Dud – Run Defense
I already have Woods on this list, but the entire defense deserves to be on the dud list with another week of giving up a ton of rushing yards. The two running backs for Buffalo each ran for over 85 yards, and truthfully if the Bills would have run it more, they could have racked up a ton more yards.
At times today, it looked like the defensive line was actually getting penetration, but they couldn’t finish the play. They just got up the field, and actually opened up bigger holes by taking themselves out of the play. The secondary stepped up and made a few nice tackles which was a pleasant surprise, but overall, it was still a complete disaster on Sunday.
Woods is committed to the dime scheme defense with an extra safety, but with how battered the Browns are at linebacker, they may need to consider always keeping a bigger body on the field.
Stud – Amari Cooper
Through all the bad, Amari Cooper continues to shine as the Cleveland Browns no. one wide receiver. He racked up eight catches for 113 yards to go with two touchdowns and has quickly become the favorite target for Brissett.
The return of David Njoku likely helped Cooper as well, as some attention had to go to the playmaking tight end who returned from an ankle injury. Cooper just does everything right. He isn’t a typical diva wide receiver, he is not afraid to block downfield, and he is as good of a route runner there is in the NFL right now.
At this point, I’m just looking forward to seeing Deshaun Watson throw him the ball.
Week 11 instant reactions: Browns fail to capitalize, fall to 3-7
The Cleveland Browns had all the opportunities in the world but failed to capitalize and in turn, fell 31-23 to the Bills, dropping to 3-7 on the season.