DENVER — The Browns head west for their second straight prime time game in two weeks as they prepare to take on the Denver Broncos on Monday night football.
Cleveland is coming off of a thrilling 24-19 Thursday night win over the Steelers at home. Denver has won its last two against the Falcons (38-6) and the Raiders (29-19).
Cleveland heads to Denver, however, without one of their key offensive weapons available, preparing to face an aggressive pass rush, and with history not on their side in this matchup.
Here are several storylines for the game, as well as predictions for how I think each might go:
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Expect to see more of rookie receiver Jamari Thrash against the Broncos with Cedric Tillman out. AP
The pass game options with one key player out
With Cedric Tillman (concussion) ruled out, the Browns pass game took a major hit.
In 11 games this season, Tillman has 29 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns, almost all in the last five games — he’s a player who’s really gotten to shine post-Amari Cooper trade.
Tillman left last Thursday night’s game against the Steelers after a helmet-to-helmet hit he took from linebacker Patrick Queen on the final play of the third quarter.
So who might Cleveland need to rely on with Tillman out?
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My prediction: His absence very likely means more playing time for rookie receiver Jamari Thrash, a fifth-round pick who has one catch for 11 yards in four games.
Thrash has played only 38 offensive snaps this season, but has put in extra time before and after practices this year with Jameis Winston in the hopes of staying ready for any opportunity that might come his way.
“You’ve got to prepare like you’re a starter,” Thrash said on Friday. “You never know when your time is here, when it’s your moment.”
Of course, Winston will have to rely heavily on Jerry Jeudy, who will certainly be looking for revenge in this game going against the team that drafted him, and the team he asked to be traded from. The Browns will also need a big game from tight end David Njoku, who had just one catch for 9 yards against the Steelers last week.
Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) leads the defense with 10 sacks this season. AP
The Broncos’ pass rush
The Broncos have one of the better defenses in the NFL right now.
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They lead the league with sacks (44), and have nine players with 1.5 sacks or more. Fourteen players have at least half a sack.
They have the third-best overall defense (296 yards per game) and the third-best run defense when it comes to yards per play (3.82). They also have the third-best scoring defense (16.8 ppg)
Nik Bonitto leads the way with 10 sacks, and Jonathon Cooper isn’t far behind with seven.
On the interior they also have Zach Allen, who has the most pressures of any interior D-lineman (52) in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference tracking data, to go along with his five sacks.
My prediction: This is going to be the most pressure Jameis Winston has faced in a start yet this season — especially when you consider that T.J. Watt was basically a non-factor last week in Cleveland’s win over the Steelers.
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Will that make Winston prone to mistakes against his former head coach Sean Payton? You could argue there are few opposing coaches across the league more equipped for game-planning for the gunslinger after their time together in New Orleans.
I’m predicting at least one turnover for Winston in this game, especially when you consider how well Denver’s rush and coverage work together.
Two-time Pro Bowler Pat Surtain is in the secondary, and he’s got three picks this year including a pick-six. According to PFF, he’s surrendered only 25 catches and 177 yards to opposing pass catchers this season.
The Browns have only won in Denver one time since 1990. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
A tough history in Denver
There’s no ignoring how bad the Browns have been in Denver historically.
Going back to 1970, the Browns are 4-14 playing in Denver (4-12 in the regular season).
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Cleveland has won only once there since 1990, a 17-16 victory in 2018. Last year, they came away with a 29-12 loss.
My prediction: Maybe this is simply a weird correlation and there’s no causation.
But it’s hard for me to pick against history here, especially knowing how bad the Browns played at Mile High Stadium a year ago.
With the pass rush and Payton at the helm, I think this is a bad matchup for Cleveland.
I wouldn’t put it past the Browns to surprise us in prime time, but I would rather be incorrect picking with history. I’m going with the Broncos, 23-18.
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The banner above Michael Malone was impossible to ignore. So the coach from Queens fixated on it as a physical representation of his ambition in a new city.
“I remember early on, first year, you look up at the rafters and you see all the great names,” he said. “And you see ‘432’ staring at you. And there was a little part of me always, a competitive side of me, that said: ‘I’m gonna break that record. I’m gonna break that record.’”
For 10 years, Doug Moe’s 432 wins literally loomed over Malone, an increasingly difficult milestone to chase in the modern NBA. But when Malone looked up at the Ball Arena rafters last Monday, for the first time, he was no longer chasing it. With a 127-102 rout of the Lakers, he had passed Moe’s all-time record for the most regular-season wins by a Nuggets coach.
Now a banner of his own is in Malone’s future.
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“When I first got here, growing up a son of a coach, you know that job security is something that doesn’t kind of go with our profession,” he said. “And that’s why my father tried to talk me out of becoming a coach.”
“He’s a really passionate guy,” Nikola Jokic said. “He likes to win. He doesn’t like to lose. (The record) is something that’s going to be there for a long time, probably.”
Malone’s only previous stint as a head coach had ended a fraction through his second season in Sacramento. Even his late father, whose accomplished career in the NBA spanned multiple decades and multiple championships, lasted just one year in his only head coaching job. Before the Nuggets played in Toronto this October, Malone retold the story of watching Brendan Malone’s Raptors shock the 1995-96 Bulls. “Great memory,” he said, pausing for comedic effect. “And then unfortunately, obviously he got fired.”
