Cleveland Browns: High-priced receivers pay off in Week 10

Rashard Higgins is going to get a lot of credit for the Cleveland Browns win over Buffalo. While this praise is absolutely warranted, it’s also worth mentioning just how much the Browns got out of their pricier wide receiver tandem.

Without question, the star of the Cleveland Browns Week 10 win over the Buffalo Bills was wide receiver Rashard Higgins. The offense rolled out the red carpet for Higgins after a crucial touchdown catch from Baker Mayfield late in the fourth quarter, which would propel Cleveland to their 19-16 win at home.

Higgins deserves all the credit he’s getting for this one. He ran his route beautifully, and in his own words, “juked the defender out of his shoes” before celebrating his first touchdown of the regular season. But, if we rewind a bit, and zoom out to the scope of the entire game, the stars of the passing game lived up to their hefty contracts against the Bills.

The dynamic duo of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. has struggled to get on the same page as Baker Mayfield this season. The offense as a whole struggled through the first half of the year, and Cleveland’s high-priced receivers drew much of the criticism outside of Mayfield and head coach Freddie Kitchens. In Week 10, both Landry and Beckham made themselves at home inside FirstEnergy Stadium.

Beckham Jr. was involved in the game early, snagging five passes for 57 yards. But, it was on plays that wouldn’t even count where the NFL’s resident rockstar truly shined. By drawing two pass interference penalties from the Bills on the same drive, Beckham kept hope alive for Cleveland while they struggled to punch the football in from the red zone. But even with Beckham’s solid performance, the star of Week 10 was Jarvis Landry.

Landry’s nine catches for 97 yards, combined with Cleveland’s stellar running game, allowed the Browns to keep defenses guessing all game long. Two of his most important catches came at the very beginning and end of Week 10’s contest.

Landry would pull in Mayfield’s first touchdown pass on the day, an over-the-shoulder dime of a throw that put Landry in exactly the right position to make the catch. His second, and perhaps most important catch, came in the closing moments of the contest.

Driving in to score down four late to the Bills, Mayfield ripped a pass to lead Landry to the left side of the field.

Landry, of course, would make a terrific catch to set up Mayfield’s touchdown throw to Higgins. And the rest, they say, was history.

Landry and Beckham may have struggled in the earlier parts of the season, but the Browns do not win in Week 10 without their efforts.

It’s nice to see the high-priced receivers the Browns have gathered in the past two offseason really pay off for the Dawg Pound, even if it has come a bit later than expected.