It may come as a surprise to a lot of people, but the Cleveland Browns are 7-3 and right in the mix for the AFC North title despite flying under the radar for most of the season. Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, with rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center for his second NFL start, was led by the defense.
The game came down to the Browns signal-caller though and he illustrated a solid drive in the game's final minute to set up a 34-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal for the 13-10 win.
“I think we just came together,” Thompson-Robinson said, via Myles Simmons. “I have to go back and watch the film to see how all the other drives went. But I know on that last drive, from the O-linemen all the way up to the running backs and the receivers, everybody was all locked in. Everybody had their job, knew what their job was and executed.”
Thompson-Robinson was flawless on the drive, completing all four of his passes for 39 yards to put the Browns in field goal range. He did his job and was visibly emotional on the sideline before Hopkins drilled the game-winning kick. He finished his first NFL win without a touchdown but made plays when it mattered most.
Browns aren’t done yet
After Deshaun Watson went down for the season with a shoulder injury last week, a lot of people closed the door on a Browns playoff run. It's hard to count this defense out though and although he didn’t have a spectacular game, Thompson-Robinson did enough to help Cleveland grab the win.
That may be all he needs to do with the way the Browns' defense is playing lately. Cleveland has the best total defense in football by a wide margin through 11 weeks and has a somewhat favorable schedule the rest of the way.
The Browns signed Joe Flacco to their practice squad after the win on Sunday and he's expected to be added to the active roster at some point within the next couple of weeks. Dorian Thompson-Robinson will likely remain the starter, but if mistakes are made Cleveland won’t hesitate to make another move at quarterback if it means saving their playoff hopes.
For now, Thompson-Robinson is the guy and he's saying all the right things as the starting quarterback of a team with playoff aspirations.
“I’m already focused on next week. I’m focused on going to Denver,” Thompson-Robinson said. “But yeah, man, I’m super happy, glad that I can get this one for my teammates and actually go out there, like I said, get the reps at practice, make the mistakes throughout the week. And so that way those mistakes don’t come up on Sunday.”
The Browns head to Denver next weekend to face the surging Broncos, a team with postseason hopes of their own fresh off their fourth consecutive victory.
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