Cleveland Browns: Offensive players that stood out in win against Ravens
By John Suchan
The Cleveland Browns got a big win Saturday night against their divisional rivals Baltimore Ravens by the score of 13-3. Neither team went crazy in the offensive part of the game but there were still several Browns players that did just enough to help carry the team to victory.
This win gives the Browns a 6-8 record and a very remote chance of still getting into the playoffs. It was the first game for Deshaun Watson to quarterback his new team in front of the home crowd as well.
While he didn’t “wow” anyone in his performance he certainly did enough to give everyone hope that the future would be very bright.
Cleveland Browns offensive standout No. 4: Deshaun Watson
From a statistical standpoint, Watson wasn’t on fire throwing the ball, but he looked much more comfortable in this third week with Cleveland. He finished the night 18-of-28 for 161 yards that included a touchdown throw to Donovon Peoples-Jones in the third quarter.
The game seemed to slow down some for Watson as he was making good decisions with the ball most of the night. He also used his legs a few times to keep the chains moving.
His best run occurred in the fourth quarter on a third and seven, when he was able to take the ball straight up the middle of the Ravens’ defense for 17 yards. Despite the team not scoring a lot of points, they had several lengthy drives that ate up the game clock, and this was a great example of that.
There were some missed chances in the red zone for Watson but overall, he definitely played his best game yet as a Brown.
Cleveland Browns offensive standout No. 3: Donovan Peoples-Jones
Peoples-Jones didn’t have another 100-yard game as he had a week ago, but he still caught four passes. One of the most important was his touchdown grab late in the third quarter after Cleveland had been clinging to a 6-3 lead most of the game.
It was only DPJ’s second receiving touchdown on the year but he’s continuing to do everything else as a very reliable wide receiver for the team. The third-year player out of Michigan now has career bests in receptions with 57 and 782 yards in reception yards.
Cleveland Browns offensive standout No. 2: Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb got back to his normal type of game as he ran the ball 21 times for 99 yards. That now gives him 1,252 yards on the season. His career-best yardage output was back in 2019 when he went for 1,494 yards. With three games remaining, Chubb will have an opportunity to close in on that career best if he can stay healthy and his coach Kevin Stefanski continues to give him the ball. It’s only the third game in the last 11 games where Chubb carried the ball more than 20 times.
The Browns are 5-0 when Chubb carries the ball more than 20 times in a game, and they should be handing it to him even more as the temperatures continue to drop. There was snow this weekend but the weather will be much worse in Cleveland next Saturday with more snow expected and temps as low as 10.
That sounds like another game where Chubb should be leaned on heavily.
Cleveland Browns offensive standout No. 1: Daylen Baldwin
This is a special shoutout to a wide receiver that the Browns just brought up from the practice squad, Daylen Baldwin. The rookie from Michigan didn’t do a lot on the night but still made the most of his opportunity when called on.
Late in the first half, the Browns got the ball and were able to put together an 11-play drive going 71 yards and giving the team a much-needed field goal to put them up 6-3.
In that drive, Watson found Baldwin for a 10-yard gain, moving them to the Baltimore 32-yard line. On the very next play, the two connected again on a 15-yard pass play. With Amari Cooper and DPJ getting much of the attention from the Ravens’ defense, it was a nice moment for the rookie to shine.
