BROWNS IGNORE INJURIES AND JUST PLAY
By STEVE KING
The #Browns ran all over the #Broncos on #TNF in Week 7. Denver has now lost four straight games. It’s time for some changes in Denver. https://t.co/uBND31dJYD
— Broncos Wire (@TheBroncosWire) October 22, 2021
Next man up.
It’s an axiom used by good teams in the NFL when injuries and other negative situations deplete their numbers, and so the fact the Browns used it to defeat the Denver Broncos 17-14 on Thursday Night Football means they must be a good team again — or at least they are getting closer to it.
Without their starting quarterback in Baker Mayfield, their two starting running backs, and the best running back tandem in the NFL, in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and their starting right tackle in Jack Conklin, all out due to injury, and with their two starting wide receivers in Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry gutting it out and playing hurt, the Browns offense never lost its stride. With Case Keenum taking over for Mayfield and calmly making big throws when he had to make them, D’Ernest Johnson stepping into the backfield and doing his best Leroy Kelly imitation by rushing for 146 yards and a touchdown in 22 carries and Blake Hence filling in for Conklin, the Browns ran all over the Broncos, literally and figuratively. They imposed their will on Denver.
Nobody complained. They just went out and played. That’s what you need to do. Some guy named Bill Belichick — perhaps you’ve heard of him — and the New England Patriots made a living for two decades with the next man up philosophy.
Mayfield and Hunt will be out for a while, so the Browns will need to continue to embrace the next man up if they want to continue winning.
And then there was the Browns defense. It was much, much better than the last two games, when it looked disorganized and dysfunctional with its inability to match up correctly with receivers in the secondary.
So, the news is all good tonight because the Browns sucked it up and went about their business in a professional manner.
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