What We Saw: Week 13

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Browns @ Texans

Final Score: Browns 27, Texans 14

Writer: Ryan Radel (@RadelFF on Twitter)

The non-football hype leading up to this game did not match the product on the field in this matchup. Controversial Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson returned from his nearly two season absence in front of his former home field crowd. Whether or not that was by design to generate headlines for the NFL is a conversation for another day. Watson didn’t live up to the hype in his debut, but it didn’t really matter as the Browns’ defense took care of business in a 27-14 victory against the struggling Houston Texans.

Cleveland Browns

Quarterback

Deshaun Watson: 12/22, 131 Yards, INT, Sack | 7 Carries, 21 Yards

After missing nearly two years of regular season football, Deshaun Watson returned to action against his former team in his former stadium. The result was pretty lackluster. His first two pass attempts went off the hands of his receivers which probably did not help him establish any sort of rhythm. Deshaun’s ability to extend plays was on display often, as he rolled out or shook off would-be tacklers to create extra time. A few of those attempts were hauled in, and a few were the aforementioned drops. Deshaun still looks incredibly athletic both in the pocket and on the run. As the rust falls off, his stats should see an increase. The Browns invested far too much money into him for them to not lean on him in their offense.

Running Back

Nick Chubb: 17 Carries, 80 Yards | 1 Target

Kareem Hunt: 9 Carries, 56 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards

Jerome Ford: 3 Carries, 3 Yards

Demetric Felton Jr.: 1 Target

The game script for this game was…. odd for the Browns’ offense. Kareem Hunt saw his most productive game in several weeks, with 12 designed touches for 66 yards. It was yet another quiet game for Hunt, but he seemed to be running a lot harder than in previous weeks. His involvement has been consistent, but at a low level. Jerome Ford and Demetric Felton saw minimal snaps with minimal results. Nick Chubb had a rough game, including getting stuffed in the Browns endzone for a safety early in the game. His day was salvaged by a 21-yard rush that was powered by his entire offensive line moving the pile an additional 10 yards before the refs blew the whistle:

takes all 11 to bring him down! 😤💪

📺: #CLEvsHOU on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/hMcIouML4S

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 4, 2022

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Donovan Peoples-Jones: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 44 Yards | Punt Return TD

Amari Cooper: 9 Targets, 4 Receptions, 40 Yards

Anthony Schwartz: 1 Carry, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards | 1 Fumble (Lost)

Pharaoh Brown: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Harrison Bryant: 1 Carry, 8 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

David Bell: 1 Target

The Browns didn’t need to throw the ball, and when they did, they were not effective. Deshaun looked just like a guy who hasn’t played football in two seasons. Amari Cooper dropped a couple of balls, including the first pass thrown by Deshaun this season, as his road splits continue to become even more defined. Anthony Schwartz managed to fumble 50% of his touches, as he lost the ball on his only reception early in the game. Pharaoh Brown and Harrison Bryant split time covering for the injured David Njoku but failed to do much of anything, although Bryant was involved early in an end-around for eight yards and a first down. Donovan Peoples-Jones made the most of his three targets, securing all three for 44 yards. His impact was felt most on special teams, though:

one cut and GONE 👏

📺: #CLEvsHOU on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/5BadU3fWmG

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 4, 2022

Houston Texans

Quarterback

Kyle Allen: 20/39, 201 Yards, TD, 2 INT | 2 Carries, -1 Yard, 1 Fumble (Lost), 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Kyle Allen’s first pass resulted in an interception that was not his fault in the slightest. From there, it was all downhill. Allen could move the ball between the 20’s, but once he got to the red zone he looked lost. Under constant pressure, he struggled to take care of the ball and set his team up to score. Allen kept the game close until half time, but melted down in the second half with multiple turnovers.

#Browns John Johnson with the interception on the deflection! https://t.co/BYgyLA0kPS

— NFL Unlimited (@NFLUnlimited) December 4, 2022

Running Back

Dameon Pierce: 18 Carries, 73 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 22 Yards

Dare Ogunbowale: 2 Carries, 8 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards

Troy Hairston: 1 Target

Dare Ogunbowale was the spell back for the Texans against a very porous Browns run defense. He filled in well as a backup, but was lackluster overall. Dameon Pierce ran hard all game but was never able to find the endzone. One of his better opportunities was snatched away from him when the Texans decided to pass the ball on 4th and goal to go which ended up in a turnover on downs. You can’t complain about 21 touches, but this offense has been struggling extra hard since the quarterback change and Pierce is feeling the brunt of it.

The first rookie to surpass 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2022 🤘 pic.twitter.com/4lgoVd3E3a

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 4, 2022

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Chris Moore: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 46 Yards

Brevin Jordan: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 46 Yards

Nico Collins: 10 Targets, 3 Receptions, 35 Yards, TD

Jordan Akins: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 21 Yards

Phillip Dorsett: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards

Teagan Quitoriano: 3 Targets

Teagan Quitoriano was the unfortunate player who basically gave away the ball as he hit the ground resulting in an interception on the first play, and that was about the extent of his impact. Phillip Dorsett was minimally involved as he caught two balls for 18 yards in garbage time. Chris Moore had 39 of his 46 yards from a single catch and was otherwise locked up. Brevin Jordan was targeted throughout the game and helped move the chains, but was otherwise quiet as well. Fellow tight end Jordan Akins received a handful of targets but only secured three of them for 21 yards. Nico Collins was targeted a team-high 10 times, but only managed to haul in three of them for 35 yards and this garbage-time score: