DENVER — The Browns historically do not play well in Denver, with a paltry record of just 4-14 in the Mile High City since 1970. The most recent of those 14 defeats came on this Sunday, a relatively flat 29-12 loss to the Broncos.
Cleveland never led once as Jim Schwartz's defense allowed 169 rushing yards. Adding injury to insult, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson had to leave the game in the third quarter after suffering a concussion, while receiver Amari Cooper was sidelined in the fourth with a rib issue.
The Browns fall to 7-4 on the year, still in the thick of the postseason race but now losing a potential crucial tiebreaker to Denver, which is 6-5 on the heels of five straight wins.
The trouble started in the first half, when the Broncos raced out to a 14-0 lead on touchdown runs by Samaje Perine and Russell Wilson. Perine finished the afternoon with 66 total yards on just eight touches, and while Wilson didn't look like his past All-Pro self, he did more than enough, finishing with 168 combined yards and a pair of TDs.
Meanwhile, the Browns' offense couldn't really get anything going, not even against a Denver defense that entered the matchup ranked last in the NFL in total yards. Making just his third career start, Thompson-Robinson did show flashes by going 14 of 29 with 134 yards and a 73.1 passer rating, though he was done in by several key drops from his receivers.
Even with the struggles, Cleveland trailed only 14-6 at the half, and appeared to be gathering momentum late in the third quarter when Thompson-Robinson found Harrison Bryant for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 2. Unfortunately, the usually reliable Amari Cooper dropped what would've been a game-tying 2-point conversion, and from there things went south quickly.
A Wil Lutz field goal but the Broncos up by five with just over a quarter to play, giving the Browns more than enough of a window to take the lead. However, Thompson-Robinson was hit hard by Baron Browning on a third-down throw, knocking him out of the game with what was deemed to be a concussion. P.J. Walker entered under center, only for the team to cough the ball up on a botched reverse exchange from Elijah Moore to Pierre Strong.
Denver, would score on an 8-yard throw from Wilson to Adam Trautman, and that was pretty much the final blow. Walker would go 6 of 13 for 56 yards in relief, getting sacked four times while also fumbling the ball on fourth down.
The Browns decisively lost the turnover battle, 3-1, with the Broncos scoring 14 points off those turnovers. In Cleveland's 269 yards of total offense marked its third-lowest output of the season, a surprising figure since Denver came in allowing more than 400 yards per game.
Prior to kickoff, Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward had been ruled out with a shoulder injury. During the game, All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett also hurt his left shoulder and was later seen in the locker room with his arm in a sling.
Their destiny still very much in their own hands, the Browns will head further west to take on the 5-6 Los Angeles Rams next Sunday. Cleveland has not beaten the Rams since 2007, when the team still played in St. Louis. Their last win in LA came all the way back in 1993.
This story will be updated.