Cleveland Browns Week 14 studs and duds: Joe Flacco makes history

Cleveland Browns stud: Martin Emerson, Jr., CB

With a 7-0 lead, the Cleveland offense just had to punt on their second possession following a three-and-out. This could have flipped some of the momentum, especially if Jacksonville was able to move the ball into scoring range. It looked for a while that was going to be the case as well, with the Jags moving the ball 40 yards.

A false start pushed them back and they eventually had a third-and-nine from the Cleveland 44. Trevor Lawrence had a matchup he liked with Zay Jones being covered by Martin Emerson. The wideout had a step but Emerson ended up closing the gap and broke up the long pass, forcing a punt. Unfortunately, the offense had another three-and-out but they were still up 7-0 thanks to Emerson.

When the Browns took the field again, Emerson continued to show out. The Jags were forced to punt after a three-and-out with Emerson again forcing the kick. This time, it was a third-and-eight and Lawrence hit Jones but he managed just two yards before Emerson took him out with a punishing tackle.

He wasn’t done there either as he continued to dominate the first half. Cleveland had just taken a 14-0 lead with David Njoku’s second touchdown grab and the Jags were trying to get back into the game. Again, Lawrence aired it out for Jones but Emerson came down with it for the interception, getting his team the ball back at their own 25.

Emerson again picked off Lawrence with under two minutes to go. Cleveland had just surrendered seven points following a fumble from Amari Cooper. They even had to punt it away thanks to two penalties negating first downs. This interception was huge since it took away the confidence Jacksonville’s offense was starting to feel. For Emerson, it was his first multi-pick game in the NFL and increased his total on the season to four.