Sean Payton has turned Marvin Mims into a not-so secret weapon

The Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night Football” by a score of 41-32. It was a high-scoring game with big plays from both the Broncos offense and defense.

At times, it seemed like victory was going to elude the Broncos as they head into their Week 14 bye, but a tired defense made multiple interceptions (two for touchdowns) to secure the game. Now, the Broncos are 8-5 and have a near 80 percent chance of making the postseason. Broncos head coach Sean Payton loved the resiliency of his team in this contest.

“Holy cow. Some games go in a direction you think they are going to go. Obviously that one went in a much different direction. We did enough and made enough plays in the end to win,” Payton said.

Here are three observations from the Broncos win over the Browns in Week 13.

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Jerry Jeudy Revenge Game

Former Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy got revenge on his old team – in the stat book at least. The Browns didn’t win, but Jeudy had a whopping 235 yards receiving against the Broncos. This was the third time in NFL history (Terrell Owens, Irving Fryar) where a receiver went over 200 yards against his former team, and Jeudy now holds that record with his mark.

Most of his work came against veteran cornerback Levi Wallace. It was a terrible game for Wallace. He was too slow to handle Jeudy, and when he expected safety help there was none there leading to a big touchdown for the Browns No. 1 receiver.

Why didn’t Pat Surtain cover Jeudy? When the pair were matched up against each other, Surtain only allowed two catches for 24 yards. Having Surtain shut down Jeudy would have been a much better plan. Instead, Wallace got torched all night and was essentially benched for rookie Kris Abrams-Draine late in the game.

“We were going to match Pat (Surtain II) and then the simple slot moving him to the other side. We have to be able to handle that. It is too easy offensively for us to do that. I’m sure we will look at the tape. We always ask it of the players. When we come back, the same as the coaches, how would we play that game if we played it again? I think that is coaching. It is us always making sure we put our guys in the best position. Again, we made enough plays,” Payton said.

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Jaleel McLaughlin Was the Hot Hand

The Broncos have not run the ball consistently this season. They are using a three-headed RBBC (running back by committee) approach with Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie Audric Estime. Each week, the Broncos employ a “hot hand” approach meaning whoever has more production gets more touches.

On Monday night, the most productive player in the backfield was McLaughlin. There is no doubt he was the hot hand, and he almost snapped the streak (now at 30 games) of the Broncos not having a 100-yard rusher in a game. McLaughlin showcased his trademark quickness and speed on his way to 84 yards rushing against the Browns.

As the team looks for a lead back, perhaps we’ve learned that it’s not Williams but instead McLaughlin who should be the starter. I still want to see more of Estime as well because of his power and intent as a runner.

“He played well. We felt like some of the wide zone stuff and tosses were going to be good. He had a lot of good runs. Part of it was the scheme that was successful, or a couple of schemes we have seen other teams have success with that we had success with as well. All in all, it was good,” Payton said.

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Marvin Mims a Big-Play Specialist

Payton has unlocked the potential of wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. The second-year player made the Pro Bowl as a return man in his rookie season, but he was drafted to be a weapon on offense. After a slow start this season, Payton figured out the best way to use Mims – by moving him around the formation.

Mims is now Payton’s “Joker,” which is a position usually reserved for running backs and tight ends. Now, Mims is lining up out wide, in the slot and even from the backfield as a runner/receiver. This move has unlocked the potential of Mims on offense, and we get to see new wrinkles every week.

With just two catches, Mims went over 100 yards receiving on the day. Most of that came on a 93-yard touchdown catch that got the crowd incredibly excited.

“They play a certain coverage. They play a certain coverage and they play it a couple of different ways. We want to put speed at the two, where Mims was, and then we were outside with speed and (Courtland) Sutton. We hit that turkey hole. Sometimes, that ball might go outside. It was a heck of a throw and catch and a huge play,” Payton said.

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