Game Recap: Commanders beat Browns 34-13 to reach 4-1 and retain first place in the NFC East

The Commanders entered Week 5 with a 1-game lead on the Eagles and Cowboys in the NFC East and a chance to cement that lead for at least another week. The Browns came in on a two-game losing streak and trying to find a way to right the ship.

First Quarter

Washington kicked off, and, following the return, the Browns started the first offensive drive at the 30-yard line. After a quick first down, the Browns faced 3rd & 3 at the Washington 49 yard line. The run was stopped by DE Dorance Armstrong to force the Browns to go for it on 4th & 1. The play was short, and the Commanders forced a turnover on downs, taking over at their own 47 yard line. It was a strong start for Washington’s defense.

After two unsuccessful runs, the Commanders faced 3rd & 10; on the third down play, Jayden Daniels was sacked by Zadarius Smith to force the punt. So far, the game is a defensive battle.

Cleveland set up for their second offensive drive of the game at their own 28-yard line about 4 minutes into the game. After a 8-yard loss on 1st down and an incomplete pass, the Browns needed 18 yards on 3rd down. The attempted pass was incomplete, bringing the Browns’ punter out for the first time in the game.

On a fair catch by punt returner Olamide Zachheaus, a Browns player hit him hard, drawing a penalty flag and setting up the second Commanders offensive drive at the Washington 34-yard line.

Again, the Browns defense put the brakes on Washington with a loss on first down and another incomplete pass on 2nd down to bring up 3rd & 13. Daniels escaped heavy pressure on the pass rush, scrambled to his right, and then threw a ball about 50 yards in the air to Terry McLaurin for a 66-yard gain to set up 1st & goal at the 3-yard line. I feel like I’ve seen this movie before.

Like last week, when he scored a touchdown on a called run, Daniels tried to run the ball right, but got stopped for a 2-yard loss, followed by an incomplete pass on 2nd down. With 3rd & goal from the 5-yard line, Daniels targeted Zach Ertz, but instead turned the ball over with his 2nd career interception at the goal line pulled in by Brown’s linebacker JOK.

Cleveland’s offense started its 3rd offensive drive of the game at their own 1-yard line with 07:33 remaining in the 1st quarter.

After two short runs, Cleveland faced 3rd & 6 at their own 5 yard line. Watson threw the ball about 35 yards downfield to hit open grass, overthrowing his receiver by several yards.

On the punt, Washington’s returner, Zaccheaus fielded the ball near midfield and returned it to the Browns 35-yard line where the Commanders set up for their 3rd offensive drive with the score tied 0-0 with about 6 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 9 at the Browns 21-yard line. The next play earned 7 yards, and Washington decided to go for it on 4th & 2. They handed it to Austin Ekeler on a jet sweep. It looked for a moment as if he’d be trapped behind the line, but he made the first down to set Washington up with 1st & goal at the 4-yard line.

On the next play, Brian Robinson broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and ran the ball in for the first score of the game. It was 7-0 with 02:40 remaining in the first quarter.

After a couple of frustrating drives, the Commanders had found a groove.

On the subsequent kickoff, the Browns set up for the 4th Cleveland drive of the game at the 28-yard-line.

After two fruitless plays, the Browns faced another 3rd & long, needing 10 yards for a first down. Deshaun Watson scrambled, but gained only 5 yards to complete another 3 & out series.

The Browns punted, and managed to down the ball at the Washington 2-yard line with about a minute left in the quarter.

After two plays for no gain, there were 12 seconds left in the quarter. On 3rd & 10, Daniels overthrew an open Zach Ertz about 30 yards downfield, forcing Tress Way to punt from under his own goal posts to end the quarter.

Second Quarter

Cleveland opened the 2nd quarter with the ball on their own 48-yard line. The Browns offense had managed just 25 yards of offense in the first quarter — 14 passing and 11 rushing yards. They would need to take advantage of this strong field position.

Watson hit Amari Cooper for 19 yards on 2nd & 10 to get deep into Commanders’ territory. A penalty on the next play, brought up 1st & 15 at the Washington 29 yard line. After a pair of incompletions — the second nearly picked off by Quan Martin — it was 3rd & 15.

Frankie Luvu sacked Deshaun Watson — the first of the day for Washington’s D — to force a 51-yard field goal attempt by Cleveland kicker Dustin Hopkins. It was good, making the score 7-3 with about 13 minutes remaining in the half.

Following the kickoff return by Ekeler, the Commanders started their fifth offensive drive of the day at their own 20.

The first-down play was a simple handoff to Austin Ekeler off tackle to the right. He scampered 57 yards to the Cleveland 23-yard line.

Two plays later, it was Brian Robinson’s turn. He broke three tackles on the way to a 9-yard gain to bring up 3rd & 1 at the Cleveland 14-yard line. Jayden Daniels kept the ball around the right end to earn the needed 1 yard and set the team up 1st & 10 at the 13-yard line.

