• Jerry Jeudy dominates in his revenge game: Jeudy tallied more than 200 receiving yards for the Cleveland Browns, which he never did in his 57-game career with the Denver Broncos.
• Backup running backs lead the backfield: Jerome Ford and Jaleel McLaughlin led their respective teams in rushing yards — rather than Nick Chubb and Javonte Williams.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos
- Jerry Jeudy: 9 receptions, 235 yards, 1 touchdown
- David Njoku: 9 receptions, 52 yards, 2 touchdowns
Broncos continue the hot-hand approach at running back: Jaleel McLaughlin ended the game as Denver’s main running back.
Over the first nine weeks of the season, the Broncos largely stuck with Javonte Williams as their primary back, and he took 102 carries compared to 53 for Jaleel McLaughlin. Williams received double-digit carries in six games during the nine-week stretch, while McLaughlin reached 10 carries only once.
In Week 10, the Broncos started with Williams and McLaughlin. Rookie Audric Estime got his first snap late in the first quarter and played well, so he ended up with 14 carries. He was the popular waiver-wire add of the week, but Denver turned right back to McLaughlin as the starter in Week 11, and Williams got the hot hand. Williams ended the game with the most rushing yards and attempts.
In Week 12, Williams had the most carries, but it was McLaughlin who played well, so McLaughlin led the team in carries in the second half. Williams started again this week, but McLaughlin was again running well, so he took over for much of the second half.
It’s best to leave the Broncos’ running backs on the waiver wire in most leagues. Denver has its bye next week and then will likely rotate between Williams and McLaughlin in Week 15, and whoever is playing better will see more second-half snaps. Estime even had two strong carries but wasn’t given many other opportunities despite the hot start. There is a chance he could catch fire in another game as he did in Week 10. It’s unpredictable who will lead the team in carries heading into any game, so it would be incredibly risky to start any of the Broncos’ running backs in a redraft league.
Marvin Mims Jr. has his best game of the season: Mims has been much more involved in the Broncos’ offense over the past few weeks.
Mims, often at the bottom of Denver’s wide receiver depth chart this season, started to see at least 10 routes run per game in Week 5. At that point, the Broncos had generally settled into a rotation with Courtland Sutton and Lil’Jordan Humphrey in run situations, and Sutton, Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin in passing situations. Mims would come in to change the pace.
His impact was minimal from Weeks 5-10, with less than 20 receiving yards in each game and just one first down. In Weeks 11 and 12, his routes didn’t increase, but he made the most of his targets. He caught five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, with four of those passes going for first downs. In this game, he caught a 93-yard touchdown, along with two short passes, and finished with 105 yards.
Unfortunately, even if Mims sees a little bit more playing time, it likely won’t be enough to start him. Devaughn Vele seemed like a wide receiver on the rise, but he remains in this heavy rotation and had one reception on a quiet night.
Jerome Ford leads the Browns in carries: Nick Chubb was restricted to nine carries for 21 yards.
Since Chubb’s return from a knee injury suffered in 2023, the Browns have used a two-man rotation with him on early downs, Ford on passing downs and Ford as the primary backup on early downs. In general, if the Browns are winning, that leads to more playing time for Chubb. And if they are losing, then they play Ford more.
That largely explains the difference in playing time for the two backs in this game. However, it’s also worth noting that Chubb has been largely ineffective as a runner this season. He came into the week averaging 3.0 yards per carry this season, and this game will bring down his rushing average. On a drive in the middle of the second quarter with the Browns winning, Ford took all three snaps because he had made a few nice runs.
While the Browns are unlikely to bench Chubb altogether, there is a chance Ford will sneak in more carries and snaps in future weeks.
Browns adjust without Cedric Tillman: The Browns’ X receiver was inactive this week due to a concussion.
Tillman has been one of the best surprises in the league this season. In his first three games as a starter after the Amari Cooper trade, he caught 21 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. He had a quiet Week 11 and then suffered a concussion in Week 12.
Last week, fifth-round rookie Jamari Thrash took over in Tillman’s absence. Thrash had been inactive or did not play on offense over the first third of the season, having tallied just 38 snaps before this game. The Browns had Jaelon Darden and James Proche II as other potential replacements.
Cleveland also elevated Mike Woods from the practice squad for the first time this season. The 2022 sixth-round pick played 154 snaps in his rookie season, but a ruptured Achilles cost him the 2023 campaign. He surpassed Thrash and Darden to be the X receiver in this game, catching two passes for 29 yards.
While Woods took Tillman’s snaps, his absence largely meant more targets for Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore and David Njoku. All three saw double-digit targets and recorded 19-plus PPR points. If Tillman misses another game, expect more strong performances from those three players.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Broncos wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who had been on injured reserve, was a full participant in practice all week but was listed as questionable. The Broncos opted not to activate him for this contest. Denver will need to add him to the 53-man roster by Wednesday for him to play this season.
• Broncos fullback Michael Burton scored his second career touchdown. He was injured on a kickoff but was able to return to the game.
• The Browns elevated wide receiver Kadarius Toney from the practice squad for the second time this season. He received a few snaps early in the game, including a carry, but didn’t play much after the scripted first 15 plays.
• The Browns placed backup tight end Geoff Swaim on injured reserve with a concussion. Blake Whiteheart has taken Swaim’s roster spot as the third tight end.
• The Browns released backup quarterback Bailey Zappe earlier today to make room for players at other positions.
Table Notes
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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