The Cleveland Browns are now 5-4 after a 23-22 road loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, a game Cleveland very well could have won. 

Cleveland led 13-9 until New Orleans scored the game-winning touchdown with 58 seconds remaining. The Browns were able to get a field goal to tie it up and send it to overtime, but it was bad from there. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough marched down the field in overtime for a touchdown, and the Browns were able to answer on a 39-yard touchdown by Harold Fannin Jr. A failed two-two-point conversion by the Browns was the end result.

Cleveland went into this one without Deshaun Watson, and Shedeur Sanders got the start at quarterback. The Browns came out of it just one game over .500. Still, there were plenty of takeaways from the loss, both good and bad. Here are the winners and losers from Week 9.

Browns defense produced several winners against the Saints

Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger is a star. He finished with 14 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble against New Orleans, and his imprint was all over this game. Wherever the ball is, Schwesinger is around it. He’s playing like one of the best linebackers in the NFL.

Slot cornerback Myles Harden was another big winner. Harden had two sacks and a pass breakup against the Saints, and it was a strong all-around day for No. 26. He’s had an up-and-down season, but Week 9 was an up.

Cleveland was without defensive tackle Maliek Collins in this game, and Mike Hall Jr. stepped up. Hall picked up a sack, which gives him two on the season. The Browns’ defensive tackles have gotten it done all year, and Hall was the one to make his mark in Week 9.

Rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion scored his first touchdown of the season on a 64-yard bomb. He finished with four catches for 85 yards and is now over 400 receiving yards on the year. Concepcion is getting more comfortable each week, and he’s going to be a major part of the Browns’ passing game for years to come.

Denzel Boston also got in on the big-play fun. Boston hauled in a 60-yard pass on a play where he mossed the New Orleans defender. He finished with six catches for 98 yards, and he’s another major piece of this team’s future.

Kicker Andre Szmyt belongs on the list, too. Szmyt connected from 51 yards out, and it was his seventh straight made kick from beyond 50 yards. Long field goals have become a strength for Cleveland with him on the roster.

Browns losers from Week 9

On a day when defensive end Myles Garrett returned from injury and racked up three sacks, it would have been nice to see edge rusher Jared Verse get his first sack of the season. Through nine games, Verse still hasn’t recorded a sack with the Browns. He’s had enough time to get used to playing in Cleveland. The results need to come, and they just haven’t.

Right tackle Tytus Howard had a rough afternoon as well. Howard committed a penalty early and gave up a sack in this game, then was called for holding on the final play. Right tackle has been the weak link of the Browns’ offensive line all season. Howard was brought in to be a veteran piece capable of holding down the job, but he’s been a bad player for Cleveland this year.

Head coach Todd Monken has had better days in his tenure as the Browns leader to this point. Monken’s decision-making was questionable in this one at best. Cleveland not going for it on 4th-and-two was a very questionable move in the second quarter where Cleveland settled for a field goal. The decision to go for it on fourth down in the second half and not pin a Saints offense was another decision I didn’t like, as the defense was playing at a high level. Monken could have helped his backup quarterback more in Week 9 than he did.