The weather hasn’t been kind at FirstEnergy Stadium of late, and Sunday was no different. The elements all but eliminated the passing game as a viable form of consistently moving the ball, which played right into the Cleveland Browns‘ hands. The win pushes Cleveland to 7-3 and into a commanding position for one of the Wild Card spots in the AFC.
Editor's note: All of PFF's grades and advanced stats from this game will be finalized and made available to ELITE subscribers within 24 hours of the final whistle.
The Story of the Game
Carson Wentz’s ineptitude was easily the story of the game. While the conditions prevented much from getting going through the air, Wentz did little to overcome the situation. He had an adjusted completion percentage of only 67.7% on the day. His two interceptions weren’t the worst decisions, but his inability to keep the ball out of harm's way keeps popping up week after week. Add in the sack and safety that could have easily been avoided with some semblance of an internal clock from Wentz, and it was an all-around rough performance.
Wentz’s bad day just so happened to coincide with one of the best games of cornerback Denzel Ward’s career. He allowed only four catches on 10 targets for 27 yards — one of which went for a first down. Ward also picked off a pass and forced incompletions on two others.
The third-year corner wasn’t the only one who had himself a day on the Browns' defense. Without Myles Garrett in the lineup, Adrian Clayborn did his best impression of the star edge defender. He racked up five pressures, including two sacks, on 29 pass-rushing snaps. Those five pressures matched his entire total from 110 pass-rushing snaps the rest of the season.
Rookie Watch
Jalen Reagor hauled in four passes for his second straight week — this time on five targets for 52 yards. He was the Eagles' only rookie to play meaningful snaps on the day, although linebacker Davion Taylor saw 18 snaps but didn’t fare too well from a grading perspective with well below-average grades against the run and pass.
For the Browns, Jedrick Wills Jr. had easily his worst day as a pro. He allowed a sack and had three other losses in pass protection. After not allowing a pressure in his previous two games, Wills was uncharacteristically overmatched Sunday. On the other side of the ball, though, Jordan Elliott was a difference-maker along the Browns' defensive line. On only eight snaps against the run, Elliott had three tackles and a forced fumble.
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