The Broncos are above .500 for the first time this season and have ripped off five straight victories after taking down the Browns at Mile High, 29-12. This loss also snapped a three-gaming winning streak by the Browns and drops them to 7-4 on the year.
This was a pivotal matchup for the overall playoff picture in the AFC and was largely a game of runs between these two postseason hopefuls. The Broncos jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the first half largely thanks to some sound running by Russell Wilson, who totaled 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Then, the Browns offense -- led by rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson -- started to find its rhythm and went on a 12-0 run sandwiched around halftime.
The first two scoring drives in the opening half saw Cleveland having to settle for field goals, but head coach Kevin Stefanski left his offense on the field midway through the third quarter on a fourth-and-goal situation from the 2-yard line. The unit rewarded him with a touchdown pass by Thompson-Robinson (his first career TD pass) to tight end Harrison Bryant. That score brought the Browns within two of the Broncos, but that's as close as they'd come to tying or taking the lead as their two-point attempt following the score failed and the Broncos proceeded to score 15 unanswered points en route to the win.
Thompson-Robinson was ruled out midway through the second half of this game after suffering a concussion on a hit from Baron Browning, which was called for unnecessary roughness. He finished 14 of 29 for 134 yards and a touchdown before departing. P.J. Walker came in under duress and completed six of his 13 passes for 56 yards. Meanwhile, Wilson finished 13 of 22 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown.
For more on how this game unfolded, check out our main takeaways below.
Why the Broncos won
It sounds cliche, but this was a hard-nosed win for Denver. They established the run early in this contest as both Russell Wilson and Samaje Perine logged rushing scores in the first half. At the break, Denver was averaging over five yards per carry and had an overall more physical demeanor to their offense. While they were churning out yards on that side of the ball via the ground game, the defense was creating turnovers. In all, they unit recovered three fumbles on the day and really started to tee off in the second half with P.J. Walker under center. They defense piled up four sacks, including a late safety that put the game on ice.
There wasn't a lot of style points -- outside of Wilson's touchdown throw in the second half (more on that below) -- but the Broncos remain as hot as any team in the NFL at the moment.
Why the Browns lost
The game plan went haywire after Thompson-Robinson was ruled out of this game due to a concussion. At the time he departed, Cleveland was down by just five points, but it proceeded to let the Broncos score 12 unanswered points with P.J. Walker under center. That said, the Browns did struggle early on in this game. They were 0-2 in the red zone in the first half and settled for field goals, while the Broncos were able to cash in for touchdowns on both of their red zone trips over the first two quarters. They also didn't play particularly strong complementary football as each side of the ball ran hot and cold at different points. Most notably, the Browns offense was finally able to punch in a touchdown after keeping the offense on the field on fourth down. That cut the Denver lead to just two points, but the defense then let Wilson and company drive 70 yards down the field in just over five minutes to kick a field goal and go up by five.
Turnovers were a key issue throughout this game for the Browns as well, fumbling the ball three times. Two of those turnovers resulted in 10 points for Denver.
Turning point
The Broncos were able to blow the game open after a critical turnover by the Browns. In the aftermath of losing Thompson-Robinson due to injury, Cleveland elected to run a reverse with Pierre Strong Jr. and Elijah Moore. The exchange between the two was fumbled, the ball hit the ground and D.J. Jones was able to recover to give Denver possession at the Cleveland 20 yard line. The Broncos then increased their lead from five points to 12 thanks to a touchdown drive less than 90 seconds after the turnover. At that point, the Browns did not come close to gaining on Denver and mounting a comeback.
Play of the game
You could make an argument that Russell Wilson made more impact plays with his legs in this game rather than his arm, but the quarterback's eight-yard passing touchdown to Adam Trautman was vintage Wilson. On a third-and-goal play, Wilson danced around the pocket before firing a dart to the front right corner of the end zone to Trautman, who kept both feet in bounds for the score. That touchdown -- which was overturned on a challenge by Sean Payton -- was Wilson's lone passing score of the game, but it sure was one for the highlight reel.
What's next
From here, the Broncos will embark on a three-game road trip, starting in Houston in Week 13 where they'll take on C.J. Stroud and the Texans. As for the Browns, they'll be in L.A. where they take on the Rams.