Week 12 was a rough one for the Cleveland Browns and they’re leaving the Mile High City at 7-4.

The Denver Broncos handed the Browns a 29-12 loss to pick up their fifth straight win. At halftime, it was just a 14-6 game and Cleveland was within a possession.

Down the stretch, the ugly piled up and things fell apart for the Browns. Injuries mounted, poor play took place on both sides and the inevitable happened.

We may see Joe Flacco next week

Cleveland did not have the veteran quarterback up from the practice squad in Week 12 but I’d expect that to change next week. It was another day of poor quarterback play for the Browns where they left a lot on the field.

Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson left in the third quarter after taking a big hit and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he can’t go next week due to the concussion protocol. DTR went 14-of-29 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown, he’s just not ready to start right now.

P.J. Walker came in to play in relief action and was just 6-of-14 passing with two fumbles, one of them was lost. If Cleveland has to trot him out there, they’re at a big disadvantage.

Playing in Week 12 was likely too quick of a turnaround for Flacco, but Cleveland can use a quarterback that is at least competent. Flacco could be that guy even on the very back end of his career.

Cleveland has to find a way to get into the playoffs with the quarterback play they have. Flacco may be the best option right now.

David Njoku has to find the consistency again

For the second straight game, Njoku’s inconsistency hurt the Browns. He finished with 41 yards on four catches but could have had a couple more.

Njoku has had some trouble hanging onto the ball the last couple of games with a couple of drops in each game. With where the Browns currently stand with the quarterback play, their best weapons dropping passes is a big hurt.

Tackling hurt the Browns in Denver

Tackling was not the strong point for the Browns in Week 12 unless your name is Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. A defense down two starters allowed the Broncos to do what they wanted on the ground and it hurt them all game long.

Denver had 170 yards on the ground and coming into the game, Cleveland was allowing 99 yards a game on the ground. Samaje Perine, Javonte Williams, and Wilson all hurt Cleveland on the day.

The rookie finally left his mark

Cedric Tillman had his best game as a Pro and it all came in the first half of the game. The rookie finished with four catches for 55 yards with a long of 23 yards.

There hasn’t been a ton of opportunity this season for Tillman but he has some chemistry with his good friend DTR, that showed against Denver. Before this game, Tillman’s best game was one catch for five yards against the Ravens in October. 

Browns urged by national media to sign NFL veteran Jarvis Landry

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