The Browns gave fans to a lot to cheer about Thursday night after the team broke its 19-game winless streak.
No one was more excited for a Browns OL fumble recovery rumble than Joe Thomas
Bitonio gained 17 yards on the play, and although it didn’t count, Thomas was extremely into it.
Their offensive line, however, had a tough time early against the Jets. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was sacked three times in 17 dropbacks before leaving the contest with a head injury, and Cleveland’s blockers were flagged for holding twice in one half.
Things got better once Baker Mayfield entered the game, but the tide might have turned on one glorious play.
For a brief moment, Joel Bitonio was the Browns’ burly running back, the rolling boulder from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, loosed upon an unsuspecting Jets defense:
The veteran left guard picked up the ball at his own 43-yard line and rumbled all the way to Jets territory for a first down. Alas, it didn’t count because of the NFL’s rule that a player can’t advance his own team’s fumble with under two minutes to play in a half. But the Browns kept the ball, and a 16-yard pass from Mayfield to Jarvis Landry helped them get a field goal. Those were their first points of the game and gave them some momentum before halftime.
Bitonio’s 17-yard gain would have been team’s third-longest play of the game at that point — and former Browns All-Pro left tackle was absolutely there for it:
Thomas played more than 10,000 consecutive snaps in a legendary career but finished his NFL with only two net yards on 10 fumble recoveries. He was clearly elated to see some big man moves — especially from a teammate who helped him form one of the league’s toughest blindsides from 2014 to 2017.
As great Thomas’ shocked face was, it may not have even been his best Browns-related reaction of the season. That honor goes to his Week 1 pleading for his former team to earn the streak-breaking win that would unlock the beer-loaded victory fridge in his home.
Unfortunately, he had to wait two more weeks and we don’t know if Thomas, who works for NFL Network, ever got one of those beers:
But he did get to enjoy the win:
That capped off a terrific night for the Browns — and even though he was watching from the sideline, for Thomas, too.
See More:
