Cleveland Browns instant reactions: Defense shines in Week 11 victory

The Cleveland Browns defense led the way to a Week 11 win

The Cleveland Browns won for the second time in as many weeks as they knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 22-17. It was the third-straight home game for the Browns, and it was also the third game in a row with some terrible weather they had to deal with.

Rain throughout the day made the field a mess but the good news was, the wind wasn’t crazy the way we saw it in their last two home games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans.

That helped them move the ball better through the air as Baker Mayfield had a methodical 204 yards on 12-of-22 passing. He did have one turnover, as he was strip-sacked by Fletcher Cox, but outside of that played another solid game.

On the ground, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt shook off a slow start to lead the way on the ground. After recording fewer than 20 yards rushing in the first half, they ended up turning things around thanks in large part to a 54-yard run by Chubb — who finished with 114 on 20 carries. Hunt added a touchdown shortly after the play, which made up for a game that saw him with just 11 yards on the ground.

Defense stands out

While Chubb and Hunt made the highlight runs, it was once again the defense that made things work for the Browns. They forced three turnovers including a pick-six from Sione Takitaki and another interception from Denzel Ward.

However, it could have been worse on Philly as they had another interception overturned and there were two dropped passes that could have been interceptions as well. On top of the turnovers, they sacked Wentz five times.

Olivier Vernon was the leader in this department as he helped the Browns cope with the loss of Myles Garrett who is on the COVID reserve list. Vernon finished with three sacks, one of which was a safety.

Cleveland is now 7-3 and has a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on the schedule coming up.