DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2023 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 12 Broncos 29 The Broncos

If we beat them we likely eliminate a WC threat to us because of that tiebreaker thing.

When I think of Denver I still have flashbacks to ‘88, the day I became a Browns fan even though Byner fumbled. Plus the AFC title game in January of 1990.

They don’t put up a lot of points but they’ve been winning. For us, it’s SSDW: same stuff, different week. Don’t turn the ball over, run the ball, be patient offensively as we dismantle their offence with our D, get great work from our STs. Lost in all the giddy thoughts about beating Pitt was that our PR had a couple of good returns.

Our punter and kicker have been great so they need to keep doing that.
Need to stretch the field a little, throw a deep ball once in a while just to make them think about the possibility.

Hate the Broncos..... they have looked pretty good the last few weeks.... I expect a really tough game... not sure if we can win, but hoping our defense is up to the task and DTR can find some magic...

We've got to rotate the big boys on the DL....that altitude is no joke. I don't know when they're leaving, but I hope they get a few days to acclimate.

Mile high. The breathtaking views are literally breathtaking, but I’m sure we have a plan to handle it.

Next two weeks are pretty serious potential post-high stumbling blocks. Going to be on coaching to make sure we get properly focused. We’ve historically not traveled west and done very well and I gather the team is (probably smartly) staying out west for the duration. I go skiing every couple years in CO and as Jf said, the altitude is no joke. I’m a very fit guy (for an old guy) and it always takes a few days at least to get your wind.

I saw some pundit compare them to the Steelers and it makes a lot of sense. They’re dominating on defense, hanging around and taking advantage of mistakes. They’ve beaten the packers, chiefs, bills and Vikings in the last 4, which is also no joke. They’ve forced 12 turnovers in those 4 games. Those 4 teams averaged 17 points in that span, with the chiefs only mustering 9. They’re just not the same team that started 1-5.

The offensive game plan will probably be pretty similar to the Steelers, emphasis on not turning the ball over, high percentage plays, get the ball out quick, short passes, try to wear down the middle of the defense with runs up the gut. Just super fundamental, patient ball. The ball is going to sail on DTR in the altitude so I would think a high degree of caution on airing it out. I hope they’re working heavily on timing his throws better, not throwing behind his receivers. A few close calls with that last week. Better accuracy on throws to the flat.

I’ll bet the Donks are expecting just about the same sort of thing so they’ll probably crowd the LOS and the box and it’ll be very tempting to try stuff down field. Just be careful, they’re feasting on mistakes right now.

This is another pretty big test game. We’re catching this team on a serious hot streak at home, an environment we don’t usually do well in, while they’re in do or die for wildcard mode. They have a lot of emotional momentum right now. It’s a call for adult ball: patience, fundamentals, possession, don’t make mistakes. Probably another low scoring affair. Much closer to a 50/50 toss up and probably even more of a statement than beating the Steelers last week at home. It would say a lot about our toughness and road worthiness to take this one.

I'm actually glad they won this past Sunday. I'm hopeing this means they are a little LESS desperate then they would be had they lost

I view them as a similar team to us offensively ... opportunistic, grind it out, field position, etc

Their secondary is very good. Don't like the idea of DTR throwing to many times in their stadium vs their defense.

We need our D to do their thing and keep it low scoring

Come on Dawgs bring the wrecking crew to Denver. I predict another low scoring close game. Unless ski finds a crack in the secondary. Then look out. I’d love to go to this game but we’re headed to Vegas for the weekend. Enjoy the game all.

They have got to be helping DTR with the deep ball. The speed of the game is slowing him down. He will get better. The guy can throw! They just need to work it out with longer pass plays that are not high risk and I think he will produce better than we expect. The broncos are going to try the same game plan as steelers. KS will not stick to the same plan. He has to open things up and I think he will.

This game is very winnable

The Browns D is Ranked number 1 over all, they rank number 1 in passing D and number 11 in rushing D

The Broncos sit at the bottom at 32 total all D, 24th in passing D and 32nd in rushing D

The two teams are close to Offensive rankings

The Browns are ranked 19th with 21 TD's while the Broncos are 23rd with 22 TD's

Browns rank 26th with passing with 8 TD's

Broncos rank 24th with 19 TD's

Browns rank 3rd rushing with 11 TD's

Bronco's Broncos 14th with 1 TD

Broncos lead the series 24 -7

The advantage for the Broncos is playing at home in Mile High and having a very experienced HC in Payton

The advantage for the Browns is the Defense, the D owns the catagories the Broncos struggle with.

