And then things maybe got a little bit wonky
00:36 there toward the end of the game,
00:37 but ultimately hung on for an impressive two touchdown win.
00:41 Spencer, the kind of day the Browns fans are never
00:44 going to forget because Amari Cooper, probably
00:46 the biggest spotlight here, he broke the all-time Browns
00:49 single game receiving record with 265 yards.
00:53 He was pretty darn good today.
00:55 Yeah, I mean, the guys, as advertised, right?
00:58 I mean, he's so impressive.
00:59 I honestly sometimes feel like because he's
01:02 not one of these boisterous, kind of in-your-face receivers
01:05 like we like to see-- we see a lot of around the league,
01:08 like the Odo Beckham Juniors like we used to see here
01:09 in Cleveland, he doesn't necessarily
01:11 get the attention and love that he probably
01:13 deserves as being one of these top receivers in the NFL.
01:16 But the guy is legit, man.
01:18 He had a day today.
01:20 Joe Flacco had a day today throwing the ball to him
01:23 and David Njoku and others.
01:25 It's just-- it's crazy.
01:27 The run game put up 54 yards.
01:28 And it was another game where you're looking like, man,
01:31 where has this run game been?
01:32 But it just hasn't mattered.
01:34 Like, the connection between Flacco and Amari and Flacco
01:37 and Njoku, they just continue to produce wins.
01:40 And they're one step closer now to clinching that playoff
01:43 berth, which kind of sets the stage for Thursday night
01:45 for that to get done.
01:47 And look, I know a lot of people in the Houston area
01:50 are feeling like, ah, maybe it wouldn't
01:52 have gone quite that way if we weren't missing a few key guys
01:54 on defense.
01:55 And I understand that.
01:57 The Browns probably were able to take advantage of some backups
02:00 playing for the Houston Texans.
02:02 But let's not be toned after the fact
02:04 that the Browns have more guys on injured reserve
02:07 than anybody else in the league.
02:09 It's almost $60 million worth of players
02:11 that are on IR this season.
02:13 And here we are.
02:15 It's week 16.
02:17 You've got a Cleveland team that leads the NFL in most turnovers
02:22 and in most points allowed off of those turnovers, which
02:26 should indicate a team that's struggling.
02:28 And yet in so many other metrics,
02:30 the Browns have been terrific, including
02:32 the way they forced those mistakes
02:34 and capitalized on them.
02:35 The defense has been terrific.
02:37 And Joe Flacco is taking this city by storm.
02:41 I mean, this has got to be one of the best stories in football
02:44 right now, Brennan, going.
02:45 Just the fact that this guy a couple of weeks
02:47 ago was sitting on the couch and playing catch
02:50 with his sons in the backyard to kind of keep himself in shape
02:54 just in case somebody called.
02:56 And he gets that call.
02:57 It's the Browns.
02:58 He shows up.
02:59 And he has another game now, 300 yards passing, 368 yards,
03:04 which is up there.
03:05 Last week was, I think, his seventh best performance
03:08 as a quarterback in terms of yardage.
03:10 I think this one's now, I think, top five all time in his career.
03:14 I have no idea where this Joe Flacco came from.
03:17 I don't know how he turned back the clock this way.
03:19 Maybe it was because he was sitting on the couch
03:22 and he had kind of 11 weeks to just kind of be fresh
03:24 and not have to throw the football at all.
03:26 But whatever it is, I mean, Cleveland fans
03:28 have got to be loving this.
03:30 Like you said, Christmas come early a little bit here
03:32 on Christmas Eve with the win.
03:34 Just a tremendous story.
03:35 It's been fun to follow.
03:37 It's obviously been fun for us to cover it on the site,
03:39 BrownsDigest.com.
03:40 And you just kind of are waiting to see
03:45 how far this thing can actually go with him under center.
03:48 It's been remarkable for sure.
03:50 I mean, it'll make a believer out of you, won't it?
03:52 There are so many reasons why you should say,
03:55 it's not going to happen this year.
03:57 And yet, over and over and over and over again,
04:00 that faith is reignited because this team keeps
04:03 finding ways to do it.
04:05 Whether it's the defensive line one game or Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoa
04:09 having another good performance at an interception on a tipped
04:12 pass today, or Flacco, frankly, throwing dimes like today,
04:17 maybe more than ever before.
04:19 Today, he looked like the quarterback that
04:22 is leading a 10 and 5 team.
04:24 The touch on the pass to Njoku for the touchdown,
04:28 the long throws to Cooper, a couple of them
04:31 right on the money.
04:33 Things look like they're clicking.
04:35 And technically, while they didn't clinch a playoff berth
04:38 today because of Pittsburgh and Buffalo winning,
04:42 it's a 99.2% chance that the Browns are going to the playoffs.
04:45 They're already at 10 wins with two games to go.
04:49 It's a virtual lock at this point.
04:50 It's more a matter of who you're going to play
04:52 and where you're going to go if you don't end up
04:55 winning the division.
04:56 So yeah, I mean, this has been a pretty magical run.
04:59 And every time you think maybe the bottom's
05:02 going to fall out somewhere along the way,
05:03 they give you a reason to remember
05:05 that you just got to go play who you're
05:07 playing that given week.
05:08 And it kind of felt like that last week, right?
05:10 Like Flacco struggled against the Bears.
05:12 He didn't look like himself.
05:13 It was like, OK, the magic's wearing off.
05:16 This run's kind of coming to an end.
