4. Defense was better, but not great
Clearly, Denver possessed the best defense on the field Sunday. But, for the first time since Week 2’s 28-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, the Browns defense played reasonably well.
A defense that only had one interception in five weeks wound up with three against one of the best quarterbacks of all time, albeit at 39 years old and clearly on the downside of his career. Manning has 10 interceptions this season and has allowed four pick-sixes, including Dansby’s.
Unfortunately, the run defense was gashed again. For the fourth time in six games, an opposing running back – in this case, Ronnie Hillman – went over the 100-yard mark. And, when it mattered most, Denver continued to feed Hillman and C.J. Anderson, who picked up big chunks of yardage to get their team into game-winning field goal range.
Despite Manning’s age showing, he still threw for 290 yards on 26-of-48 passes and one long touchdown to Sanders, where Sanders burned Tramon Williams for a 70-yard touchdown pass. Manning was also not sacked once. And, many times, the defense was bailed out by dropped passes, especially late in the fourth quarter and into overtime.
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