Washington Commanders dominate the Cleveland Browns and lead 24-3 at halftime

Landover, MD. – The Washington Commanders entered Week 5 with a 3-1 record against the Cleveland Browns, and their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was the star of the city as he got off to a record-breaking start.

On Sunday, it was the Browns who started the game with the ball after the Commanders won the coin toss and deferred their pick to the second half.

That meant Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson took the field first to face the Washington defense after a strong performance against the Arizona Cardinals a week ago and a team season-high four sacks.

There were no sacks on the first drive of the game, but there was a fourth down conversion attempt. After getting the ball to the Commanders’ 47-yard line on a 3rd-and-3 run, the Browns faced a 4th-and-1 run and decided to go for it.

Quarterback Jameis Winston has been the quarterback sneak specialist for Cleveland this season and he was the man who took the snap on the fourth down play, no doubt in an attempt to get Washington to sell out and stop the sneak.

Instead, Winston threw the ball to running back D’Onta Foreman and after linebacker Frankie Luvu’s first backfield contact, the Commanders defense fended off the ball carrier for no gain and a turnover on downs.

Washington traded punts with the Browns and appeared destined for another punt on 3rd-and-13 from their own 31-yard line when Daniels escaped the pocket, rolled right and connected with receiver Terry McLaurin for one Gaining a 66-yard gain to the Cleveland three-yard line.

That excitement was short-lived, however, as Daniels threw his second career interception three plays later, targeting tight end Zach Ertz in the end zone. The pass was intercepted by Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and arrived at the one-yard line, ending Washington’s first scoring opportunity of the game.

However, after a second three-pointer forced by the defense and a big punt return by Olamide Zaccheaus, the Commanders found themselves in excellent field position but faced a fourth down conversion attempt of their own.

On 4th-and-2 from the Cleveland 14, running back Austin Ekeler gained 10 yards. One snap later, running back Brian Robinson Jr. made a run around the left side for a four-yard touchdown, the first of the game, giving Washington a 7-0 lead over the Browns.

After another three-and-out forced by the Commanders defense, Washington got the ball back, albeit at its own one-yard line, leading to the offense’s second three-and-out of the game. The ensuing punt gave the Browns excellent field position, but they were only able to secure a field goal from it after Luvu made a big sack on third down to prevent the offense from making any further cracks on their first touchdown of the game got.

Dustin Hopkins made the field goal attempt for Cleveland, and the score was 7-3, with the Commanders taking the lead early in the second quarter.

Washington was able to respond with a field goal of its own on the ensuing possession and extend the lead back to seven points, but it wasn’t without drama. First, the running back fumbled the ball at the end of a 57-yard run by Ekeler. Luckily, Zaccheaus was close behind him and was able to pounce on the ball to give the Commanders possession.

Later, tight end Zach Ertz appeared to secure a pass before fumbling in the red zone. This time the Browns recovered the fumble, but the review quickly negated the turnover and Washington was able to secure three points from kicker Austin Seibert.

After a fourth three forced by the defense, the Commanders got the ball back in their hands and sealed the drive again with a touchdown run by Robinson. This came from one yard out and was helped by key plays like a five-yard penalty that turned a 3rd-and-10 into a 3rd-and-5 for Washington, as well as a nine-yard catch by receiver Luke McCaffrey supported on this third down. and a 34-yard scramble by Daniels to the Cleveland six-yard line, all of which ultimately led to the score and a 17-3 Commanders lead.

The Browns were forced into a fifth three-and-out, and another sack on third down, this time by linebacker Bobby Wagner, forced a punt with just under two minutes left in the half, giving Daniels plenty of time but no timeouts to set up another scoring drive.

Daniels didn’t need all that time, however, and with 42 seconds left in the half, the rookie quarterback found receiver Dyami Brown 41 yards further down the field for another score, giving the Commanders a 24-point lead at the start of the half :3 provided.

At the start of the second half, Washington receives the ball.

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