Jerry Jeudy had a game for the ages against his former team on “Monday Night Football.” Jeudy, the Browns wideout who was traded from Denver this past offseason, torched the Broncos’ defense to the tune of 235 yards and a touchdown on nine catches.
Jeudy broke Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens’ 16-year-old record for the most yards receiving gained against his former team. Owens, who played for the Cowboys at the time, went for 213 yards against the 49ers, the team he broke into the NFL with in 1996.
Browns fans were loving his performance, but the Mile High crowd, filled with fans who used to chant his name, was now echoing with “boos.” The 25-year-old he encouraged his former home crowd after his series of big plays, egging on the opposing fans for more.
Jeudy’s efforts may have made history and been some revenge against his former team, but the wide receiver didn’t get the ultimate revenge of a win. The Browns lost 41-32 in an offensive shootout that came down to the very end.
After the defeat, Jeudy was asked about the noise coming from the crowd and he shook it off, reminding everyone of what he produced on the field.
“I heard it. That was a lot of boos, huh? … That was a lot of catches, too,” Jeudy said, very matter of fact, adding later that he would trade all his catches and yards for a win.
He said playing against his team brought up “high emotions,” noting that you “always want to beat the team that you used to play for.”
Jeudy said the Browns “came up short” and they need to find ways to finish out games and win. The loss doesn’t eliminate them from the playoffs, but certainly makes the road a lot more difficult, as they are the No. 12 seed right now in the AFC, with just the top seven making the cut. Their current playoff chances are less than one percent.
Playoff chances are something Jeudy mentioned after the loss as a reason he would’ve preferred a check in the win column over putting individual stats in the history books.
The signature play by Jeudy on Monday night was his 70-yard touchdown that occurred just moments after the Broncos had taken a 10-point lead on 93-yard touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Marvin Mims.
After the long touchdown, Jeudy added a two-point conversion and then had some fun with his former fanbase:
A 2020 first-round pick, Jeudy didn’t realize his potential in Denver, but the former Alabama standout has enjoyed a career rebirth with the Browns since Jameis Winston entered the starting lineup at quarterback.
In Cleveland’s previous four games, Jeudy caught 25 passes for 379 yards for the Browns, who split those games after losing their previous five contests. Not bad for a player that the Broncos had previously deemed expendable.
On Monday night, two pick-sixes thrown by Winston (who also made history by throwing for a Browns single-game record 497 yards) was ultimately the difference in what was a thrilling way to cap off Week 13.
