Game Recap: Washington wins big over the Cleveland Browns
October 7, 2024
by Steve Thomas
Washington crushed the Cleveland Browns yesterday at Northwest Stadium by a score of 34 – 13. Star rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels went 14 for 25 for 238 yards, a 56% completion percentage, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception, and a 75.8 quarterback rating. He was also the team’s leading rusher, with 11 carries for 82 yards, for 7.5 yards per carry. Among the running backs, Austin Ekeler led the way, with 6 carries for 67 yards, including a long of 50, for 11.2 yards per carry. Terry McLaurin was the team’s leading receiver, with 4 receptions in 8 targets for 112 yards, including a long of 66 yards in which he got behind star Cleveland corner Denzel Ward.
Other standout performances on offense included running back Jeremy McNichols, who only had 7 carries for 44 yards, but had a long of 28 yards. In addition, Dyami Brown had 2 receptions for 57 yards, one of which being a 41 yard touchdown in which he burned the Browns corner on a deep go route.
On the defensive side of the ball, the stars of the game were clearly linebackers Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner. Luvu, in particular, seemed to be all over the place. He was credited with just 7 tackles, including 4 solo, but also had 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. For his part, Wagner had 6 tackles, including 3 solo, as well as 1.5 sacks.
The team’s best player, punter Tress Way, had 4 punts for 192 yards. Kicker Austin Seibert went 2 for 2 on field goals, along with 4 extra points, and still has not missed a kick this season.
For the Browns, quarterback Deshaun Watson had an ineffective day, going 15 for 28 for 125 yards, for a 53.6% completion percentage, and 1 touchdown, for a 77.2 quarterback rating. Starting running back Jerome Ford had 9 carries for 47 yards, for 5.2 yards per carry. D’Onta Foreman had 9 carries for 44 yards. Amari Cooper was the teams’ leading receiver, with 4 receptions for 60 yards. Jordan Akins had the Browns sole touchdown on a 10 yard pass from Watson.
The game started out on an uncharacteristically rough path for Washington’s offense, with a punt and an interception on their first two drives in the first quarter. The team soon got back on track, however, with three touchdowns and a field goal prior to the end of the first half. The highlight plays for Washington’s offense in the first half included Ekeler’s 50 yard run down to the Browns’ 30 yard line. Ekeler actually fumbled on the play, but the play was recovered by receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. Terry McLaurin’s 66 yard reception against Denzel Ward came on the second possession of the day; however, the drive ultimately ended with a Browns interception near the goal line. Dyami Brown’s 41 yard touchdown reception came with less than a minute left in the second quarter. The score was 24 – 3 at halftime.
On defense, Washington had a tremendous first half, forcing the Browns into 6 punts and a turnover, while allowing just 1 field goal. At halftime, the Browns had just 68 yards of total offense, including 54 yards passing by Watson and 14 total yards rushing.
The second half was a bit slower for Washington, mainly thanks to Washington’s big lead, which the never surrendered. The team had one touchdown and one field goal in the third quarter. Marcus Mariota took over for Daniels in the fourth quarter, with two drives, both of which ended in punts but were clearly intended to merely run time off of the clock. The Browns were able to get a garbage-time touchdown late in the game.
Overall, Daniels came back down to earth slightly in this game, with a few more incompletions than he’s had in other matchups so far this season, and additionally had a few misreads; nevertheless, this is nitpicking in a blowout win for a player who is on track so far to be the offensive rookie of the year so far.
Washington travels an hour up the freeway next Sunday to face the Baltimore Ravens in probably their toughest non-divisional game of the year.