The Denver Broncos continued their unlikely playoff push against the Cleveland Browns in a “Monday Night Football” shootout victory.
Bo Nix and Denver upended the Browns in a thriller on Monday night, defeating Cleveland 41-32 in Empower Field at Mile High. Nix’s recent stretch of decent play slowed in the matchup; the rookie threw one touchdown to two interceptions on 18-of-35 passing and 294 yards in the win.
It was Denver’s defense that showed up with some critical interceptions late in the game. First was a pick-6 courtesy of Ja’Quan McMillan with just under two minutes left from the arm of Jameis Winston. Next was a game-sealing INT that landed in the hands of linebacker Cody Barton.
Barton’s pick was the third of the night for Winston, who was in true Winston form in the matchup. The veteran passer finished the matchup 34 of 58 for 497 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jerry Jeudy, returning to Denver after an offseason trade landed him in Cleveland, had a stellar showing as Winston’s No. 1 target in the matchup. The wideout snagged nine passes for 235 yards in the contest. He also scored a touchdown.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
The win pushes the Broncos to 8-5 on the season and still in the hunt in the AFC for a wild card. The Browns fall to 3-9 on the year.
USA TODAY Sports provided live updates, highlights and more from the Week 13 “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Broncos and Browns below.
4th & MONDAY: Our NFL newsletter always brings the blitz
Third time’s more than a charm – it’s a win.
Cody Barton snagged a Jameis Winston pass in the end zone, the third INT of the game for the game for the Browns passer. The Browns would kneel out the clock for the 41-32 win.
The Jameis Winston experience is on full display on “Monday Night Football.”
With a chance to take the lead late versus the Broncos, Winston threw his second pick-6 of the game to Ja’Quan McMillian. A Lutz extra point followed, putting the Broncos up by nine points with 1:40 left in the game.
Sean Payton opted to kick a field goal instead of go for it from the 9-yard line, and Wil Lutz nailed the field goal to put Denver up 34-32 with 2:54 left in the game.
That gives the Browns an opportunity to go ahead with a field goal with just over two minutes left in the affair.
Let Jameis cook?
The Browns quarterback found Nick Chubb on a short out route to give Cleveland the 32-31 lead with 8:57 left in the game. The Broncos defense seems stunned: A top-five unit entering the matchup, Cleveland and Winston have thoroughly outplayed Denver’s defense.
The Browns signed Jameis Winston to a one-year, $4 million contract during the 2024 NFL offseason to serve as the team’s backup behind Deshaun Watson. The deal was worth up to $7.1 million based on incentives included within the contract.
The Broncos dialed up a downfield shot on their first play following Corey Bojorquez’s punt. It didn’t pay off, as Denzel Ward out-jumped Mims to create a second turnover.
The Browns still trail by 6 points with just over 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Jameis Winston was sacked for a loss of 14 yards on second down after the Browns converted the fourth-and-1, but it appeared that the Broncos got away with a roughing the passer call. Jonathan Cooper came in and hit Winston helmet-to-helmet as he was going to the ground, and Winston’s helmet shook loose on the play.
The officials did not call a penalty on the play, and the Browns were forced to punt after a 13-yard gain on third-and-23. Corey Bojorquez’s kick traveled 60 yards and resulted in a touchback.
The roughing the passer penalty wasn’t the only one the officials missed on the drive. They also appeared to miss a potential false start on Browns guard Wyatt Teller during Cleveland’s fourth-and-1 conversion
The Browns took a risk with just seconds remaining before the fourth quarter. They lined up for a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak from their own 39-yard line and snapped the ball before the quarter ended.
The play looked a bit off-kilter, but Winston managed to bull ahead and get the necessary yard needed to keep the drive moving.
Through three quarters, the Browns and Broncos have combined for 766 yards and 56 points. Jameis Winston isn’t too far off the pace for a 500-yard game while Bo Nix threw a 93-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
The Broncos were nearly tackled for a safety on the first play of their drive, but from there, they moved the ball well. Denver ran for 51 yards on the drive, after having 39 for the entire rest of the game, and 43 of those yards belonged to Jaleel McLaughlin.
Still, the Broncos stalled in the red-zone and had to kick. Lutz made the 36-yarder with ease to extend Denver’s lead to 31-25.
Aaliyah Jeudy was Jerry Jeudy’s little sister. She was born prematurely and was diagnosed with trisomy 18, which is “a rare condition that causes severe developmental delays because of an extra chromosome 18,” per ESPN.