This may be an opportunity for KS to open up the O a little bit

The run game should open up with the Broncos being dead last in rushing D

There may be opportunties for DTR to get a pass game going and hopefully get him in a groove to carry on a win into the following game

If the run game is succesful and the D plays to the normal greatness they have been

This could easily end up a 28 -17 win for the Browns

The Broncos have always been a thorn in our side. We're 7-24 lifetime against them, we're playing at their place and they're playing well. The few times we beat them the games have been close. One thing that would help DTR more is our receivers would CATCH THE DAMN BALL!!!!! I'm sure he would appreciate it and it could boost his confidence some.

Offense needs to run early and often - the Vikings were running (Mattison and Chandler) on their DL pretty well last week. Turnovers (3) cost the Vikings last week. They should have won that game.

I just think we are the better team top to bottom.

Should be a close win in a low scoring game.

The thing that hurt Minny that we need to be prepared for is Wilson is check down Charlie. He'll climb the pocket and just check it down to the flat repeatedly if you let him. I would make him scramble to the outside, clog the lane...I wouldn't have any help on their receivers, and I would make sure we are covering the flat.

We should also run all over this team. Running game and defense should be enough.

4 game suspension on Kareem Jackson upheld

ESPN
Nov 21, 2023, 10:28 PM ET

The four-game suspension handed to Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson for his hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs was upheld Tuesday.

Hearing officer Derrick Brooks, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association, declined to reduce the suspension after Jackson appealed the initial decision.

Jackson will miss games against the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions. He will be eligible to return in Week 16, a Christmas Eve home game against the New England Patriots.

Earlier this season, Jackson had a four-game suspension reduced to two games by Brooks on appeal. The Broncos' game Sunday night against the Vikings was Jackson's first in his return from that suspension.



Dobbs, who ended up fumbling, subsequently underwent a concussion check but was cleared to reenter the game.

A 14-year veteran in his fifth season with the Broncos, Jackson was notified of his suspension Monday morning by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan. Runyan said in the letter, "on the play in question, you lowered your head and delivered a forceful blow to the shoulder and head/neck area of an opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact. You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.''

With the four-game suspension upheld, Jackson will forfeit $559,889 in salary. He forfeited $279,000 in salary from his previous two-game suspension. He also has been fined four times this season for unnecessary roughness for a total of $89,670 and has been ejected from two games.

Jackson said last week that he had talked to league officials to seek "clarity'' on tackling, including the plays for which he had been penalized. After his earlier suspension, Jackson's teammates were quick to defend him, especially safety Justin Simmons, who took exception to the league's letter to Jackson last month notifying him of the suspension as well as the narrative that Jackson is a dirty player based on the fines and ejections.

The rule of thumb my uncle always tells everyone that comes visit him out there is to allow one day for every 1500 feet of elevation change, so we need to be there like... today or tomorrow.

Wins by the Browns, Chargers, and Bengals would make for a sweet weekend, indeed.

Go chargers!

This is gonna be one of those games where each struggling offense has a chance to become explosive and gain momentum into the home stretch of the season.

I believe we have a better chance to have our offense clicking this game than the broncos. But I’m not gonna sleep on Russ and Payton. Right now both teams are flying high of recent stretches of wins, and this is a chance for us to beat another hot team this season.

This is a dangerous game. It doesn't worry as much as next week's Rams game, but it is still a team to not take lightly.

They have the dead last worst rushing defense in both TD's given up and YPC surrendered. Additionally, their defense doesn't get a lot of pressure or sacks.
Our offense will hopefully find it a bit easier to breathe and work and hopefully, our OLine can be a bit of a bully. We need to get our guys there early to get used to the altitude change, though, so we aren't sucking wind late in the game.

Offensively, they also have the fewest Rushing TDs in the league (just one), but they are averaging a decent 4.5/ypc and our defense has been susceptible to the occasional gashing in the run game.
Our Pass Defense can smother almost anything, but passing is their strength. Strength against strength, I'll take our D, but they'll have their work cut out.

I think the only reasonable thing is to come out and smack them like we're David and they're Goliath and just never let up.

Fingers crossed. Staley's style of defense is historically where Lamar has struggled. If only Staley could run his defense the same way he did when he was actually a defensive coordinator...

As far as our game goes, I am very worried. Playing Denver during a hot streak in their own stadium with a lot of implications on the line. Wilson has also been an historical thorn in our side, along with Denver itself.

I would Pound. The. Rock.

wins by the Browns, Chargers, and Bengals would be a nice holiday weekend

I worry about the Browns taking Denver lightly, but I also worried about the Browns crapping the bed vs the Steelers after an emotional win vs the Ravens. I've decided to just let this team keep pleasantly surprising me.

