DENVER — Ja’Quan McMillian sealed the victory for the Denver Broncos with a 44-yard interception return touchdown with 1:48 left, helping the Broncos overcome career-best performances from Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to win 41-32 on Monday night.
Winston set a franchise record with 497 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Jeudy, who played his first four seasons with Denver, caught nine passes for 235 yards — the most ever by a receiver against his former team — and one touchdown. Jeudy was booed each time he caught the ball. “Came up short,” Jeudy said. “Got to find a way to finish, find a way to win.”
Despite Winston’s impressive yardage, he threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Nik Bonitto scored on a 71-yard return late in the second quarter. Winston became the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 400 yards, four touchdowns, and two pick-sixes in a game.
Bo Nix passed for 294 yards, including a beautiful deep throw from his own end zone to Marvin Mims Jr. for a 93-yard touchdown. Nix also threw two interceptions.
The Broncos (8-5) now head into their bye week in the seventh and final playoff spot, with a 76% chance of making the postseason, according to the NFL. This marks their first playoff contention since winning the Super Bowl in the 2015 season.
“It wasn’t perfect, by any means, but we were able to finish,” said Broncos coach Sean Payton.
Winston surpassed the Browns’ previous record of 457 passing yards set by Josh McCown in 2015. He threw a 70-yard touchdown to Jeudy and two touchdowns to tight end David Njoku, but fell to 2-3 as the Browns’ starting quarterback since replacing the injured Deshaun Watson.
