The Cleveland Browns just made it five in a row against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football. More importantly, they're now riding a three-game winning streak and sit atop the AFC North after four games.
Todd Monken's team continues to turn boos into applause, and while they've made it harder on themselves than they should, all that matters is the final score. This one read 27 for the home team and 24 for the lifelong rivals.
It was a tale of two halves, and there's plenty to dissect from the team's best effort yet. It wasn't a perfect game by any means, but there are clearly at least twice as many winners as losers from this one. Let's go.
Deshaun Watson and Todd Monken headline the biggest Browns winners from a wild Thursday night
Winner: Deshaun Watson
This one's pretty obvious. Watson may have played his best half as a Brown in this one, though he regressed to his old self in the second half. Even so, there was a point when fans actually chanted "Let's go Watson!" which was unthinkable a month ago.
Watson is getting more comfortable in the pocket and taking ownership of the offense. He's scrambling and pushing the ball downfield. The poor decision-making will still pop up at times, though.
Loser: Myles Harden
Harden managed to go unnoticed for the most part, but he was on the wrong end of one of the biggest plays of the game. He just couldn't keep up with a wide-open Roman Wilson after an absolute dot by Aaron Rodgers.
Harden was coming off a strong performance, but he's the Browns' weakest link in the secondary. This is the first time in four games that he's been torched between the numbers for big gains.
Winner: Denzel Boston
Boston continues to assert himself as Watson's go-to guy for explosive plays. He had a couple of potential big grabs early on, one of which was negated by an obvious pass interference the referees didn't call.
He got going again, though, using his big frame to manhandle the Steelers' secondary and keep the chains in motion. He didn't find paydirt in this one, but he only needed four receptions to reach 89 receiving yards.
Loser: Tyson Campbell
Coming back from a knee injury, Campbell had to deal with DK Metcalf for most of the game. He did a solid job for the most part, but the Steelers' big wide receiver got the best of him twice down the stretch.
Metcalf bullied Campbell for two big plays near the sidelines, leading to Rodgers' final touchdown pass of the game.
It's hard to keep up with such a physical player, and even more so if you're banged up. But it wasn't a good look for Campbell.
Winner: KC Concepcion
Concepcion was coming off a quiet game, although it wasn't entirely on him. He made the most of his opportunities in this one, not only with the ball in his hands but also with a huge block on Jaleel McLaughlin's touchdown run.
Concepcion finished the game with five catches on eight targets for 64 yards, including a big reception to keep the offense on the field and get Andre Szmyt closer for the game-winning field goal.
Winner: Jerry Jeudy
Jerry Jeudy's stat line may not pop off the charts, but given how much he has struggled lately, he deserves to be on this list. Even the fans gave him some love with his first catch since Week 2 — and more so after his two big plays on the final drive.
All in all, the veteran wideout finished the game with three catches for 35 yards, but the Browns needed each and every single one of those to keep the chains moving. Maybe that's what Jeudy needed to regain his confidence.
Loser: Jared Verse
Verse's intensity is his blessing and his curse, and it nearly cost the Browns the game this time. He was very active, and while it didn't show up on the stat sheet, he even forced a veteran like Aaron Rodgers to commit a delay-of-game penalty.
But his desire to make a play got the best of him. He committed a bad penalty after the Steelers' final score to get them closer to the goal line on the two-point conversion attempt. He's so thirsty for that first big play that he might be forcing things.
Winner: Browns' pass rush
Even with Mason Graham missing most of the game, the Browns' pass rush had a field day against the Steelers' offensive line. Rodgers never stood a chance in this one, and even when he got rid of the ball, he still paid the price.
The Browns combined to sack the future Hall of Famer five times for a loss of 30 yards, often pushing him out of field goal range. This unit is starting to turn the corner, and they'll only be better once Verse gets on track.
Winner: Todd Monken
Todd Monken's team is slowly but steadily progressing. They still have to clean up the penalty issues, but the defense and the offense have gotten better by the week. That's all you can ask of a new regime.
Monken's play calling, game management, and aggressiveness were fun to watch and a breath of fresh air. It's still early in the season, but it looks like this team is finally trending in the right direction.
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