This game is different in that it'll be a test of our offense's ability to take care of the ball. When we're playing a team like Denver (not a powerhouse but still have weapons), the way this Browns teams is going to lose is the offense handing the ball over to the other team on our half of the field.

I suppose I don't take the concern about the players taking this lightly as much as some do. The O has had it's struggles for obvious reasons and I don't feel that has anything to do with taking anyone lightly. If anything I would feel they are motivated to produce better after a 13 point scoring performance against the Steelers.

On D we have Schwatrz who is a pro's pro that always who always seems to have this D prepared. When you combine that with our D leaders on the field with players like Myles, Ward, Delpit and the emergence of JOK, I think they're all hungry for a playoff run.

So as it pertains to the teams motivation I don't question that part of things. Not saying it still won't be a tough game and hard fought.

Me neither. It may be true if Denver had lost a few of these close games, but they haven't. Only two teams in the league have won the last four games... one lost a close Super Bowl nine months ago, the other stands in our way this Sunday. I'm sure the coaching staff has made that handy little stat clear. Tough battle? Probably. Trap game? No way.

Don't think the team is taking Denver lightly... they've got the longest win streak in the NFL...

It still has buzzsaw all over it. Their Defense the last month is the important part. i've watched enough of their games to know that their defense is no joke. They generate takeaways.

I will also say that their offense are figuring it out but if an average Vikings defense can make it difficult for them to score. Russ is not going to have much time to throw the ball. Dude's king of "just throwing it out there and see if a receiver will make a play"

The D can take advantage of it. Think Njoku will have a redemption game.

Gonna be another defensive battle methinks. Hopefully DTR will be a bit more confident in the pocket this game.

Denver is one of the 3 or 4 teams I really hate for obvious reasons. Our coaches won’t let the team take them lightly. It will be a very tough game. If we win i’ll get as much satisfaction as our wins in the last two games. Go Browns!!!!

Mary Kay Cabot
@MaryKayCabot
#Browns CB Denzel Ward could miss games with a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday's 13-10 victory over the #Steelers; DBs banged up as Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill sit out Wednesday's practice:

without Ward, we'll be stressed against Sutton/Jeudy and then Krupp/Nacua

Looks like no Newsome either and neither one of our starting safties or starting middle linebacker. No matter how good our defense is qe can't expect them to hold the broncos under 20 points with 95% of our starting secondary out

woah... holy crap. What the heck happened to us???

This is only describable as a Mass Casualty Drill

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/injury-report/

Six of them are non injury getting rest

They have played 6 pretty physical games since the bye

Rest as much as they can, being rested going into game time will be beneficial

Maybe some players got hurt in practice? I really don't know. Doesn't look good though

Not having Walker AND Ward hurts. I suspect most of the others will find their way onto the field Sunday. But that’s two primary defensive leaders. Wilson has been very solid the last 4 games: 7 Tds 0 Ints. He does have a fumble. Their D has produced 12 turnovers in that 4 games. I don’t see us taking this game at all lightly. Hell, we don’t have the offense to take anyone lightly. We have to hang on to the ball above all else.

This isn't like.any other Browns team since 99. This team is legit good with good coaching. I'm reading a lot of Battered Browns Fan Syndrome in here.

Injuries could be an equalizing factor, but I think we should be feeling confident. I've watched Denver. I'm not impressed. Should have lost to both the Bills and Vikings. Then no one would be talking about 4 game winning sreaks. Literally both teams beat themselves.

Browns are on a mission this year. I am concerned about the injuries. The defense needs to be intact. Otherwise, l like our chances.

Good points Bone but it’s hard for me to optimistic about my Browns. As far as the point spread I’m glad we’re not favored. I think the team plays better as an underdog. Oh and by the way Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 to you and your family!!

Regarding the media, I think it will take a couple somewhat solid performances by DTR to get the media to take our offense seriously. They are a bit slow to react but when they do, they tend to go overboard. The media are big in "flavor of the month" players and teams. All it took was the 49ers losing 3 straight and Purdy suddenly became trash and yesterday's new and the 49ers were dead in the water.

Time will tell.

I think we can and will win but I think the pundits and jouro’s have much more “recency bias” approach to analysis. While they’ve given up the 3rd most points, they’ve given up an average of 17pts a game over the last 4 including from the Chiefs and Bills. This is very much the tale of a team that has changed remarkably over the course of the season. Every year there’s a team that looks completely different from the start to the end and it looks like the broncos are that team this year. They have a lot of emotional momentum at the moment and football thrives on that more than just about any sport imo. Let’s hope we can break that spell and bring that early season Broncos team back to the fore. Harassing Wilson is key. And not turning the ball over.

