Browns vs. Broncos: Cleveland's Biggest Winners and Losers from NFL Week 16

The Cleveland Browns couldn't stop Peyton Manning on the first series of the game as he led the Denver Broncos to a touchdown. The Browns offense then followed up with a long drive for field goal.

The rest of the game went the same way except that the Browns only scored one more field goal and one touchdown. The Broncos kept the scoring machine going and the Browns defense looking for the oxygen mask in the thin Denver air.

Peyton Manning went for the path of least resistance and threw the ball at any Browns defender not named Joe Haden. The game plan for the four-time MVP Manning worked to the tune of 34 points.

Early in the game, the Browns offense didn't have many opportunities as the Broncos went on time-consuming drives. When the Browns offense did have the ball, it didn't result in a lot of success. After the Broncos blew the game open, they came after Brandon Weeden.

On a sack by Von Miller, the Browns lost Brandon Weeden for the rest of the game. When Colt McCoy came in to finish the game he felt the pass rush as well. At the end of the game, Colt McCoy was sacked on a safety blitz and the defender rolled into Trent Richardson's leg. Richardson was able to make it to the sideline but had to be carted off to the locker room.

The good news is that the Browns' painful season comes to an end next week. Let's see who the winners and losers were in Denver.

Loser: Brandon Weeden

Brandon Weeden had an uneven performance similar to the past few games. He made a few good throws and missed an easy touchdown to Josh Gordon. He missed receivers with high or overthrown passes that would have kept drives alive.

The offensive line had problems blocking the pass rush of the Broncos and Weeden continued a bad trend of holding the ball too long, which combined to cause drive-stoppers for the Browns.

Winner: Greg Little

The second-year wide receiver continues his consistent play with six catches for 58 yards. The receiver that the Browns thought they would have last year has finally showed up. Little will be a part of solid talent base no matter who the coach is next season for the Browns.

The Browns could use some of the creative plays with Little in the backfield, which worked against the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, the current staff will only run those plays when they have a large lead, which doesn't happen very often.

Loser: Josh Cribbs

Josh Cribbs is doing well with a high return-yard average, but today was not his day. With as many times as the Broncos scored, he only had two returns due to touchbacks, and the Broncos only punted three times.

On one of the punts Cribbs didn't secure the ball and lost a fumble to the Broncos. The Broncos didn't need any help, but they gladly capitalized on a charity ball from Cribbs.

On the two kickoff returns, Cribbs did average 30 yards, but on the two punts he only averaged five yards.

Winner: Usama Young

Usama Young gave the Browns offense a chance to make a game of it with an interception in the end zone. The interception is the main reason he makes the list of winners in this slideshow.

It was the only bright spot for a secondary that was torched by Peyton Manning. The Browns' defensive game plan was to make Peyton take yardage in short chunks and hope that he got impatient. Instead, Peyton took what was available, which was long touchdown drives.

So, Young made the play of the day for a secondary that didn't have many.

Loser: Buster Skrine

The coaches for the Browns continued to say how Buster Skrine is a fighter and doesn't give up. The problem is that they have to keep defending him, because when good quarterbacks see him on the field, he is in for a long day.

Peyton Manning didn't throw every pass Skrine's way, but the eight tackles for Skrine didn't come from him making big plays. When Sheldon Brown went out with a concussion, Skrine became a major liability for the Browns secondary.

The Browns will have to look for a couple of new corners in the offseason to replace Sheldon Brown and Buster Skrine.

Winner: Ben Watson

The veteran tight end could have had a better day if the passes that went his way were more on target. He ended up with three catches for 47 yards.

The tight end position has been a newly discovered position by Brandon Weeden, who didn't have a tight end in college. Watson has become the safety blanket for Weeden as he was for Colt McCoy.

When McCoy came in for Weeden, he went to Watson right away, but the passes were in the dirt.

Loser: Mitchell Schwartz

Mitchell Schwartz had the task of blocking one of the best pass rushers in the league with Von Miller. It would be safe to say that Von Miller won the fight this time.

When Broncos wanted to give Elvis Dumervil a break from the five-time Pro Bowler Joe Thomas, they moved him over to Schwartz's side and Dumervil got to eat some quarterback too.

On the sack that took out Brandon Weeden, it appeared to be a miscommunication that happened when Ben Watson didn't chip block Miller and released on a hot route. Schwartz blocked down on the defensive tackle, and Brandon Weeden ended up with a damaged shoulder.

The rookie right tackle has played well most of the season, but along with most of his teammates, today was just not a good day.

Winner: Reggie Hodges

You can tell it was not a good game for the Browns when the punter makes the winners list. In a game where it was hard to find a lot of winners for the team that lost badly, Hodges did his job well.

He took advantage of the thin air in Denver and ended the day with a 41.8-yard average on four punts. He also did his job with the hold on the Phil Dawson field goal. He would have had more punts, but the Browns did have the ball for most of the game early on, and they tended to use all four downs later in the game.

The defense wasn't able to take advantage of the field position that Hodges gave them and gave long drives, which lead to the defense giving up 457 yards of offense to the Broncos.

Loser: Craig Robertson

The other defensive player that was second in line to Buster Skrine for today's biggest Peyton Manning victim was Craig Robertson. When the Browns managed to cover up the receivers down the field, Manning looked for Robertson.

Robertson ended the day with the most tackles on defense with 12, right ahead of Buster Skrine. The outside linebacker had a few more tackles because he was targeted in the Broncos running game as well.

The speed that Robertson brings to the table is often his worst enemy, as he overpursues the play. The Broncos saw that on film, and when the matchup presented itself in the passing game, Manning took advantage.

Winner: Phil Dawson

Phil Dawson is far too often one of the only winners in the Browns' defeats. He didn't kick a lot of field goals like he normally does in a loss because the offense couldn't get into his range, but when they did he made them both with a long of 53 yards.

The long-time kicker for the Browns could play his final game in a Browns uniform next week against the Steelers due to his contract expiring at the end of the season.

If the new owner Jimmy Haslam is looking for what is right with the Browns, he should start with Phil Dawson.