Browns Week 13 studs and duds: Donovan Peoples-Jones ends ugly streak

Donovan Peoples-Jones ended a 121-game streak as he was the first player to score a touchdown on a punt return for the Cleveland Browns since 2015 as he led his team to a win

Make it two wins in a row for the Cleveland Browns who followed up their win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by beating the Texans in Houston.

It wasn’t pretty on offense as Deshaun Watson made his debut but the defense and special teams both stood up and did their job. The result was a 27-17 win for Cleveland as they improved to 5-7 on the season.

Here’s a look back at their latest game as we identify the studs and duds from Week 13.

Browns Week 13 studs and duds

Stud: Tony Fields, II

Tony Fields has been quiet over the past two seasons with just 15 tackles to his name entering the game. Then, he decided to have the game of his career.

First, it was a pick-six as he caught a pass that was tipped by Chase Winovich. Not long after that, he was the beneficiary of a fumble caused by Jordan Kunaszyk.

It will be hard to duplicate the success he had in this one but it was a nice breakout game for the second-year linebacker.

Dud: Anthony Schwartz, Wide Receiver

Before the game this weekend, Antony Schwartz opened up about his own battles with mental health. He said he’s allowed himself to get in a dark place as he struggles to make it in the NFL and was letting a lot of the negativity from social media affect him.

He had just come off his best game of the season with a 31-yard touchdown run and a 17-yard catch for a first down in their win over Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep things going in Week 13.

Schwartz was able to catch the first completion on the day from Deshaun Watson and originally had 14 yards but then fumbled the ball away. The great position allowed the Texans to go up 3-0 early and raised more concerns about Schwartz and his future with the team. Making it worse, he suffered a head injury and was unable to try and redeem himself.

Stud: Martin Emerson, Cornerback

Martin Emerson has had quite the season. The third-round rookie has played well all year and again stood out on Sunday. The rookie nearly had an interception in the end zone as the Texans were driving early in the first quarter.

Emerson was covering Nico Collins and was going step-for-step with the wideout before leaping for the pass from Kyle Allen, which was too high. Emerson’s hands were inches away from the overthrown ball but he still kept Collins from getting open for the touchdown, holding Houston to three on the drive.

Later, he stopped Collins on a goal line fade, pushed him out of bounds and he dropped the ball as well while hitting the ground. Collins did score on Emerson later but the game was over by that point.

Dud: Browns Offensive Line

The Cleveland offensive line is usually the strength of the team but that wasn’t the case this week. Throughout the game, they allowed pressure on Deshaun Watson, who was constantly having to move in the pocket to find throwing lanes.

But their worst series came following a huge fourth-down stop by the defense. After Grant Delpit separated Troy Hairston from the ball on fourth down, Cleveland took over at the one. Nick Chubb moved the ball one yard but then they had to go right back when Wyatt Teller was called for a false start.

On the next snap, Maliek Collins pushed Jack Conklin into Chubb and Houston tackled him in the end zone to take a 5-0 lead. They continued to play up and down throughout the day and this isn’t the first time in recent weeks they’ve struggled.

Stud: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Wide Receiver

It had been 121 games since Cleveland had a touchdown on a punt return but that changed when Donovan Peoples-Jones took one to the house for a 76-yard touchdown.

DPJ recently took over the punt return duties and he showed flashes last week as he had 75 yards on five returns with a 29-yarder. He came close to breaking that one and finally did against Houston, and the Browns needed it.

Before his touchdown, they had struggled to finish drives and were down 5-0. He put them up 7-5 and the Texans never had the lead again.

Peoples-Jones finished the day with three punt returns for 86 yards and had three receptions for 44 yards including a team-high 27-yarder.

Dud: Deshaun Watson to Amari Cooper connection

If anyone thought Deshaun Watson would start out by throwing the ball all over the field in this one, they were fooling themselves. The former Houston Texan was making his first start in 700 days and even when he played in the preseason this year, he had just one drive.

Rust should have been expected and it was definitely there. While many of his passes were low, the worst connection — or lack thereof — was between Watson and Amari Cooper. Nine passes went toward Cooper and he was able to catch just four of them for 40 yards.

The two have been trying to work on their connection in practice but nothing can perfectly simulate the actual game. That was evident on Sunday but it should get better from here on out.

Week 13 instant reactions: Deshaun Watson rusty but Browns win easily

Deshaun Watson was rusty in his first start in 700 days but the Cleveland Browns defense led them to a big win over the Houston Texans