The stage was set with a national audience on Monday Night Football, and the Denver Broncos versus Cleveland Browns did not disappoint. It was not a typical matchup attraction, but the Any Given Sunday adage, this time, came on a Monday. Records would fall in a seesaw battle with five lead changes while providing a top-ten reel of highlights all in one game. The reviews were unanimous, calling Monday nights game one for the ages. Ultimately, the Denver Broncos outlasted the Cleveland Browns 41-32, with the game being decided in the final seconds.

Premiering their Summit White helmets and Midnight Navy alternate jerseys at Empower Field, it was still visually challenging to ascertain how much of the 68,306 wearing orange in the stands were pro-Broncos Country or traveling Browns fans in their own orange attire. But all in attendance had something to cheer about up until the end. An end zone interception by Broncos linebacker Cody Barton sealed the victory for Denver.

Needing only a field goal for the lead with 1:48 left in the game, Browns quarterback Jameis Winston threw a pick-six interception to Ja’Quan McMillian to put the Broncos ahead. It was one of three interceptions thrown by Winston, two of which were returned for touchdowns. The three interceptions by Cleveland detracted what was a franchise record day for the Browns, with Jameis Winston passing for 497 yards in the game. It was a career-high for Winston in his ten years in the NFL.

A dejected Winston called on his faith to help him in his post-game press conference. “I am, I am a better player, but you know in times like this it’s an opportunity to grow in front of the lord even in the toughest circumstances,” he said after the game. “I know I’m better than this… I’m just praying for the lord to deliver me from pick-sixes. That’s not me. Phenomenal game, the offense did some great things but I messed it up.”

Also setting a franchise record was Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in his return to Denver. Jeudy caught nine passes for 235 yards, the most in NFL history by any player in a game against his former team. It was also the most yards allowed by a Broncos team in franchise history. His longest catch was a 70-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.

“High emotions,” Jeudy said after the game about returning to Mile High. “Like I said before, you always want to beat the team that you used to play for, but we came up short. We have to find a way to finish, find a way to win.” Jeudy was drafted in the first round by the Broncos with the 15th pick overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent the first four years of his career in Denver before being traded to the Browns for a fifth and sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The risk-reward factor played into the hands of the Denver Broncos, who were the recipient of two touchdowns on defense. Bo Nix would throw for 297 yards passing with one touchdown but threw two inconsequential touchdowns. Plays on his highlight reel included a 93-yard dart to Marvin Mims, Jr., who scored a touchdown in the third quarter. Both Mims and Courtland Sutton turned in +100-yard reception games in the win.

“We’re a confident bunch right now,” Nix said. “We’re playing aggressively. We’re playing together. We’re playing with a little bit of confidence and a chip on our shoulder. [We are] just trying to continue to prove not only to other people but to ourselves that we have a really good football team. We’re starting to play like it. Playing with that confidence is important. It’s good to see us win in games like this. It doesn’t matter how it happens. We just make the next play. Continue to do it, and don’t get down. When we go down by a point, we have to go find a way to score, and we did. Then our defense [says], ‘We have to find a way to stop them,’ and they did. Just a complete team effort. It was good to see.”

Cleveland, now with a record of 3-9, gave the Broncos (8-5) a handful in closing out with a victory. But two of the Browns wins came against teams with a winning record, the Pittsburgh Steelers ( 9-3) and Baltimore Ravens (8-5). The Broncos lost to both of those teams. And none of the Broncos’ eight wins have come against a team with a winning record. Of the remaining four games for the Broncos, two are against teams with a losing record, the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals, and two with winning records - the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs - the Broncos have lost to this season.

The Broncos will now go into their BYE week on a high note. They are in the driver’s seat of a playoff berth with just four games remaining. The Broncos are the seventh seed with a two-game lead on the Colts in the eighth and final slot. The Colts are also going into their Bye week.

(See the Broncos -Browns Game Photo Gallery at www.SportsReportNet.com)

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