I think their opinion helps stem for the fact that the Browns O could only muster 13 points last week. When you combine that with how banged up the Browns D is going into this game I don't think pretending the media is biased is rooted in reality. They may turn out to be wrong and I hope they are, but the way these things all line up their predictions are understandable.

SUCK!

That graphic is just... ill.
A defense that looks like this can win a championship with a QB the caliber of Trent Dilfer.
It's still the NFL. Certain laws and rules still apply.


Not saying that it will... just saying that it can.

In looking at the chart, Denver is last in every way. Dilfer probably could have pegged 28 or more on Denver, so we will see if DTR is of Dilfer quality.

It's actually becoming a trend that the defense gives up an explosive play or plays every game sandwiched around tons of plays that go nowhere. Would prefer not to see that honestly. It grates on me because they are so good.

I've already booked my ticket to the site of this year's Super Bowl. That's how confident I'm feeling.

I see an Elf riding bare back, breaking a Bronco !!

I'd be careful putting to much stock on that graphic.. take away that 70-20 loss where denver was missing quite a few starters on defense, and they are alot closer to us than it appears. They get turnovers in bunches, which might be our undoing. Their LT is good, but their RT sucks and has given up I think 6 sacks this year, so I would expect to see Garrett move around this game since Smith hasn't done much of anything so no sense in keeping him in his normal spot.. Wilson is getting more time in pocket than any QB in the league and still has taken over 30 sacks.. thats who he is and I think we will exploit that.. sucks that our secondary is made of glass apparently. Hopefully some of the young guys can fill in. Denver run D is towards the bottom of the league so we should be able to stick with our normal game plan and hopefully get more efficiency out of the running game.. We may have the 3rd most ypg rushing, its not efficiently. Id like to see more of hunt getting bulk of the load.. He seems like a guy that needs the touches to get himself in a groove. Ford will have 10 runs for 1 yard then get a 10-12 yard run and rinse repeat.. makes it hard to consistently run on 1st/2nd. I really think we can get more out of our screen game than we have.. seems like we will run one or two and they'll be decent and then thats it. I see this being another low scoring game. Which ever team takes care of the ball will win.(in my best Madden voice)

Agreed that the appearance of Denver's D being that bad is grossly skewed by that one game, and their Rushing D stats in particular. Miami hung 350 rushing yards on them that day.

That said, the Jets hung over 230 rushing on them and a couple of teams have hit 175+, so maybe there is something there to be exploited, but without knowing if those things were schematic or a result of injuries, I can't say one way or the other.
To balance that out, they've also had performances where they've held a team to under 100 yds rushing, so it is a little bit of a mixed bag.

durn... video talks about how the Denver D's biggest weakness right now is TEs..

Hopefully Chief hitting the Jugs machine works out because he's gonna be targeted quite a bit again...

absolutely, if theres one thing we should attack its def. their run game.. that protects DTR and its what we do better. win/win.

Jake Trotter
@Jake_Trotter
·
3m
#Browns Pro Bowl CB Denzel Ward (shoulder) is OUT for Sunday in Denver

Mary Kay Cabot
@MaryKayCabot
·
1m
In addition Denzel Ward being ruled out, #Browns WR Marquise Goodwin (concussion) is out for the #Broncos game; LB Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) and S Juan Thornhill (calf) are questionable

If we lose this game on Sunday, and that's a real possibility with our QB situation and all our injuries, I hope everyone stays calm and not go back to all the negative attitudes and posts. This would be a tough game even if we were healthy.

What kinda of internet site would we be if that happened? Think of the children, man... we have examples to set.


(p.s. it isn't negative if you're just pointing out truths, even if they're a bitter pill)

The Browns are 7-3 and there are still negative attitudes and posts

If the Browns lose, no way in hell will everyone stay calm

As always there are some who reason, and some who find a reason to be negative. It's what passionate fan bases do

The Browns are making strides to play in post season games, it's going to be tough to be 7-4 and not 8-3

The team and coaching staff has faced so much adversity. Winning helps losing sucks, just how it is

Every game from this point on is next man up and do what it takes to win

Winning Championships is how you over come adversity

I do not want to see this Browns team think the same way as some fans do

Oh if we lose don't get upset, it'll be okay

No It's not going to be okay !

Go into Denver play to win and come out victorious

I'm not rooting to almost make the play-offs

I'm rooting for this team to make the play offs and games like this is how you make them

No bs excuses tired of hearing Browns fans putting their tail between their legs and already talking like it'll be okay to lose

It won't be ! It just won't

Time to add an 8 to the series

Change the mentality

Change the culture

GO BROWNS !!!!