Using the no-huddle scheme, Washington — in field goal range — had a short run and an incomplete pass to bring up 3rd & 9. A short gain on a pass to Zach Ertz brought Austin Seibert out for a 27-yard field goal attempt. Seibert, prior to this kick, had been perfect in his short Commanders career. He remained perfect, hitting his 11th field goal on the season to lift the score to 10-3 with 08:41 remaining in the half.

Again trailing by a touchdown, the Browns started their next drive at the 31-yard line. After a pair of short runs, Washington forced 3rd & 8 at the 33-yard line. At this point, the Browns were 0-5 on third down.

They fell to 0-6 when the Commanders defensive line got heavy pressure on Watson, sacking him for no gain. Cleveland punted, having earned just 2 first downs and gained just 42-yards of total offense with 06:48 left in the second quarter.

Following the punt, Washington set up for its 6th offensive drive of the half at their own 26-yard line.

After 2 incompletions — the first tipped at the line and the second short-hopped to the receiver — the Commanders faced 3rd & 10. A penalty against the Browns for 12 men on the field made it 3rd & 5. On the play, Daniels hit rookie receiver Luke McCaffrey near the left sideline for 9 yards and a fresh set of downs. On the next play, Daniels scrambled for 13 yards and another 1st-down across midfield at the 45-yard line. Two plays later, and following an offensive penalty, Daniels went very deep to McLaurin at the 10-yard line, but the ball fell incomplete, bringing up 2nd & 13 near midfield.

Daniels hit OZ in the middle of the field, and Zaccheaus turned north and south, gaining 10 yards.

On 3rd down, Daniels escaped a good pass rush and ran down the right sideline for 34 yards. A defensive holding penalty added 5 yards to set the Commanders up with a 1st & goal at the 3-yard line. The run gave Daniels the record for most rushing yards by a rookie QB in his first 5 games.

Two plays later, Brian Robinson ran in a 1-yard touchdown. Following the PAT, the Commanders held a 17-3 lead with 03:11 remaining in the half.

The Commanders held tough on two plays to bring up yet another 3rd down for the Browns as the 2-minute warning arrived. The Browns were averaging 2.0 yards per play and had yet to convert a third-down in the game.

After the timeout, the Commander defense swarmed the Browns offensive line to sack Watson again, with Bobby Wagner getting credit for the sack on this jail break.

Following the punt and return, the Commanders set up for their final drive of the half at their 38-yard line.

On 3rd & 3 from the Washington 45-yard line with 44 seconds left in the half, Daniels hit McLaurin for 11 yards.

Two plays later, Dyami Brown got behind the defense, and Jayden Daniels hit him in-stride for a 41-yard touchdown that Brown pulled down 2-yards into the end zone.

Following the extra point, the Commanders held a 24-3 lead.

Cleveland got the ball with just 30 seconds left on the clock and 78 yards away from the Washington end zone. The Browns managed to be flagged twice in the short time left before halftime. A pair of pass breakups by Igbinoghene and St-Juste brought up 4th down with 00:09 remaining. The Browns punted; the ball was not fielded, and the half ended as the ball rolled to a stop.

The Washington Commanders would get the ball to open the 2nd half.

Halftime Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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Third Quarter

Leading 24-3, the Commanders started the second half with the ball for their 8th offensive drive of the day at the 30-yard line having dominated on plays run, yards gained, time of possession and — of course — points scored in the first half. Kingsbury and Daniels needed to keep their foot on the gas to finish this one out and add an important win.

On the first play of the half, JOK punched the ball out of Terry McLaurin’s hands to force a fumble. The Browns took over on the Commanders 30-yard line with a chance to take advantage of a huge turnover.

Two plays later, following a 19-yard completion to Amari Cooper, the Browns had 1st & goal at the 2-yard line.

A false start pushed the ball back to the 5-yard line.

Needing a score, the Browns used their first time out. On the subsequent play, Deshaun Watson scrambled, didn’t do it quite right, and got blasted by Dorance Armstrong for a 1-yard loss and another sack.

Following a dropped pass by Jerry Jeudy, the Browns faced 3rd & goal, but after a long scramble by Watson, he simply had to throw the ball out of the end zone to bring up 4th & 8.

Unable to sort things out offensively, the Browns took a delay of game penalty and settled for a 31-yard field goal attempt. It was good, but, following the huge turnover opportunity, the terrible series by the Brown had to be deflating for the visitors. The score was 24-6 with 12:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Following the subsequent kickoff return to the 33-yard line, Washington’s drive started at the 20 yard line due to a holding flag against Jeremy Reaves.

With good blocking, Jayden Daniels had a ton of time on 2nd & 6 and threw a beautiful pass left to Scary Terry for 23 yards.

