'That was [expletive] awesome': Browns' Jacoby Brissett goes out a winner over Tom Brady
CLEVELAND − Jacoby Brissett had just beat his former teammate and mentor in what will is likely his final start for the Browns this season. The first thing out of Brissett's mouth after the game was to quote him.
“I mean this in no disrespect, but in the words of Tom Brady, that was [expletive] awesome," Brissett said following Sunday's 23-17 overtime win over Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "That was [expletive] awesome.”
On Monday, the Browns become Deshaun Watson's team, officially, when the quarterback comes off his 11-game suspension for personal conduct policy violations. Next Sunday, it'll be Watson, not Brissett, under center when the Browns try for their first two-game winning streak of the season when they play at the Houston Texans.
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On this Sunday, though, it was still Brissett's team. It was a team that knew what this game against that quarterback meant to the Browns' quarterback.
"Obviously, when he was drafted, he was drafted under who? Tom Brady," right guard Wyatt Teller said. "So to beat his dad – I joke – his football dad means a lot. But obviously, I bet you he's happy he's healthy. He's happy we got the win. He's humble. You couldn't tell him that he means that much to us. He'd be like, 'Oh, so does anybody, right?' He's such a good guy, and I'm happy that we got the win for him.”
It was a win that Brissett had his fingerprints all over. It went beyond his passing stats – 23-of-37, 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception on a Hail Mary.
Jacoby Brissett's completion to Browns WR Amari Cooper proved to be clutch
Brissett threw a clutch 12-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku, who made an incredible one-handed catch, to tie the game at 17-17 with 32 seconds left in regulation. He threw a big 45-yard pass to Amari Cooper on third-and-4 from the Tampa Bay 48 to set up the game-winning TD.
Even on Anthony Schwartz's 31-yard TD run, his primary blocking convoy came from his quarterback. It was Brissett who was downfield, knocking Pro Bowl safety Antoine Winfield Jr. out of the way to help the Browns grab an early 7-0 lead.
"Jacoby's been riding through the whole year," Schwartz said, "been battling with us, being our leader, and it's just great to send him off on a high note, especially with the tough season the whole team has had. Really, we're lucky to have him. We're glad to have him. I can't wait to keep working with him.”
That's why Brissett has found the conversation around him this week so amusing in some regards. While there's no guarantee he'll make another start for the Browns, there's an absolute certainty he'll be in the meeting room on Monday when they get back to work.
However, Brissett couldn't help but wonder if there was something else waiting for him after Sunday other than him handing the starting job back to the quarterback the Browns mortgaged their future to acquire from the Texans.
“I feel like this week y’all feel like I am about to die or something," Brissett said. "I still have a job to do. I’m still on the team. I will figure that out when the time comes, but I still have to be the same person every day no matter my situation or status. I think that is what makes me me. I am excited for him to come back. Looking forward to next week.”
"Next week," though, had to wait for "this week" to get over with first. For Brissett, this week was an extension of a season in which he believes he's opened up eyes around the league to what he's truly capable of doing.
Yes, the Browns went 4-7 in his starts. However, that record comparative to Brissett's game-by-game performance is as indicative as any to the fallacy to pinning a team's record on a starting quarterback.
Brissett's 75.3 quarterback rating from Sunday was the fourth-lowest of the season for him, yet he was part of just the fourth win of the season. It came on the heels of a four-game stretch where he posted three games of QB ratings of at least 106.5, and the Browns were on the losing end of two of those three.
"I think he's done as good as you can be asked because if you take Deshaun out of the picture, which he was out for a long time, it just felt like Jacoby's team," All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio said. "But now with Deshaun coming back I think he has a presence to take a step back but he's still going to be there for what he sees. I mean, he's played in 11 games now, he's done everything you could ask of him and I really appreciate him, one of my favorite quarterbacks to play with."
Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jacoby Brissett's last Browns start a memorable win over Tom Brady