Only 10% of babies diagnosed with trisomy 18 live to see age 1. Aaliyah Jeudy lived much longer and developed a quality relationship with her older brother, who called her “Lulu.” He credited her with “changing his life a lot” in 2020.
“She taught me how to fight through adversity,” Jeudy told ESPN.
Aaliyah Jeudy died in 2016 at the age of 7 due to complications of trisomy 18. Her brother now wears cleats to honor her, and raise awareness about the condition, during the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats weekend.
The bad news for Cleveland fans: The Browns had to punt. The good news: Bojorquez managed to land the punt inside the Broncos’ 5-yard line, backing up Bo Nix and Co. to start their next drive.
Last time Denver was backed up, Nix threw a 93-yard touchdown. Cleveland will be looking for a much better result this time.
Denver started its drive following Cleveland’s score with a nice run by Jaleel McLaughlin, but the Broncos were whistled for holding on the play. That put them behind the sticks and the team couldn’t get much going before being forced to punt.
Jaelon Darden made the return interesting, as he fielded it off a bounce in a crowd, as he wasn’t sure whether it had hit any of his teammates. He managed to hang onto it and set the Browns up at their own 29-yard line.
An octopus occurs when a player scores a touchdown and then also accounts for a two-point conversion after the score. Scoring all eight points is what creates the so-called “octopus.”
Jerry Jeudy achieved the rare feat during the Broncos vs. Browns “Monday Night Football” contest.
The Broncos traded Jerry Jeudy to recoup a draft asset for the 2021 first-round pick and give him a change of scenery. He struggled with consistency and drops during his time with the Broncos, so the team decided to move on from him and reset its receiver room.
Courtland Sutton has continued to be the team’s No. 1 receiver while DeVaughn Vele, Marvin Mims and Lil’Jordan Humphrey have worked to help replace Jeudy.
Jameis Winston didn’t wait long before answering Bo Nix’s big touchdown throw. On the Browns’ first offensive play after the touchdown, Winston found Jeudy breaking wide open down the middle of the field.
Levi Wallace had no chance to catch Jeudy, who celebrated on his way to the end-zone against his former team. He also caught the ensuing two-point conversion which cut Denver’s lead to 28-25.
The Browns had Nix and the Broncos backed up on a third-and-11 from their own 7-yard line. Nix saw his receiver break open down the middle of the field between the two safeties and hit him in stride. Mims did the rest, galloping into the end-zone with ease for the 93-yard score.
Wil Lutz made the extra point and the Broncos now have an 11-point lead.
The Broncos have now stopped the Browns on consecutive drives to start the second half. Cleveland was called for a critical delay of game that turned a third-and-3 into a third-and-8, and a short completion to Jabari Thrash wasn’t enough to move the chains.
Corey Bojorquez hit his best punt of the day, landing it on the Denver 8-yard line to back up Bo Nix and Co. for their second drive of the second half.
As Joe Buck astutely pointed out, Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris was traded by the Broncos to the Seahawks as part of the Wilson deal. Here’s a full look at the details of that trade:
Broncos get:
Seahawks get:
The Broncos had a second-and-1 on their first drive of the second half, but they couldn’t turn it into a first down. Jaleel McLaughlin ran for negative yardage on second down while Nix failed to convert with Devaughn Vele on third down.
Riley Dixon punted the ball away for the Broncos but failed to get it inside the 20-yard line. Jameis Winston and the Browns have another chance to take back the lead.
The Browns could not double dip after scoring just before the half. They gained 19 yards on their first three plays but Njoku couldn’t hold onto the third-and-3 toss just short of the sticks. That led the Browns to punt, and Marvin Mims fair caught the kick at his own 11-yard line.
Chubb is not hurt, according to Kevin Stefanski. The veteran running back was out a majority of the second quarter, but the Browns head coach said that was simply because the team liked how its offense was operating with Jerome Ford.
Chubb missed 25 snaps before returning for the first play of the second half. He was then promptly replaced by Ford.
The Browns signed Toney to their practice squad on Sept. 9, just a couple of weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs released him.
Toney entered Monday night’s game with just a single carry for the Browns on the season. It went for negative-7 yards against the New Orleans Saints in Week 11.
Denver’s offense hasn’t been as strong as Cleveland’s, but it posted a respectable 141 yards in the first half. Bo Nix was up-and-down in the first 30 minutes, but he hit some downfield shots to Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele throughout the first two quarters.
Below are the team’s statistical leaders at the half:
Jameis Winston threw an awful pick-six in the first half, but aside from that, he had a great showing. He led the Browns to 298 total yards and 16 first downs in the first 30 minutes.
