3 winners (and 1 loser) from Browns big win vs. Ravens in Week 8
The Cleveland Browns have finally broken its losing streak. After dropping its last five games, the Browns came up big against the Super Bowl contending Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 by a final score of 29-24. It was feel good from start to finish for the Browns' offense with Jameis Winston looking born ready for his start under center for the team, and with Clevelands wide receivers looking ready to actually be utilized.
On defense, the Browns looked like it has all season long: a pass rush to be reckoned with and a run stuffing game that more often than not prevents huge gains from happening. That unit managed to hold a high octane offense led by Lamar Jackson to 24 points, the least amount scored by it since its two losses to begin the season.
There weren't really any losers from this game for the Browns. Everyone seemed to be playing in lock step with one another. So, let's take a look at the winners - and yes, one loser - from the Week 8 win over the Ravens.
Winner: Jameis Winston
Of course Winston earns a winner status after that Week 8 performance. Finishing up with three touchdowns and 334 passing yards total along with a 115.3 rating will land you on any winner list. Winston from kickoff, though, was a positive force for this Browns offense. He was slinging passes with confidence and daring his receivers to make the big plays - which, for the most part, they did.
Read more: Jameis Winston needed just one half to show Deshaun Watson was never Browns' answer
Winston showed exactly why fans have been clamoring to see him under center over Deshaun Watson for some time now - the team has just needed another confident quarterback to lead a team chock full of talent. We'll see if Winston can replicate his success in Week 9 against another tough team in the Los Angeles Chargers, but for now, this is very motivating for Cleveland's offense to have achieved with him leading them.
Winner: Cedric Tillman
Speaking of players to have benefitted from Winston's big game, Tillman has been fantastic over the last two games for the Browns but especially showed out with Winston working with him. Tillman finished up Week 8 as the team's leading receiver, picking up 100 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He was catching passes with his entire body to make sure they were getting corralled, as he looked desperate to make big play after big play for Cleveland.
In Week 7, he showed signs of life, recording 81 receiving yards with 12 targets. Today, that output truly exploded thanks to perfectly placed passes from Winston and some solid route running from Tillman himself.
He certainly delivered, and he helped to open things up not just for himself but for the rest of the receivers on the field with him. With Tillman being so successful downfield, the Ravens secondary was scrambling to find matchups for him, Jerry Jeudy, and Elijah Moore all at the same time. That didn't end up mattering, though, and Tillman thrived.
Winner: Mohamoud Diabate
Diabate was everywhere. He recorded two sacks on the day in addition to four tackles and five assists, and helped lead a one two punch on the defensive line that had him exploding on the edge and forcing Jackson into the arms of Ogbo Okoronkwo or Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. He managed to simply make himself felt throughout the game, and he helped lead an already elite pass rush game on the final Ravens drive of the game.
Diabate's impact often gets lots amongst a ton of other talent on the Browns' D-line, but he certainly shined through in this victory.
Loser: Wyatt Teller
Perhaps the only demerit on the afternoon in Week 8 was watching Teller get three of the Browns' seven total penalties called against him in some crucial moments. Teller almost killed the drive that ended up being a Tillman game winning touchdown with a holding penalty, and he killed a previous drive on the same call. Teller was always going to come into this contest with rust having come off the injury list for this game for the first time since Week 3. But, with such a clean game from the rest of the O-line otherwise, his miscues stood out in a bad way. He'll likely get that cleaned up by Week 9.