Neither planes, nor snow, nor the gloom of a home team set up in a Ford Field locker room could help the Cleveland Browns.
Buffalo still came to play, intent on regaining its status as a Super Bowl contender.
And if Kevin Stefanski’s troops still had visions of making a postseason run themselves, they ended in Detroit.
About the only reason players look forward to the rest of the season is the imminent debut of Deshaun Watson.
Final pic.twitter.com/Ych7NKZIJ7
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 20, 2022
And if that sounds like an indictment of the Browns’ uninspiring coaching staff, it is.
Ironically, Cleveland’s defense and special teams seem to be in more of a wait-and-see mode than Watson’s future offense.
That could be a testament to Jacoby Brissett as much as Nick Chubb or anybody else.
But here are 3 other players who stood out in the Browns’ loss to the Bills.
Amari Cooper Was a Stud
Kevin Stefanski might have used Cooper as a diversion in the 3rd quarter, which would explain his OBJ-like disappearing act.
But when sanity prevailed, and Brissett threw to his top wide receiver, Cleveland’s offense moved.
Cooper caught a pair of touchdowns against good coverage and tacked on 6 other catches for a total of 113 yards.
Amari Cooper makes a catch in traffic, giving Cleveland an early lead. #Browns #FPC #NFL #NFLTwitter
— Full Press NFL (@FullPressNFL) November 20, 2022
That doesn’t begin to describe how effective he was against one of the best pass defenses in the league.
Brissett could have targeted Cooper all day, as he regularly shook double coverage to provide an open target.
it was the type of effort that could result in a Deandre Hopkins-like connection with Deshaun Watson.
Donovan Peoples-Jones Consistency
Even the best wide receiver needs a teammate to take some heat off of them.
And Donovan Peoples-Jones continues to make his case to be Watson’s WR-2.
While Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski continue to dream of faster receivers, DPJ gets the job done.
DPJ pulls down the contested catch for the TD
📺: #CLEvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/LL0GD7d60H— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 20, 2022
His 5 catches and 61 yards (his 6th straight game with 50 or more yards) might not leap off the stat sheet.
But each catch was a contested battle for the ball and usually bailed Brissett out of a tough spot.
And they left us wondering again why Peoples-Jones isn’t an even bigger part of this offense.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Flashed
Cleveland’s defense held Stephon Diggs to 48 receiving yards and Josh Allen to 7 rushing yards Sunday.
One could argue it was a good effort, but even a talented defense playing well can only slow the Bills’ offense down.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is one of a handful of defenders who seemed to be around the ball all game, as his 12 tackles attest to.
Welcome back Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Been very impactful early for the #Browns today.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) November 20, 2022
And he had a couple of flashy moments, like when he dropped James Cook for a 2-yard loss on a second-and-goal play.
His stat line alone doesn’t mean he had a great game, but he played full-motor on 95% of the snaps coming off an injury.
And he stands out along with some other young defenders whose talent and effort seem to be under-utilized in Joe Woods’ scheme.
NEXT: Joe Woods & Mike Priefer Continue To Let Team Down
Joe woods should scheme his way out of Cleveland, has no clue, a good defensive coordinator would have these guys flying to the ball