Week 15 studs and duds: David Njoku, Amari Cooper help Cleveland Browns defy the odds

Browns dud: Nick Harris, Center

This season, Nick Harris has been excellent in his fullback role, especially on short-yardage plays. In Week 15, however, they had to ask him to move to his original position. With Ethan Pocic out, Harris started at center but had a first quarter to forget.

On their second drive of the game, he was unable to sustain a block on third-and-two. Justin Jones got right past Harris and recorded a one-yard loss on the tackle when he took Kareem Hunt down. That led to a quick three-and-out as the Browns had to punt it away.

Cleveland started their third drive with a long gain as Joe Flacco hit Pierre Strong, Jr. in the flat and he took off for a 21-yard gain. However, that one didn’t count either as a flag was thrown for holding. Originally, the officials said the penalty was on Wyatt Teller but it was eventually credited to Harris. That meant instead of a first-and-10 at the Chicago 42, the Browns were back to their own 34 with a first-and-13.

This led to another punt as the first quarter was a major problem for the entire Cleveland offense. They ended up with just 39 yards and four punts. Not all of that was on Harris but his early struggles didn’t help. He settled down from there and wound up injured but still had a slow start that didn't help his offense.