Below are the team’s statistical leaders at the half:
Jameis Winston made up for his 70-yard pick-six by orchestrating an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to close the first half. He lofted a third-and-goal touch pass to his tight end Njoku, who caught his second score of the game.
The Browns decided to kick the extra point to cut Denver’s lead to 21-17. The Broncos will likely run the clock out after the kickoff and take a 4-point lead into halftime.
Just when it looked like the Browns were going to score before halftime, Winston made a critical mistake. He stared down tight end Jordan Akins and Bonitto had a beat on it. He jumped in front of Akins and brought it all the way back for a 70-yard touchdown.
Bonitto now has 10 sacks and a pick-six on the season while the Broncos have a 21-10 lead with 1:38 left in the first half.
Sean Payton went old school on Denver’s second touchdown of the game. He put 10-year veteran Burton into the game and gave him a handoff from inside the 1-yard line. Burton had a clear path into the end-zone behind the right tackle and powered through for the score.
Wil Lutz connected on the extra point to make it 14-10, Broncos. Bo Nix earned completions of 19 and 16 yards to Courtland Sutton and Nate Adkins respectively on the drive.
Broncos fans have a tradition of mocking opposing quarterbacks after they throw incomplete passes. They chant “IN-COM-PLETE” whenever the passer fails to connect with his receiver.
Cleveland nearly had a one-play, touchdown drive when Jameis Winston launched a downfield pass to Jerry Jeudy, but the veteran quarterback overthrew his receiver by a couple of steps. From there, the Browns only gained three yards and were forced to punt.
After sending his first kick 39 yards, Bojorquez managed to send his second 63 yards. The Broncos will get the ball on their own 33-yard line with 7:07 remaining in the first half.
Nix took a deep shot downfield on third-and-10 and appeared to have Courtland Sutton streaking over momentarily. However, McLeod was able to get over from the hash mark and undercut the ball. He nearly intercepted the pass but couldn’t quite hold onto it through contact.
The Broncos punted once again, marking their third, three-and-out of their first five drives.
After missing a 47-yard field goal on the first drive of the game, Hopkins was able to make one from 45 yards away. That kick capped off a 9-play, 42-yard drive and gave Cleveland its first lead of the game, 10-7.
The Browns come up with the first turnover of Monday night’s game, and it came in bizarre fashion.
Ward was covering Troy Franklin and managed to get his hand in front of Bo Nix’s pass. Somehow, Ward’s deflection ricocheted into the air pop-fly style, and Newsome was able to get under it to create the turnover.
The Broncos forced the Browns to punt for the first time on Cleveland’s third drive of the game. The Browns picked up an initial first down on a connection between Jameis Winston and Moore, but the two couldn’t rekindle their magic on a deeper pass that was broken up by McMillian.
Corey Bojorquez’s punt only went 39 yards in the thin Denver air, so the Broncos will get the ball back in good field position.
The Week 13 “Monday Night Football” matchup is off to a fast start, as the first quarter featured 212 total yards of offense.
Jameis Winston has started the game hot, completing 5-of-6 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while Bo Nix has been streakier. The Broncos rookie has completed just 5-of-11 passes for 52 yards, but he put together a strong second drive to help Denver open the scoring.
Cleveland has been positioned to score on each of its first two drives but failed to do so on its first because of a missed field goal by Dustin Hopkins. His performance will bear watching, as he has made just two of his last six field goal attempts.
The figure references the city of Denver’s elevation of 5,280 feet. That’s also the origin of the Broncos’ “Mile High” Stadium (which is presently known as Empower Field at Mile High).
Bo Nix attempted three passes on Denver’s third drive of the game. None of them were completed. That forced the Broncos to punt the ball back to the Browns, who will look to score on back-to-back possessions.
Jameis Winston got the Browns into the red-zone by connecting with Elijah Moore on a 44-yard pass before following that up with a 9-yard toss to Njoku. Dustin Hopkins atoned for his missed field goal by making the ensuing extra point to tie the game at 7-all.
A fun stat: Winston now has two completions of exactly 44 yards on his first two drives. His first went to Jerry Jeudy on the first drive while his second went to Moore.
Bo Nix’s father is Patrick Nix, who played quarterback at Auburn from 1992-95. After his college career, the elder Nix became a coach, starting as a running backs coach at Jacksonville State in 1996.
Nix eventually became Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator in 2004, and helped turn Calvin Johnson into one of the NCAA’s most productive receivers. He held that role through the 2006 season before taking on the same role for two seasons at Miami (FL).