Needless to say, there was very little reason to believe 432 wins with any one franchise would be attainable when Michael took over the Nuggets in 2015. That didn’t stop him from envisioning it during a 33-49 season.
If someone had told him at the beginning that he would eventually become the franchise’s winningest coach, how would he have responded?
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“Damn right,” Malone said, grinning.
He’s now the fourth-longest tenured coach in the league, behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Golden State’s Steve Kerr. With 473 wins between Sacramento and Denver, he ranks 43rd in league history and eighth among active coaches.
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone shouts as Nikola Jokic (15) runs to play offense during the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“That’s a byproduct of having a tremendous coaching staff, outstanding players and the support of our front office and ownership group for 10 years,” the 53-year-old said before Denver hosted the Knicks last Monday. “So I never take that continued belief lightly, because I know how the profession can be.
“… For my daughters to move here in third grade and fifth grade and to go all the way through high school, that’s incredible. And that’s why this place has become home. And I couldn’t ask for a better position with better people and a better city, and we truly love it here.”
What happened next was a fitting example of Malone’s competitive fire that helped him win 433 games in 56 fewer tries than Moe. The Nuggets allowed 145 points in a loss that night, their worst defensive performance of Malone’s tenure, and the coach proceeded to rip his team’s effort in a passionate postgame news conference. Any talk of the franchise record was suddenly in the distant past. It was back to business as usual.
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“He keeps everybody accountable,” longtime point guard Jamal Murray had said a few days earlier, “which I love the most.”
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There’s no game on deck for the Denver Broncos today as the team’s schedule will continue tomorrow when they host the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football to wrap up Week 13.
Denver will play eight home games at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium this year and nine games on the road. Because the league has an unbalanced 17-game schedule, the NFC and AFC rotate between having an extra home game. This year, the NFC gets a ninth home game.
The Broncos are led by head coach Sean Payton with rookie Bo Nix serving as their starting quarterback this fall.
View the team’s complete 2024 schedule below.
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Denver Broncos 2024 Schedule
Week
Date
TV
Opponent
Time (MT)
Broncos Tickets
1
9/8
CBS
@ Seattle Seahawks
26-20 L
2
9/15
CBS
vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
13-6 L
3
9/22
FOX
@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
26-7 W
4
9/29
CBS
@ New York Jets
10-9 W
5
10/6
FOX
vs. Las Vegas Raiders
34-18 W
6
10/13
CBS
vs. Los Angeles Chargers
23-16 L
7
10/17
Amazon Prime Video
@ New Orleans Saints
33-10 W
8
10/27
CBS
vs. Carolina Panthers
28-14 W
9
11/3
CBS
@ Baltimore Ravens
41-10 L
10
11/10
CBS
@ Kansas City Chiefs
16-14 L
11
11/17
FOX
vs. Atlanta Falcons
38-6 W
12
11/24
CBS
@ Las Vegas Raiders
29-19 W
13
12/2
ESPN
vs. Cleveland Browns
6:15 PM
Tickets
14
12/8
BYE
15
12/15
CBS
vs. Indianapolis Colts
2:25 PM
Tickets
16
12/19
Prime
@ Los Angeles Chargers
6:15 PM
Tickets
17
12/28 or 12/29
TBD
@ Cincinnati Bengals
TBD
Tickets
18
1/4 or 1/5
TBD
vs. Kansas City Chiefs
TBD
Tickets
The Broncos have not returned to the playoffs since their Super Bowl-winning season in 2015. Now entering his second season on the job, Payton will aim to snap the club’s eight-year playoff drought this fall.
DENVER (KDVR) — Fly fishing enthusiasts in Colorado have the opportunity to enjoy the state’s “secret season.” While the cold weather is no secret in Colorado, it is the factor that creates the conditions for fly fishing’s secret season.
Adding a winter before fly fishing isn’t the only change that comes with the cold. The fish’s behavior changes as the water gets cooler, the fisher’s gear must change and tiny nuances in methodology must be performed.
Colorado remains a fly fishing hub regardless of the time of year but prime locations can change with the season. For those around the Denver Metro, there are several spots within a short drive that can offer a great winter fly fishing experience, according to Fishing Booker.
Quick drives from the Denver Metro
Denver, South Platte River — Carp and trout are the hot items in this area. Eleven Mile, Cheesman and Waterton canyons have historically been popular places.
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Loveland, Big Thompson River — This hub for the cold is the trout fisher’s dream. The location can offer Rainbow, Laker, Brown and Cutthroat trout.
Vail, Gore Creek — Located off of Interstate 70, this spot near the famous ski town can offer a great supply of trout. Brown, Rainbow, Brook and Cutthroat travel in the creek.
Silverthorne, Blue River — Possibly Colorado’s most popular winter fly fishing spot, Blue River is populated with trout. Cutthroat, Rainbow, Brown and the rare Cutthroat and Brown trout hybrid, the Cutbow.
Other hot spots around Colorado
Pueblo, Arkansas River — Big Rainbow Trout
Gunnison, Taylor/Gunnison River — Brown, Rainbow and Kokanee trout
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South Fork, Rio Grande — Rainbow and Brown trout
Kremmling, Upper Colorado River — Rainbow and Brown trout
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