05:17 And then he pulls out that fourth quarter last week.
05:20 He continues it this week.
05:21 He had the two interceptions today,
05:22 but really they both happened towards the end
05:26 of that second quarter.
05:27 You knew Dustin Hopkins was out.
05:29 And it was one of those deals where, eh,
05:31 we don't have a kicker.
05:32 They were just kind of-- he was throwing it up,
05:33 kind of taking a shot.
05:34 So you don't really blame him for it.
05:37 It's-- you're right.
05:39 Like, it's kind of just the mathematics
05:41 of where are you going to be, seating-wise,
05:43 where are you going to end up playing.
05:45 But there's no reason for me not to approach the playoff
05:48 potential here of this team as, listen,
05:51 they could-- they're as scary as anybody.
05:53 And in an AFC that also feels like it's wide open,
05:55 I'm not--
05:56 I don't look around this AFC thinking, man,
05:58 all these teams are juggernauts.
06:00 And the ones that are near the top of the conference,
06:02 the Browns have beaten the Ravens.
06:03 The Browns have beaten the Jaguars.
06:05 They've beaten some of these other teams
06:06 that are kind of in this mix for the AFC playoffs.
06:08 Like, they could go in and truly,
06:11 because of the play of Joe Flacco,
06:12 beat anybody on this potential schedule
06:15 that you'd see in the postseason.
06:17 Yeah, I mean, look, the Bills are playing better,
06:18 but the Dolphins don't look unbeatable.
06:20 No.
06:20 They're hanging in there with Dallas right now
06:23 as we record this.
06:25 And Kansas City doesn't look like Kansas City of old.
06:29 Now, I wouldn't count them out in the playoffs.
06:31 When you've got Patrick Mahomes, you've always got a shot.
06:33 But yeah, I mean, there's no reason why
06:34 this team can't make a deep run.
06:36 I mean, it sounds ridiculous to say it, but it's not.
06:41 Like, the Super Bowl is not an outrageous thing for this team.
06:45 You've got to go do it, but it is very realistic.
06:47 I mean, and you talk about quarterback play mattering
06:49 so much in this league.
06:50 Like, to get what they're getting now to Flacco
06:52 is, I think, what's most impressive.
06:54 Because nobody saw that.
06:54 I mean, nobody expected this.
06:55 When they signed Flacco, it was like, OK, we're just
06:58 trying to kind of fill the void here.
06:59 We'll see what happens.
07:00 And he's been-- I mean, he truly has turned back the clock.
07:03 And that's why I think the goal when they signed him was,
07:07 all right, let's just sort of stumble our way to the playoffs
07:10 and just make the season feel successful.
07:12 Now, because of how he's playing,
07:14 you feel like you have a legitimate chance with him
07:16 and the defense and the way the defense played today.
07:18 I mean, we talked-- there was a lot of talk about just how bad
07:20 this defense has been on the road recently in terms of giving
07:23 up 30-plus points a game.
07:25 They really sealed-- quieted a lot of that noise today.
07:28 They played really, really well.
07:29 I know they scored some late touch--
07:30 the Texans scored some late touchdowns.
07:32 But by then, the game was already in hand.
07:34 So with that defense, with Flacco playing the way he is,
07:37 I don't see why this team can't go far.
07:39 And I also think, too, the credit
07:42 has to be just-- every week.
07:44 It sounds like a broken record.
07:46 But you got to just keep keeping a lot of credit
07:48 on Kevin Stefanski for keeping this team together.
07:50 I mean, the sheer number of injuries they've dealt with,
07:53 and for them to kind of--
07:54 for them to still be in the place that they're in,
07:56 10 wins on the season, they just keep finding a way.
07:58 It's one of the more remarkable coaching performances
08:01 I think I can think of in recent history.
08:03 Yeah, it is completely remarkable what he's done.
08:07 We'll just close with this.
08:08 Fingers crossed that Dustin Hopkins and Corey Bohorkes
08:10 are both OK.
08:11 Because that would be a blow that I'd
08:15 have a hard time thinking how they're
08:16 going to get through it.
08:17 They'd have to figure out another way
08:20 to bring in another--
08:21 Bring back Cage, you heard?
08:22 Just kidding.
08:23 Just kidding.
08:23 [LAUGHTER]
08:26 Get Dustin Hopkins healthy, and let that not be a concern here
08:30 moving forward.
08:31 Let's cross our fingers for that.
08:32 Yeah, real quick anecdote here, too.
08:34 Because in the locker room on Friday, I had a chance--
08:37 I talked to Dustin.
08:39 And I was over there with Darrell Ryder of 92
08:41 to the fan.
08:41 And Darrell basically threw at him and said,
08:44 hey, you're closing in on a legend.
08:48 And he cut him off.
08:49 He completely cut him off.
08:50 He was like, I don't want to hear it.
08:51 I don't want to talk about it.
08:52 So I'm not saying anybody jinxed him.
08:54 But us maybe approaching him, trying
08:57 to ask him questions about passing the great Jim Brown
09:00 in terms of scoring in a season.
09:01 Let's hope that he still is able to get there and he's OK.
09:05 Yeah, fingers crossed for sure.
09:07 For Spencer German, I'm Brendan Gulick.
09:08 We got you covered.
09:09 All the latest news and info on the Browns 10 and 5
09:12 after 15 games.
09:14 You got a chance to clinch a playoff spot Thursday
09:16 against the Jets.
09:17 We'll see you there at Browns Digest.
09:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]