Since 2013, Nix has been a head high school football coach in Alabama. He has worked for three different schools, the most recent of which has been Phenix City Central.
The Broncos capitalized on the good field position provided to them by Dustin Hopkins’ miss. Bo Nix enjoyed a quality drive, finding Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele for big downfield gains.
A particularly nice sliding grab by Vele set up the Broncos at the 1-yard line. After a few tries, Denver managed to punch it in with Williams. Wil Lutz made the ensuing extra point to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead.
Hopkins is now 15 of 22 on the season after he missed his first field goal attempt from 47 yards against the Broncos. He has endured a rough patch of late, as he is now just 2-for-6 over his last three-plus games kicking.
Most of Hopkins misses have come from 50-plus yards, as he is just 4-of-8 from that distance. He is now 4-of-6 on kicks between 40 and 49 yards.
The Browns got off to a strong start on offense, as Jameis Winston found Jerry Jeudy for a 44-yard gain on the first play of the game. However, after a handful of solid runs, Winston failed to connect on a third-and-4 pass in the direction of David Njoku.
The Browns called upon Hopkins to put them ahead, but Hopkins missed the kick wide left. He is now just 15-of-22 on field goal attempts this season.
The Broncos went pass-pass-run on their first drive but were stuffed on a third-and-3 Javonte Williams carry.
Denver punted the ball inside the 5-yard line where return man Jaelon Darden inexplicably decided to return it. Jameis Winston’s first drive will start at his own 10-yard line.
The Broncos and Browns will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET.
ESPN again is the broadcast home of “Monday Night Football.” The longtime team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (color) will be on the call, with Lisa Salters adding reports from the sideline.
There will be no “ManningCast” featuring Peyton and Eli Manning for this matchup.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Broncos-Browns “MNF” matchup will go:
Cord-cutters looking for a live stream of the matchup can turn to Fubo TV. Fubo TV carries NBC, CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
ESPN+, ESPN’s proprietary streaming service, will also carry the game.
Winston’s pregame speeches have fascinated NFL fans, especially since he became Cleveland’s starting quarterback in place of the injured Deshaun Watson.
He was measured ahead of his Week 13 matchup with the Broncos, but he did do his best to mimic the iconic, “Monday Night Football” theme.
One of the NFL’s best defensive players is showing some love to the best two-way player in college football.
Surtain, the Broncos star, warmed up for Denver’s home game against the Browns rocking a shirt featuring Hunter, a star receiver/cornerback who plays for Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes.
Colorado is located in Boulder, which is about 28 miles away from Denver.
The Broncos are favorites to defeat the Browns, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
The Browns vs. Broncos game on “Monday Night Football” is being held at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. Empower Field at Mile High opened in 2001, replacing the Broncos’ original home, Mile High Stadium.
Empower Field at Mile High has hosted three AFC championship games (2005, 2013 and 2015 seasons). It also has hosted numerous international soccer games, including the U.S. men’s national team‘s in over Mexico in the 2021 Concacaf Nations League final.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High rate?
According to AccuWeather, temperatures around kickoff will be in the mid-40s with no chance for precipitation. Temperatures will drop into the mid- to-high-30s by game’s end at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
The Browns won’t be able to challenge for the AFC North in 2024, but they can play spoiler down the stretch against teams who are jockeying for playoff position. Here’s how they stand entering “MNF:”
The Chiefs are running away with the division, but the Broncos are still in the playoff hunt. Here’s how they stack up entering “MNF:”
FanDuel Sportsbook has set the Broncos’ odds to make the playoffs at -154. The sportsbook also offers odds for Denver to miss the playoffs at +126.
FanDuel’s odds imply a 60.6% chance of making the postseason.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
Pittsburgh and Dallas have the unique distinction of playing each other more than any other team combination in Super Bowl history with three matchups.
The Broncos have three Super Bowl victories in eight appearances, with the most recent Lombardi Trophy captured in Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season. The Browns are among four NFL teams that have never appeared in a Super Bowl. Cleveland has Denver partially to blame for having no Super Bowl appearances, as the Broncos defeated the Browns three times in AFC championship games during the 1980s, including two famous games with names seared into NFL lore: “The Drive” and “The Fumble.”
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
Do you like football? Then you’ll enjoy getting our NFL newsletter delivered to your inbox. 📲
Get the latest news, expert analysis, game insights and the must-see moments from the NFL conveniently delivered to your email inbox. Sign up now!
Check out the latest edition …
➤ Best (and worst) from NFL Week 13: Eagles soar, Steelers’ historic winning streak
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.
