Browns studs and duds Week 8: Nick Chubb is the best in the business

The Bengals will be having nightmares about the way the Cleveland Browns dominated on Halloween night. Here we look at the studs and duds from the huge Week 8 win.

Even though the Cleveland Browns were the underdogs, it wasn’t a huge shock that they beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night. The truth is, they’ve been dominant against them, now sitting at 5-0 under Kevin Stefanski against their in-state rivals.

What was a bit surprising, however, was the way in which they won. A defense that struggled all season turned into a shutdown unit for the first 45 minutes and the offense overcame early mistakes to put on an absolute show.

The final result was a lopsided 32-13 win as Cleveland improved to 3-5, while now boasting a 2-1 record in the AFC North. With that being said, we look back at the win and identify a few studs and duds — with the studs outnumbering the duds due to the solid performance.

Browns studs and duds Week 8

Stud: Sione Takitaki, Linebacker

Easily one of the most underappreciated players on the Cleveland roster, Sione Takitaki is constantly forgotten about on this defense. He made sure that wouldn’t be the case on Monday Night Football as he had a game to remember.

Takitaki made three tackles on the second Cincinnati drive alone — including two in a row where he sniffed out passes to Joe Mixon. First, he hit him for a two-yard gain and then for a two-yard loss on the next play. He then joined Martin Emerson to stuff Samaje Perine for no gain on a second down and 10.

As good as he was on that drive, it was later in the first half when he really stepped up. Takitaki came in on the blitz and blew up Joe Burrow, scoring a strip sack — which was recovered by Tommy Togiai.

Cleveland was unable to convert thanks to a fumble that was lost when Jacoby Brissett was sacked but Takitaki’s play was huge in slowing down this high-powered Bengals’ offense. In all, he had 13 tackles — six of which were solo — as he was all over the field. It was a great night as he stepped up with several starters around him out.

Dud: Mike Priefer, Special Teams Coordinator

There’s been a lot of heat on defensive coordinator Joe Woods this season but he’s not the only coordinator who has struggled. Mike Priefer hasn’t been getting it done as the special teams’ coach and the issues he’s had aren’t unique to this season.

Even focusing on just this year, there have been missed tackles on punt and kick returns, muffed punts, and now two blocked kicks in a row. The first was at the end of their loss to the Ravens when Cade York attempted a 60-yard field goal for the tie. Then the first attempt on Monday, which was from 53 yards out, was also blocked.

While it’s true the players need to execute, the constant issues no matter who lines up has to fall on the coach. And in this case, Priefer has to be running out of excuses.

Stud: Myles Garrett, EDGE

There isn’t a player on this team — or possibly even in the NFL — that enjoys Halloween as much as Myles Garrett does. He’s been known to decorate his house with quarterbacks he’s sacked while also showing up as the Grim Reaper in the past.

This year, he did a Stranger Things theme at his home and showed up to the game dressed as the villain from Season 4, Vecna. He then went on the field and had himself a night.

Garrett caused the interception on the opening drive as he tipped the pass that A.J. Green ended up hauling in. On the following drive, he had a sack on third-and-10 — showing off a sick spin move in the process — forcing Cincinnati to punt on fourth-and-18.

Garrett was credited with another half-sack in the fourth quarter, getting to Burrow at the same time as Taven Bryan. He’s had a fantastic season and continues to climb up the franchise record books with 66 career sacks now.

Dud: Jedrick Wills, Offensive Tackle

The blocked field goal was bad but Cleveland was again in a rough spot thanks to mistakes from the offense. On second and nine, Nick Chubb lost one yard on a carry which wasn’t good. What was worse was the fact that Jedrick Wills was flagged for holding, which was a 10-yard loss.

That pushed the Browns back to the Cincinnati 44 and while they gained nine yards on third-and-19, they had to settle for a long field goal. Perhaps if Wills isn’t flagged they’re kicking from 43 and the ball would come off with a higher trajectory and might not be blocked. Either way, it was another gaffe from Wills, who has been up and down this season.

Stud: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver

Jerry Jones can try and spin it however he wants, but the Dallas Cowboys made a huge mistake when they traded Amari Cooper to the Browns. Of course, Cleveland fans are thrilled he did so, but to act as though this was anything other than highway robbery for Andrew Berry is comical.

Cooper is on pace for a 1,000-yard season with 10 touchdowns — and that’s while playing with a backup quarterback. He had his most yards in a single game on Monday night, hauling in five receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, which is an average of 26.2 yards per catch.

Cooper continues to prove he’s one of the best — if not the absolute best — route-runners in the game today. He often makes opponents look silly and even hauls in tough passes, like the 53-yarder on third-and-nine in the fourth quarter. That ball was a little overthrown but Cooper extended and pulled it in with his fingertips for an impressive grab.

Stud: Jacoby Brissett, Quarterback

An early fumble from Jacoby Brissett threatened to hamper the Cleveland offense but the veteran quarterback didn’t allow that to slow them down. He continued the stellar play we saw from a week ago as he had a season-high 278 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

Brissett added 12 yards on the ground which included a three-yard touchdown run and a powerful conversion on third and one that originally looked to be short of the marker. Cleveland’s recent skid might have been enough for many to throw in the towel but Brissett showed off his character as he continued to give it all he had and it was enough to give his team the win on Monday Night Football.

Stud: Nick Chubb, Running Back

Entering the night, Nick Chubb was third in the NFL with 740 yards on the ground. Ahead of him were Derrick Henry (755) and Saquon Barkley (779) who already played their Week 8 games — although Henry did already have his bye week so he has just seven games under his belt.

Chubb naturally put himself back in first place with his 101-yard performance. Now at 841 yards, he’s in great shape to try and win the rushing title this season. He could also end up with the most touchdowns on the ground after scoring two on Monday, giving him a league-leading 10 on the season.

What’s more impressive is that he started out facing a stacked box again and had several runs that didn’t gain many yards early in the game. However, he stayed patient and once the holes were there, he took off. Cleveland also saw their offense in its pure form as they had a big lead and then relied on No. 24 to milk the clock and put things on ice.

Browns fans have been saying it for a while but Nick Chubb is the best pure runner in the NFL right now. He’s been proving it for years and now a national audience saw him put on a show on Halloween night.

Stud: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Wide Receiver

While we all knew Amari Cooper was a legit No. 1 wideout, the question about who would be the No. 2 guy continued to surface. Donovan Peoples-Jones has shown the ability in the past but he wasn’t wildly consistent before this season.

Now, that’s changed as he’s put together quite an impressive season. On Monday, he had a season-high 81 yards and has now recorded at least 70 yards in three-straight games and four of the last five.

With his latest performance, he now has 30 receptions for 417 yards putting him on pace for 64 catches and 886 yards. He has yet to score a touchdown but that will come with time. Even without that, his numbers are great for a run-first offense that features Amari Cooper across from him.

Week 8 instant reactions: Browns put on a show on Halloween night

The Cleveland Browns poured it on against the Cincinnati Bengals on Halloween night as they improved to 3-5. Here are some reactions from the big win.