Donovan Peoples-Jones said no catch in his athletic career compares to his 24-yard game-winner against the Bengals (Twitter.com)
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.
Takeaways from the day after the Browns outlasted the Bengals, 37-34 to surge to 5-2 …
Disappointment muted the thrilling victory in Cincinnati.
During the game, most everyone had the empty feeling that Odell Beckham Jr. would be lost for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, and that proved to be the case when MRI results came back on Monday. Beckham’s second season with the Browns is over. He will have surgery at a later date.
Beckham might be the most popular player in the locker room because of his outgoing personality, his larger-than-life persona, his exemplary work ethic and his unmatched passion to compete and win.
“The energy he brings to practice and the energy he brings to games, no one else is going to be able to bring that type of juice,” said coach Kevin Stefanski.
Media could feel the fun Beckham brought to the job. His Zoom calls this year, like his locker-room interview sessions in 2019, were can’t-miss events every week.
Beckham’s close relationship with Jarvis Landry is well known. They were living a dream as NFL teammates. The emotional blow Beckham’s injury has had on Landry can't be overstated. That hurt extends to the rest of the team.
And despite a drop-off in personal statistics this season from his best days with the Giants, Beckham’s immense talent is undisputed.
Beckham’s unfortunate absence from the field is an occupational hazard in pro football. But it won’t deter the upward trend of the offense.
The show must go on
The revelation of Baker Mayfield’s five-touchdown game against the Bengals was that he looked more like his good self in his rookie season. That is to say, he spread the ball around to everyone and had pinpoint accuracy.
Whether the lack of pressure inside Mayfield to get the ball to Beckham had anything to do with that is open to conjecture. But the fact is that tight ends Harrison Bryant (two touchdowns) and David Njoku (one), and receivers Rashard Higgins (six receptions for a career-high 110 yards) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (three catches for 56 yards and one TD) caught almost everything Mayfield served to them. Combined, they had 15 receptions on 17 targets.
While sensitive to Beckham’s loss, Stefanski sounded confident that he has the goods to keep the offensive machine (28.5 points a game) humming.
“You never replace a player of Odell’s caliber with one player,” the coach said. “We are not doing that with [running back] Nick Chubb. It is going to take multiple guys to replace these players. That is kind of the challenge that we have, and I think our guys will be up to the challenge.”
Besides Higgins and Peoples-Jones, who move up a notch on the depth chart, Stefanski said he expects to get back receiver KhaDarel Hodge, who missed the last four games with a hamstring injury suffered in pre-game warmups in Dallas on Oct. 4.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 3, but teams may make moves this week to jumpstart the five-day period for new arrivals to go through Covid protocols. If the Browns decide to make a move on a receiver, it should be only for depth at the back of the roster.
Higgins, Peoples-Jones and Hodge have paid their dues for this occurrence and deserve the playing time in Beckham’s absence.
Mr. Reliable
Of all the receivers, none combines Peoples-Jones’ size (6-1 5/8 and 212 pounds) and speed (4.48 in the 40 at the NFL Combine). He also showed great boundary awareness on his first NFL touchdown catch on the game-winner in Cincinnati to get both feet down in the corner of the end zone.
Cornerback Denzel Ward said, “He is definitely one of the faster guys on the team. He is a physical receiver. He is big. He is good at getting in and out of his routes.”
But when I asked Peoples-Jones what he considered his best attribute, his answer was surprising.
“Versatility,” said the sixth-round draft pick from Michigan. “Lining up wherever. Doing a multiple role of things. If I have to catch, I can do that. If I have to run the ball, I can do that. If I have to block, I can do that. Being versatile is my biggest asset.”
Stefanski concurred with that assessment.
“Really proud of how he played,” Stefanski said. “It was not the first game action for him, but getting his hands on three balls [for his first three NFL catches] and making plays was great to see. He is Mr. Reliable. He can line up anywhere, a very intelligent player. To see him go make a play with the ball in the air was outstanding.”
Stefanski added this enticing nugget: “There are going to be opportunities for him moving forward just like that.”
Brownie bits
Stefanski accepted blame for the defense not rushing Joe Burrow on the last play of the game – a too close-for-comfort Hail Mary pass from the Bengals’ 42-yard line that Cincinnati receiver Tee Higgins batted toward teammate A.J. Green in the end zone. The ball deflected off the chest of Browns safety Sheldrick Redwine. “That was my fault,” Stefanski said. “Calling that defense was thinking that the quarterback could not reach the end zone. I thought they would be more [likely] lateraling ball, but where that return went out and how far it went out, we should have been rushing the passer. That is on me.” …
Stefanski said he would not rule out guard Wyatt Teller (calf) for the Raiders game on Sunday, but it seems more likely that Teller will miss another game and use the following bye week to fully heal …
The Browns’ defense may be 29th in points allowed and 21st in overall yardage, but it regained the No. 1 ranking with 14 takeaways. Ward, who had a tremendous game against the Bengals, showed a hint of agitation with repeated questions about the defense's deficiencies. “We put an emphasis on takeaways,” Ward said. “Takeaways lead to winning ballgames. It helps our offense and helps our team win. Even though we may struggle in some other categories, like points in the game, if we are able to get some takeaways, that is going to increase our chances of winning. We are 5-2, so whether they threw for 1,000 yards, we are winning some games.” Burrow had 406 yards passing, giving him 722 in losses of 35-30 and 37-34 to the Browns.