CLEVELAND — The season that felt like it was on the brink for the Cleveland Browns now suddenly appears to have new life after a 41-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
As the "Voice of the Browns," Jim Donovan, put it during an appearance on "What's New" with Jay Crawford and Lynna Lai, it was hard to know what to expect from Kevin Stefanski's team in the wake of cutting ties with Odell Beckham Jr. last week.
"The tricky part of this whole situation was: How were they (the Browns) going to play? You really didn't have a feel after the week they went through," Jimmy told Jay and Lynna. "You just wondered if they were going to be together. And they were."
The key for Jimmy was that the Browns defense set the tone early with explosive plays, most notably Denzel Ward's 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. But they also forced two other Bengal turnovers and sacked Joe Burrow five times.
The offense added their own blend of explosive plays with a 70-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb and a 60-yard scoring pass from Baker Mayfield to Donovan Peoples-Jones.
"All together, it was a complete team victory. The one we've been waiting all season for," Jimmy added. "Those are the Browns that we loved last year."
Meanwhile, while Odell Beckham Jr. awaits whether he gets claimed on waivers or becomes a free agent on Tuesday, Jimmy believes that his best friend and former teammate Jarvis Landry will be just fine.
"I really do believe that it was burdensome for Landry to have Beckham on the team because he had to take care of him all the time. It wasn't just football, it was everything. I think Landry wants to be his own player and his own man. They'll always be friends, but I think it has lightened the load in Berea," Jimmy explained.
Next up for the Browns will be a date with Bill Belichick and the Patriots in Foxborough this Sunday. Both teams will come in at 5-4, so it will be a pivotal matchup as far as playoff positioning goes.
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