4 Browns defensive standouts against Washington

Hold on Browns fans, let’s not run Joe Woods out of town just yet!

The Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders put on a 1970s-style slugfest in which defenses dominated. We saw flashes of the old Denzel Ward as he was able to shut down Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin and the Washington wide receiving corps.

Of course, to listen to the Washington fans, the Browns’ success could just as easily be attributed to the ineffectiveness of quarterback Carson Wentz, who has developed a reputation for being overrated and overpaid. Taylor Heinicke is the people’s choice at quarterback. Browns fans can identify with their Washington counterparts on this issue, no doubt.

Nevertheless, the Washington team was held to a paltry 260 yards of total offense. They had 124 passing yards and 136 rushing yards. If fans want to hang the poor passing yardage total on Carson Wentz, fine, but on the ground, they averaged just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt. Cleveland, quite simply, stopped them on the ground and shut them down through the air. What is there to complain about?

This is a team thought to be playoff caliber, from the division with the best won-loss record in the NFL. All they had to do was win out and they were going to clinch.

With that being said, let’s dive in and discuss four defenders that stood out in the Week 17 win.

4. Myles Garrett is a problem still

Myles Garrett can be cited as a defensive star in every game he plays. He gets held on virtually every play he is on the field, and he occupies two blockers on every play also. Some fans are frustrated with Garrett due to his escapades with a fire hydrant this season, which caused him to miss two games.

However, no one should question his talent or the effort he has given on the field, and especially the value of occupying two blockers on virtually every play. He still managed to apply pressure on Carson Wentz, who is both mobile and strong as an ox. Nevertheless, Garrett was able to pull him down in the third quarter as part of a called blitz.

Later Garrett and Taven Bryan combined for another sack as Wentz got into a bit of a pickle and couldn’t get out.

Garrett was also credited with four assisted tackles. All in a day’s work for the Cleveland defensive superstar.

3. Denzel Ward looked like a Pro Bowl Cornerback

In addition to Garrett’s typical heroics, Denzel Ward finally started to look like a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback. Ward has had a tough year after signing a mega contract extension. He has suffered from a variety of physical issues including a concussion which has caused him to miss time and he just has not had the airtight coverage he had in his Pro Bowl season of 2021.

Against the Commanders, however, Ward was able to make 2022 Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin appear to be ineffective. That’s the definition of a shutdown corner.

Of course, if you are a cynical Washington fan, there’s always the option of blaming quarterback Carson Wentz. Still, McLaurin had two catches in five targets for 25 yards, one of the weakest games in a season in which he has earned Pro Bowl honors.

Unofficially, McLaurin has 1,092 receiving yards, the third straight year in which he has had over 1,000 yards receiving. Thus, holding him to 25 yards is an impressive achievement.

In addition, Ward came up with an interception on the opening Washington drive, perhaps causing Wentz to shy away from challenging him thereafter. In any case, the entire secondary had a strong game.

As good as Ward was, however, a case can be made that Grant Delpit was the defensive start of the game. He actually picked Carson Wentz twice.

2. Grant Delpit picks Carson Wentz twice

Grant Delpit had a monster day against the Commanders. In the first half, he produced a diving interception as Wentz got off to a wobbly start.

For the half, the Browns held Carson Wentz to only 62 yards on six completions out of 10 attempts with two passes to the fellows from Cleveland in the white and orange uniforms. The defense did its job in the first half but still found itself looking at a 7-3 deficit as the offense was also extremely cold to start the game. That is a kind way of saying that both offenses pretty much stunk up the joint.

However, Cleveland’s defense was able to sustain its containment of Washington as the game progressed. While that happened, the Browns’ offense began to heat up and Deshaun Watson started finding the range on some of his passes. Two touchdowns to Amari Cooper sandwiched around a touchdown grab by Donovan Peoples-Jones gave the Browns a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead and the defense was able to preserve it.

Delpit picked off Wentz again in the fourth quarter to snuff out hopes of a comeback. If he had not picked Wentz, John Johnson III would have come away with the ball. It was actually a heady play by Johnson to realize that Delpit was going to make the catch and not fight his teammate for the ball, possibly causing him to drop it.

Delpit was also credited with two passes defended and four total tackles, including one solo. He did everything that could be asked of a defensive back.

1. Chase Winovich shows up big for Browns defense

There was a Chase Winovich sighting versus Washington.

It’s not surprising when Myles Garrett pulls down a sack or two, and in fact, he did exactly that versus the Commanders, coming away with a sack and a half for the game. However, it was more of a surprise that Winovich also had a sack plus four solo tackles. He was generally a pain in the butt for Carson Wentz the entire afternoon when he was on the field.

Winovich had been pretty much given up for dead earlier this season with a pulled hamstring, the same injury which derailed his final campaign in New England last year. It looked like that might be a chronic injury. Worse, Winovich was obtained in a trade for popular Mack Wilson, a tough linebacker who endeared himself to the Dawg Pound because of his rugged style of play. That made it difficult for the fans to accept Winovich in place of a departed fan favorite.

Although Cleveland has had five linebackers on Injured Reserve, that was not knowable in the offseason. It looked like the Browns had an abundance of talent at linebacker, and it made sense at the time to acquire a good lineman for a good linebacker.

Winovich is very valuable if he can give a breather to veteran Jadeveon Clowney, who is a stud player if his workload is properly managed. Similarly, they need to give Garrett just a little rest to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter when they need his heroics. Winovich was able to slow down the Washington running game while also applying the heat to Wentz.

If he can stay healthy, he can still play. With all the damage he caused to Washington, Winovich put on quite a show for a part-time player, which argues for more playing time in next week’s season finale versus Pittsburgh.

Browns studs and duds: Deshaun Watson breaks out in Week 17

Deshaun Watson had three touchdown passes and Grant Delpit picked off two passes as the Cleveland Browns beat the Washington Commanders in Week 17