Sione Takitaki scored on a pick-six in the first quarter Sunday afternoon, which secured the biggest play of his young career. (Ron Schwane/Associated Press)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns 22-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles …
1. Whatever it takes: The Browns won without Nick Chubb. The Browns won without Odell Beckham Jr. And now the Browns have won without Myles Garrett, their superstar on defense. In Garrett’s absence due to contraction of Covid-19, Olivier Vernon turned in three sacks, one in the end zone for a safety. And then the Nick Chubb-Kareem Hunt show took over in the fourth quarter. Held in check most of the rainy day, Chubb went over 100 yards on a 54-yard run propelled when he stiff-armed end Joe Ostman to the ground, and Hunt followed with his own extra effort, vaulting over safety Jalen Mills for a 5-yard touchown run. Cody Parkey’s second field goal accounted for the final points in a wet and ugly 22-17 Browns win. Vernon led a Browns’ defensive assault on Carson Wentz. The beleaguered Eagles quarterback was sacked five times, hit on seven others, fumbled once, and was intercepted by Sione Takitaki for a touchdown and Denzel Ward with 2:01 to play. The win upped the Browns' record to 7-3 and enabled them to gain ground in the tight AFC wild card race.
2. Interception reversed: Linebacker Mack Wilson also made a diving interception in the end zone after a deflection by Terrance Mitchell. But it was ruled no good when replays showed the ball hit the ground. Wentz threw the ball up for grabs to Travis Fulgham. He didn’t see an open outlet receiver to his left. Wentz tacked on a touchdown with :30 left on a 4-yard toss to tight end Dallas Goedert.
3. Complementary football: The Browns pulled ahead, 12-7, on a safety when Vernon crushed venerable but old left tackle Jason Peters and sacked Wentz in the end zone. It was set up by Jamie Gillan’s punt bounded to the 2-yard line and was touched down by gunner Tavierre Thomas. It was Vernon's third sack of the game.
4. One streak over: Baker Mayfield’s streak of not committing a turnover ended at two games when he lost a fumble on his first possession of the second half. Mayfield was strip-sacked when defensive tackle Fletcher Cox beat Wyatt Teller and slapped the ball out of Mayfield’s hands. It lay on the ground for two Mississippis before Alex Singleton fell on it at the Browns’ 19. On the very next play, Wentz had all day to throw after a play-fake and pump-fake. He laid the ball in to tight end Richard Rodgers alone in the right corner of the end zone. Other than the fumble, Mayfield was error-free (12 of 22 for 204 yards) but extended his touchdown-less streak to three games.
5. Down goes another: Safety Ronnie Harrison suffered a knee injury on the second defensive play of the game for the Browns. He returned later in the first half, but was ruled out after halftime.
6. The Iggles: The Eagles’ faithful back home had to be livid with their team’s first half. They outrushed the Browns, 96-18, and had a four-down defensive stand from the 1-yard line, but trailed, 7-0, at halftime because they fumbled at the Browns’ 4, suffered a Pick 6 by Takitaki when Wentz was hit on a Denzel Ward blitz, and were penalized three times for offsides.
7. Lookie, lookie: Takitaki made more plays in the first half seemingly than he did the previous nine games. He was the beneficiary of the Ward hit on Wentz, but he made a good catch leaping on the short throw intended for Miles Sanders and raced 50 yards to the end zone for his first career touchdown. Takitaki also had a tackle-for-loss of Sanders that led to an Eagles punt. As for Ward, the hit was serendipity. He was the only Browns player active from the trade with Philadelphia that begat eight trades and 13 players acquired for the No. 2 pick that become Wentz in the 2016 draft.
8. Costly misses: The Browns marched 95 yards after Jordan Elliott forced a Miles Sanders fumble and Karl Joseph recovered at the 4. They thought they had made it 96 yards, but a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down by Kareem Hunt was overturned on replay review. That reversal made two Mayfield missed throws costly. He underthrew tight end Harrison Bryant in the end zone from 14 yards out and overthrew tight end Austin Hooper in the end zone from the 2. What was odd was Mayfield was on the mark on the long drive with back-to-back completions of 13 yards to Jarvis Landry and 43 to Rashard Higgins.
9. Yo, Andrew: Embattled safety Andrew Sendejo didn’t help his cause with fans when he was flagged for roughness for jolting receiver Jalen Raegor with a helmet hit away from the ball on a place on which Joseph had sacked Wentz. It gave Wentz another set of downs, but an Olivier Vernon sack three plays later forced a punt.
10. Demoted, kind of: Rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones, who muffed a kickoff late in the Houston game, was replaced as kickoff returner by D’Ernest Johnson. But Peoples-Jones continued to serve as punt returner.
11. Pre-game notes: The answer is Porter Gustin. The question: Who replaced Myles Garrett as the starting defensive end opposite Olivier Vernon. The team also promoted defensive end Cameron Malveaux from the practice squad as a backup. Regular roster member Joe Jackson was made inactive.