Browns studs and duds: Safeties shine in Week 15 win over Ravens

Week 15 goes down as a win for the Cleveland Browns as they were able to knock off the Baltimore Ravens at home.

Baltimore was without Lamar Jackson, which was a huge plus for the home team — and they took advantage, holding Tyler Huntley and the Ravens to just three points.

Here we look back at the win and pick out a few studs and duds from Week 15.

Browns Stud: Ronnie Harrison, Safety

This hasn’t been Ronnie Harrison’s best campaign but he was on top of his game on Saturday night. More than once, Harrison was tasked with covering Mark Andrews, who is one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

Harrison not only held his own but also stopped Andrews on two separate third-down plays. The second was a key third-and-four in the fourth quarter and Baltimore wound up turning it over on downs on the very next play.

Dud: Cade York, Kicker

Cleveland added Cade York in the offseason, using a fourth-round selection on the LSU kicker. It wasn’t a popular pick and it’s safe to say after 15 weeks, the front office hasn’t been proven correct in their decision.

York came into the game with a completion percentage of just 76.9. He was good on 20-of-26 kicks, which is less than ideal. In this one, he made that number look worse as he hit his first two but then followed that up with back-to-back whiffs.

It’s true that he’s a rookie and might need time to find his stride but the misses have to be concerning at this point. It hasn’t been uncommon for him to shank kicks wide, and that’s where the concern comes in. These haven’t been narrow misses, meaning something is off.

Browns Stud: John Johnson III, Safety

Several defensive players have been highly criticized this season but perhaps none more than John Johnson III. The veteran safety brought some of the criticism on himself when he was vocal about wanting to see more commitment from his teammates, only to be seen giving up on a play against Baltimore that very weekend.

In the re-match with the Ravens, he made things right. Johnson stood out from the beginning, coming in and making a huge stop on fourth down to set the tone.

Johnson met Patrick Ricard at the line of scrimmage as he and Jadeveon Clowney stopped the 311-pound fullback in his tracks. That ended a 10-play 71-yard drive but it wasn’t the last good play from Johnson.

Right after the Browns’ touchdown, Johnson forced a fumble as he punched the ball out of Demarcus Robinson’s hands, then recovered it as well. Unfortunately, Johnson was sent to the sideline with an injury but he made his mark on the game before having to step out.

Dud: Wyatt Teller, Guard

Wyatt Teller missed some time this season as he battled a calf injury and he might not be back to 100 percent. Far too often in this one, he was unable to hold his block and didn’t open up the running lanes the way we’re used to seeing.

As the game went on, the rushing attack improved — as did Teller — but it wasn’t his best outing.

Stud: Grant Delpit, Safety

Facing a third and eight, Tyler Huntley fumbled the ball but it was recovered by Devin Duvernay who tried to advance the ball. However, Grant Delpit had other plans as he was there to stuff the wideout for a one-yard gain. That play ended the Ravens’ drive and forced them to go for a field goal rather than try for the lead.

That was the second time Delpit made a big play as he forced Huntley out of bounds for a four-yard loss on the prior drive.

In all, Delpit had nine tackles — sharing the lead with John Johnson — and had two go for a loss.

Dud: Kareem Hunt, Running Back

This has not been the season Kareem Hunt hoped for. He entered Week 15 with just 423 yards on the ground and is right at 4.0 yards per attempt — which is a career low. He was also coming off a six-yard outing against the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend.

Overall, his average per attempt was fine against the Ravens — 6.0 yards per run — but he was aided by a nine-yard run on third and long. He finished with 24 yards on four rushes but had a couple of runs that went for just one yard, and set them up with third and long situations.

Nick Chubb finished with 21 carries and while it was enough to get the win, that’s a recipe to shorten a career. Cleveland needs a second back to take some of the load and Hunt hasn’t been doing that with consistency.

Browns stud: Deshaun Watson, Quarterback

It might not have been the best game of his career, but Deshaun Watson led the Browns to a win in his first home game in Cleveland. He finished with 161 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-28 passing but did enough to put his team in the lead.

His lone touchdown came in the third quarter and gave the Browns a 10-point lead.

From there, they were able to turn things over to Nick Chubb who ran the ball well and killed the clock. That’s the perfect formula for this offense as they’re built to hold onto a lead, which they did this entire game.

Browns stud: Myles Garrett, EDGE

The Ravens tried to stay away from Myles Garrett for much of the day. Tyler Huntley was trying to get the ball out fast and was quick to run when the pressure got close. But they couldn’t stay away from him for the entire game.

Late in the fourth quarter, Garrett recorded his first sack as he got to Huntley on first down as Baltimore was trying to get back into the game. On the very next play, he met Huntley in the backfield again, this time sharing a half-sack with Perrion Winfrey.

Garrett now has 13.5 sacks on the season with four games left to play. He’s made it known he wants to be the sack leader in the NFL.

He’s still behind Matthew Judon — who has yet to play this weekend — with 14.5 sacks and Nick Bosa — who did play on Thursday — with 15.5. Even if he doesn’t get the title, he’s put together another amazing individual season.

Cleveland Browns mailbag: Is Joe Woods on his way out?

The Cleveland Browns fell to 5-8 on the season after a loss to the Bengals which has left fans to wonder if Joe Woods is on the hot seat.