On the next play, Daniels stepped out of heavy pressure and added another 23 yards by rushing straight up the middle. Suddenly, Washington had 1st & 10 at Cleveland’s 30-yard line.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 6 at the 26 yard line. Daniels hit Dyami Brown for his 2nd catch of the game; Brown added about 7 yards after catch, giving the Commanders 1st down at the 11-yard line.

Following runs by Ekeler and Daniels, Washington faced 3rd & 1 at the 3-yard line.

Daniels simply did what he did a week ago; he handed the ball to Jeremy McNichols, Washington’s #3 RB, who went off tackle to the left side for another score. Seibert added his 4th PAT of the game (13th of the season) to make the score 31-6 midway through the third quarter. The rout appeared to be on.

Cleveland had yet to reach 100 total yards of offense; they were 0-9 on third down and had not scored a touchdown despite being ahead in the turnover battle 2-0.

Following a kickoff return, Cleveland started its next drive at the 26-yard line.

On first down, Browns RB D’Onta Foreman broke a long run of 25 yards to get the ball across midfield, finally breaking the century mark for total yards.

Two plays later, as Deshaun Watson scrambled under some pressure, Frankie Luvu got credited with an interception (later, ruled a fumble recovery) when Watson lost control of the ball as he was being hit by Bobby Wagner.

The forced turnover gave the Commanders another first down at midfield. On 2nd & 5, Cleveland sacked Daniels for the 3rd time, forcing a 7-yard loss and bringing up 3rd & 8 at Cleveland’s 48-yard line.

With 5 minutes left in the third quarter, on the critical 3rd down play, the Browns defense gave up an 18-yard catch and run by Austin Ekeler, who took the ball to Cleveland’s 18-yard line on a simple screen pass.

Two plays later, on 3rd & 4 at the 12-yad line, Daniels threw a beautiful pass with plenty of air under it to Terry McLaurin on the left side of the end zone. It hit Terry right in the hands about a yard inbounds, but McLaurin was unable to hold on.

Seibert came on the field for his second field goal of the day — this one from 30 yards — to advance the lead to 31 points as the scoreboard moved to 34-6 with 02:35 remaining in the third quarter.

Following a touchback on the kickoff, the Browns started their next offensive drive at the 30-yard-line.

After making a quick first down, the Browns faced 3rd & 10 at midfield. An offsides penalty against Dorance Armstrong changed the count to 3rd & 5. On the subsequent play, Watson was under heavy pressure, looking like he would get sacked, but scrambled for 4 yards, to keep their 3rd down conversion futility streak intact; however, the Browns converted the 4th down (their 7th first-down of the game) as the quarter came to an end.

Fourth Quarter

Through 3 quarters, Watson was 11-24 passing for 100 yards, an interception, and 5 sacks.

He took his 6th sack on the first play of the 4th quarter as Frankie Luvu got home by beating the right guard on the way to the QB.

Two plays later, on 3rd & 14, Dante Fowler got the team’s 7th sack of the day to kill yet another Browns drive and force a punt by the Browns.

It was a good kick that was downed at Washington’s 8-yard line, but with less than 13 minutes left in the game, the outcome seemed all but certain.

Dan Quinn decided that Jayden Daniels was no longer needed. Marcus Mariota, freshly activated from injured reserve, came into the game to hand the ball off to McNichols in an effort to play out the string, kill the clock and bank the win. On 2nd down, Kingsbury called a pass, and Mariota had to work to avoid getting sacked near the goal line, barely succeeding in throwing the ball away.

After an incomplete pass on 3rd down, the Commanders punted, and the Browns offense resumed the field at their own 46-yard line.

For the Browns, Deshaun Watson stayed in the game. With the Commanders playing a fairly soft defense, the Browns ran the ball and completed passes in the middle of the field as both teams seemed content to keep the clock running and put the game announcers out of their misery.

Unfortunately, a couple of minor injuries and a pair of penalty flags stopped the clock several times, slowing down the inevitable. One of the injuries was a possible concussion for Quan Martin. The Browns, at one point, couldn’t get the play in on 3rd & 10 following a clock stoppage for a false start and had to burn a time out, which was not ideal for anyone.

With 7:45 left in the game, facing 4th & 7, Watson threw a touchdown pass on a frozen rope to TE Jordan Akins to make the score 34-13.

The Commanders began their 12th offensive drive of the game at the 30-yard line following a touchback.

The Commanders kept the ball on the ground losing a yard on two plays. On 3rd down, McNichols scampered 28 yards, then gave himself up at the Cleveland 43 yard line to keep the clock running. The drive ran out of steam with 02:36 left in the game when Tress Way came on to punt. His kick went into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Browns another drive starting at their own 20-yard-line.

Deshaun Watson finally took a seat on the bench as Jameis Winston came on in relief. A 6-yard run was the final play before the two-minute warning.

Following the timeout, Winston took yet another sack – his first – to bring up 3rd & 7. On the next play, Jerome Ford ran for 16 yards to earn another 1st down. Winston handed the ball to Ford one more time and then everyone happily let the clock run to zero to end the game.

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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