Cleveland Browns Week 18 studs and duds: Jarvis Landry ends season on high note
By Randy Gurzi
Cleveland Browns stud: D’Ernest Johnson, RB
Time and again during the 2021 campaign, D’Ernest Johnson proved that he belongs in the NFL.
A former AAF player who wasn’t drafted in the NFL, Johnson got a shot with the Browns in 2019. He played sparingly that season and got a few more shots in 2019 — and always impressed. This season, he ended up playing in all 17 games and really provided a spark when called upon.
Sunday was another example of that as Johnson ran for more than 100 yards and a touchdown in the finale. He’s set for free agency in the offseason and whether it’s in Cleveland or somewhere else, he’s bound to get a nice pay raise for the coming season.
Cleveland Browns dud: Case Keenum, QB
It was his second start of the season as Baker Mayfield was placed on the IR, and overall, Case Keenum did a solid job for Cleveland in Week 18 but it wasn’t all pretty. Late in the second quarter with a chance to make it a three-score lead before the half, he had a pretty big gaffe.
Facing pressure, he tried to run outside of the pocket and once he got in trouble, he elected not to protect the ball and take the sack. Instead, he tried to throw the ball and was hit, fumbling it away.
Trayvon Henderson ended up scooping up the ball and running it in for a 29-yard touchdown. That allowed the Bengals to get back into the game when Cleveland had been in full control before then.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he then ended the first half by throwing an ugly pick in the end zone on the very next drive. That one might have been more on tight end Harrison Bryant who ran a different route than Keenum expected but the quarterback still had two turnovers on back-to-back drives.