The Cleveland Browns lost to the Detroit Lions 34-10 in the NFL on Sunday. Not surprising – Detroit was a 10-point favorite.
But wide receiver Jerry Jeudy figures the outcome might have been different if he had made one play that got away.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, the Browns had turned back Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs on a fourth-and-2 run from the Cleveland 24-yard line to keep their deficit at 20-10.
Three snaps later, Browns quarterback Joe Flacco targeted Jeudy deep down the field. With the pass in the air, the closest defender to Jeudy, Detroit cornerback D.J. Reed, fell to the turf, the victim of a hamstring injury. Now uncovered and with nothing but open field between him and the goal line, Jeudy didn’t catch the football.
On the next snap, the Lions’ Kalif Raymond returned Cleveland’s punt 65 yards for a touchdown.
“That (expletive) got me hot, bro,” Jeudy said after the game. “I make that damn play, bro. It was a big-time play. I got to catch them (expletive). I catch them (expletive) every day in practice. I make that play, bro. (Expletive) frustrating. …
“It would have been – what? – 17-20 after that. That would have been a big play. Touchdown, 17-20. Dropped that. Punt the ball. They took a punt-return back, man. Man, as a receiver on this team, bro, as a wide receiver, I got to make those (expletive) plays, man.”
Cleveland acquired the former Alabama All-American in a trade last offseason after he had spent his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos, and Jeudy had a Pro Bowl showing for the Browns. He reached career highs with 90 receptions for 1,229 yards and scored four touchdowns.
This season, Jeudy has 13 receptions for 182 yards. Against Detroit, Jeudy had three receptions for 48 yards before Cleveland had finished its first possession, but he didn’t have another reception in the game.
“Jerry’s a very, very prideful guy,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday. “He’s one of our leaders. He wants to come through for the football team. He’s disappointed, but he’s our guy. He’s our best wide receiver. He’ll continue to make plays for this football team, I have zero doubt about that. And again, he’s a guy that cares a lot, so in those moments you want to come down with the ball. I know he does. And it’s just a matter of getting another opportunity.”
Jeudy’s next opportunity will come against the Minnesota Vikings at 8:30 a.m. CDT Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. NFL Network will televise the game.
Cleveland enters the game with a 1-3 record even though the Browns have yielded the fewest points in the NFL this season. But Cleveland has not scored more than 17 points in any of its games in 2025.
“Defense been doing their thing all season, man,” Jeudy said. “I’m tired of leaning on defense. It’s time for us to make some damn plays.”
With Deshaun Watson still out with an Achilles injury that cost him the final 10 games of the 2024 season, the Browns chose 18-year veteran Joe Flacco as their starter in a four-quarterback preseason competition.
At 60.3, Flacco has the worst passing-efficiency rating in the NFL four weeks into the 2025 season. He has thrown two touchdown passes and six interceptions.
“We got a lot of faith, man,” Jeudy said of Flacco. “We got to catch the ball. We got to make plays, man. Simple as that. … We got to score points, sustain drives, man, and make plays. Simple as that, bro.”
Stefanski was asked on Monday if he was considering replacing Flacco with Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders, rookies who have served as the backup and the emergency third quarterback, respectively, for Cleveland this season.
Stefanski didn’t answer directly.
“We have to play better as an offense,” Stefanski said. “We have to coach better on offense. It’s not about one person. There are so many things that we need to do better, and, obviously, quarterback included. But this is not about one person.”