Is it really negative to point out the good and the bad? I don't think so. ie.... The Browns D holding the Steelers O to 10 points is VERY good! The Browns only being able to score 13 points is bad. Unless you feel the Browns only being able to score 13 points as being a good thing there's really nothing negative about that. It's just the reality of it.

The only thing that matters is making the playoffs.

If we lose on Sunday, have to rebound and make the playoffs.

No playoffs at this point would be a pretty big collapse and deserving of a lot of criticism.

The usual whiny ass bawl babies will be at it on the first negative play.

All that needs to happen is for Russel Wilson to play like Kenny Pickett.

All that needs to happen is for our D to play like our D

j/c:

Browns top cornerback Denzel Ward to miss Sunday's game against Denver with shoulder injury

https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports.../95-0d6cb64c-808b-4229-8c10-068ffbbdfe72

If a D plays exactly the same way every time the points allowed will vary depending on the ability of your opposition. The Browns have a great D no doubt about it. But if you can't understand that more talented QB's will do better against a great D than a bad QB I can't help you with that.

Yes and Wilson is very capable of putting up points. We’ve got our hands full tomorrow and I’m not too optimistic because of our shortcomings on O.

whats your problem

Can you explain how the graph works?

Most of our games worry me but when we play the Broncos every Browns fan should worry. We've had trouble with them since the merger, 7-24 lifetime and even the games we've won were very close. We're playing them at their place, they're hot and we have a lot of injuries. I'd be worried. I don't see us winning and I'd like nothing more than to see us beat this pain in the Butt team!!!!

You've been a defeatist all season. Of all the seasons to have that mindset, this isn't one of them.

This team is legit good.

If you think we might lose because of injuries, I could get on board with that. The list is pretty long.

IMO, the Broncos are not good. They aren't going to gash you on O and you can move the ball on them. The Browns have some depth, but most importantly they believe they are good. In the NFL, that's 70% of the battle.

This game could probably go either way, but if the Browns have ever earned the benefit of the doubt it's this season.

It's not a problem. If your D holds a team to 10 points with Kenny Pickett at QB, you don't think that a much better offense will score more than 10 points against that D? Our first game against the Ravens they scored 28. Of course DTR threw 3 int's in that game which helped them a lot! The 49'ers scored 17 ad P.J. threw 2 int's which helped them a lot. The Colts put up 38 points with P.J. throwing only 1 int. the Seahawks put up 24 with P.J throwing 2 int's. In the second Ravens game they put 31 points on the board.

Now I'm all for saying that the D can win you some games. But a great D can only make up for a putrid O so much. Your O has to be able to put up 20 points or more. They don't have to be an offensive juggernaut but if you plan to make any noise in the playoffs you can't rely strictly on your D. And unless DTR makes big leaps and can put 20+ points on the board within a very small window of time that's the scenario they're looking at.

I'm pretty sure he was referring to your snarky attitude.

I forgot about this game ... that was a good win for us

I guess that's up to interpretation. I think it's quite accurate to say if a person doesn't understand that a more powerful O will score more than a bad one against an opposing D, there really is nothing more I can do to help someone understand that. One can take that in any way they choose I suppose.

I agree we're legit good and I'll go one step further and say we've had some really good coaching especially on D. But we're not healthy Denver is and we're playing at their place against a team that's been a real problem for us over the years. I think it's too much to overcome today. Hope I'm very wrong! Our record in Denver 4-13.

I envision a game that is 19-17 or 16-13 or whatever either way. I really hope our defense can hold them under 20 and we can somehow manage enough offense

The Browns need to put up 24+ points in this game. Full Stop.

I still stand by that statement. Broncos are not a good team.

We were outcoached yesterday.

On to LA.

Rish...remember what I said.."I worry about this game as the Browns have some key injuries on both sides of the ball, Offense & Defense..."

...then I listed the long list of Browns on the injury report.

I didn't even factor in the injuries that occurred on the Browns side throughout the game, which only added to the odds against the Browns winning the game as it progressed.

The first thing Denver HC Sean Payton went after the Browns secondary and burned Newsome twice on the first drive.

Then there is the Broncos rushing...Rush-Yds-TDs 24-107-0 39-169-2

The Browns turnovers and play selection.

Then there is a legitimate proven NFL HC in the Broncos Sean Payton vs the Browns Stefanski, who I consider a HC in training who is possibly being influenced in game planning and play selection by others in the Browns organization.

Outcoached..yep..that on top of the other stuff I mentioned.