By the end of the Week 13 edition of Monday Night Football, Jameis Winston was both the hero and the villain for the Cleveland Browns. The fan-favorite quarterback ended the game with a franchise record 497 passing yards with four touchdowns but also threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for a defensive touchdown.
Once it was all said and done, Winston became the owner of a unique NFL record. He is now the only quarterback in league history to top 450 passing yards while also tossing multiple pick-sixes in the same game, per Adam Schefter.
The 30-year-old gunslinger uncorked 58 pass attempts in the game as Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford combined for just 62 rushing yards on 18 total carries. Winston's top target, ex-Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy, posted a gaudy stat line of his own, hauling in nine catches for 235 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Winston's all-or-nothing play style both directly led to the Browns' 41-32 loss to the Denver Broncos and was the sole reason the game remained competitive. Denver's offense accumulated just three touchdowns in the game and likely would not have been enough to keep up with Cleveland's passing game on its own. Winston's second pick-six to Ja'Quan McMillan put the game out of reach for good with under two minutes remaining.
Browns fall to 3-9 with Week 13 loss to Broncos

While the Jameis Winston era has undoubtedly given life to a previously dull Browns offense, the loss to the Broncos still dropped Cleveland to 3-9 on the year. Since taking over, Winston has led Cleveland to a 2-3 record as the starter.
It seems like a distant memory at this point, but the Browns were not even sold on Winston earlier in 2024. He began the year as the emergency third-string quarterback and needed injuries to both DeShaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson to see the field. Even then, Kevin Stefanski was hesitant to name him as the starter until he led Cleveland to an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8.
The playoffs are largely out of the equation at this point in 2024 but with five games remaining, the Browns' short-term future is brighter than it has been for the better part of the last decade. In each of his five starts, Winston has thrown for more passing yards than Watson did in any of the first seven games of the year.
Since Watson's season-ending injury, Winston has also led Jeudy, Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman to becoming one of the best receiving corps in the NFL over the past month. Between Week 8 and Week 13 — the five games Winston has started — Jeudy leads the league with 614 receiving yards.