Browns Week 12 studs and duds: David Njoku rises to the occasion

The Cleveland Browns got a huge win in Week 12 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are the players that stood out as studs and duds in the victory.

There’s been a lot of negativity surrounding the Cleveland Browns this season but winning seems to fix a lot. That’s the feeling now as they improved to 4-7 with an overtime victory against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’s still a long shot they make it into the postseason but with Deshaun Watson reinstated, hope is renewed.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s look back at the action from Sunday and see who stood out as both studs and duds in Week 12.

Cleveland Browns Week 12 studs and duds

Stud: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Linebacker

Two drives in a row ended in three-and-outs for the Browns defense in the first half — which was a welcome sight. The first was thanks to rookie Alex Wright knocking down a pass on third-and-five but the second drive ended thanks to a great play from Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

The second-year linebacker knifed through the line on third-and-one and stuffed Rachaad White for a loss of one yard. JOK had missed the past couple of games and it was apparent this linebacker corps missed him. They might not be an elite defense, by any means, but he’s a playmaker that they rely heavily upon.

He finished with a team-high eight tackles and was a huge reason the Bucs were held under 100 yards on the ground.

Dud: Denzel Ward, Cornerback

This was a game to forget for Denzel Ward.

On the opening drive, he was beaten by Julio Jones on one play and then Chris Godwin on the next — and that one went for six. He later peeled off his receiver, concerned with the deep ball, giving up an easy first down.

Ward has been a solid cornerback for years but this season, he’s seemed to regress. And Sunday was one of his worst outings.

Stud: Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE

The numbers this season have been mild for Jadeveon Clowney but that doesn’t mean he’s not having a good campaign. As is always the case with him, he’s been very disruptive and made things hard on the Tampa Bay offense more than once.

His biggest contribution came on the opening drive of the third quarter when he blew up a running play. Clowney flew into the backfield and hit Rachaad White for a two-yard loss. The next play he again stepped up, forcing Tom Brady to roll to his left, which is where Jordan Elliott was waiting to record the sack and force a punt.

On the very next drive, Clowney forced a third-and-eight when he made a great read on a second-and-nine. Brady made a quick throw to Chris Godwin but Clowney was there to make a tackle after just one yard gained, leading to another three-and-out.

In all, he had four tackles and a half-sack as he continued to be a force on the edge.

Dud: Wyatt Teller, Guard

Overall, Wyatt Teller is one of the best guards in the NFL but he didn’t look like it in Week 12 — at least not in the passing game.

Teller continued to play at a high level in the rushing attack but when asked to protect Brissett, he was unable to hold his guy. William Gholston beat him with a bull rush and was able to get a hand on Brissett’s arm, forcing an incompletion on a second-and-11 play. On the ensuing third down, he was beaten on a stunt from Rakeem Nunez-Noches who recorded a sack, forcing a punt.

He also had his share of issues with Vita Vea, although that’s understandable since he might not be human.

Stud: David Njoku, Tight End

Just when all hope seemed lost, the Browns found their hero.

On fourth-and-10 from the Tampa Bay 12-yard line, Jacoby Brissett threw the ball toward David Njoku in hopes that he could make a play. That’s exactly what happened.

The pass was a little high but Njoku made a leaping one-handed catch which led to Brissett saying he could have “kissed him.”

Earlier in the game, Njoku dropped an easy pass but he more than made up for it with this catch as it forced overtime. The veteran tight end ended the day with just 29 yards on five receptions but he was once again a trusted option for Brissett and this game would have been a loss had it not been for his highlight-reel play.

Dud: Hjalte Froholdt, Center

Wyatt Teller wasn’t the only offensive lineman to struggle with Tampa Bay’s defensive line. Starting center Hjalte Froholdt also couldn’t do much against Vita Vea as he was constantly being pushed back and struggling to maintain his blocks.

Having said that, Froholdt is the third option at center with Nick Harris and Ethan Pocic on IR and he’s usually a guard rather than a center. Even with that being the case, he needs to be better in the next six games, since he’s all they have right now.

Stud: Myles Garrett, EDGE

When the Browns needed a play on defense, Myles Garrett rose to the occasion.

Throughout the day, he was fighting to get after Tom Brady, which isn’t an easy task for anyone since Brady releases the ball quicker than any other quarterback. Garrett did have a half-sack during regulation but it was his play in overtime that stood out.

On third-and-nine from their own 39, Tampa Bay was looking to extend their second overtime drive but Garrett had other plans. He burst through the line and sacked Brady for a four-yard loss. That forced a punt and led to Cleveland securing the win.

It was a clutch play for No. 95 who continues to rack up the sacks during one of the better seasons of his young career.

Stud: Martin Emerson, Cornerback

With Greg Newsome out, Joe Woods said he trusted rookie Martin Emerson to cover Mike Evans. And Emerson was up to the challenge as he made sure Evans didn’t take over the game, holding him to 31 yards on two receptions.

Cleveland traded their first-round pick to Houston in the Deshaun Watson trade and then sent them their second during the draft. That meant they didn’t choose anyone until Round 3, which is where they landed Emerson.

The Mississippi State product has been everything they could have hoped for, and more. He’s big, physical, and confident while also possessing enough athleticism to stick with any wideout. He rose to the occasion when thrust into the spotlight against the Bengals and did it again this week against Tampa.

Stud: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver

An uncharacteristic drop on fourth-and-long could have been enough to put Amari Cooper on the duds list but the first-year Cleveland Browns wideout got a chance at redemption. And he sure did redeem himself.

In overtime, Cooper caught a third-down pass and ran it 45 yards to the Tampa Bay three. He nearly took it to the house but despite being forced out of bounds, he still set Nick Chubb up for the game-winner.

Cooper ended up with 94 yards on seven receptions as he continued to prove he’s still a No. 1 wideout, even though Dallas was willing to give him up for a late-round pick.

Stud: Nick Chubb, Running Back

There will be those who tout Cleveland’s record when Nick Chubb gets more than 20 carries, and there’s something to that. When he gets that many rushes, Cleveland is 4-0. However, there’s usually causation there as Chubb is used to run the clock when they’re already winning — that means it’s always more likely he gets the ball 20 times in a win than vice versa.

There’s another factor which is when the Browns fall behind by two scores. When that happens, they usually have to abandon the run to try and catch up but have fallen short when they need to pass.

While this game wasn’t one where he milked the clock, it was close enough that Cleveland never had to get away from the ground attack. This led to Chubb running 26 times for 116 yards and the winning score.

The past couple of weeks haven’t been great for Chubb but he took it to a strong defensive front and was a huge reason his team improved to 4-7.

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