The Cleveland Browns entered the fourth quarter of their contest against the New Orleans Saints tied at 14.
New Orleans finished off their first drive in that period with a touchdown, and then the NFC South squad added two more scores to blow open the previously knotted contest.
Cleveland fell to 2-8 with the 35-14 loss, and several of the Browns players were questioned for their effort following the contest.
Analyst Matt Fontana was questioning players’ efforts before that decisive fourth period.
Fontana took to X to share his thoughts and a video of the player who he said appears to be jogging during a pivotal play in the contest.
The analyst called out Juan Thornhill on the Saints’ 71-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the second quarter, a play where Fontana believes the safety gave up on catching the wide receiver.
“Watch him the whole play, looked like he was jogging from the start,” Fontana wrote, adding, “Wow.”
Watch him the whole play, looked like he was jogging from the start
Wow
pic.twitter.com/FLzGXr0HG1 https://t.co/YDtmZLGFHm
— Matt Fontana (@MattFontana83) November 17, 2024
In the video, Valdes-Scantling catches the pass on the left side of the field while Thornhill is playing in the middle of the field.
Thornhill appears to be moving slowly toward the player and does not seem to be running at his full speed.
At the end of the play, Thornhill would have had an opportunity to catch the wide receiver before he crossed the goal line, but Valdes-Scantling is roughly five yards away when he appears to slow down even more.
The Browns will return to action on Thursday this week as Cleveland hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers in a primetime matchup of these AFC North rivals.
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