Cleveland Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins was carted off the field in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills after bending his leg awkwardly as he was tackled by linebacker Matt Milano.
Judkins was receiving a swing pass from fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders when Milano swooped in, grabbing the former Buckeye by the ankles. The 36th pick of April’s NFL Draft was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game after disturbing video replay showed his lower right leg flailing as he landed at Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland ultimately dropped its fourth straight, losing 23-20 to a resurgent Bills team riding a four-game winning streak.
Judkins left the game leading all rookie running backs with 805 rushing yards. He also had a team-high seven touchdowns on the ground this season.
The Alabama native missed all of training camp after he was accused of domestic violence in Florida in July. Prosecutors declined to pursue a case against him on August 14 following a state attorney’s office investigation that found inconsistencies in the accuser’s story.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said in September that Judkins has done a nice job trying to get up to speed.
Cleveland Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins was carted off the field in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills after bending his leg awkwardly on a tackle by linebacker Matt Milano
Judkins is tackled by Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58) during the first half at Huntington Bank Field. The ex-Buckeye was carted off the field with an apparent injury after this play
The news didn’t get any better for Cleveland on Sunday.
James Cook rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Allen played through a foot injury and the Buffalo Bills drew closer to a playoff berth with the win.
Ty Johnson also had a rushing score for the Bills (11-4), who have won four straight and five of six.
Allen played the second half despite injuring his right foot during the second quarter.
The reigning NFL MVP was favoring the foot after being sacked by Cleveland´s Myles Garrett and Alex Wright for a 22-yard loss to Buffalo’s 1-yard line with 60 seconds remaining in the first half. The half-sack gave Garrett 22 on the season. He needs one more sack in the final two games for the Browns (3-12) to pass Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the single-season mark.
Allen was 12 of 19 for 130 yards and also rushed for 17 yards on seven carries.
Shedeur Sanders completed 20 of 29 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also was the Browns’ leading rusher with four carries for 49 yards. The fifth-round pick also battled a bloody finger and threw two interceptions which accounted for 10 of Buffalo’s points.
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. scored both Browns’ touchdowns, including a 1-yard run in the third quarter to get them within 23-17.
Raheim Sanders rushed for 42 yards on 11 carries. He was pressed into action when Quinshon Judkins was carted off with a potentially season-ending leg injury late in the second quarter. NFL Network reported that Judkins had a broken leg.
It was the ninth 100-yard rushing game this season for Cook, tied with Thurman Thomas for second in franchise history. OJ Simpson holds the single-season mark with 11. The four-year veteran also took over the NFL rushing lead with 1,532 yards. Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor is second with 1,443 with the Colts facing San Francisco on Monday night.
Judkins is seen arriving at Huntington Bank Stadium prior to Sunday’s game against Buffalo
Cook tied it at 7 midway through the first quarter on a 44-yard run up the middle where he eluded tackle attempts by Cleveland’s Mohamoud Diabate and Adin Huntington at the line of scrimmage. Grant Delpit had a chance to make a stop at the 27, but was spun around and unable to make the tackle.
Cook then extended Buffalo’s lead to 20-10 with 2:23 remaining on a 3-yard carry up the middle.
Buffalo converted both of Sanders’ interceptions into points – Johnson’s 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter and a 41-yard field by Michael Badgley in the third quarter.
Cleveland got the opening kickoff and scored when Sanders rolled right and connected with Fannin for a 13-yard TD. Sanders was 5 of 5 for 58 yards on the drive. It was also the first time in five starts that Sanders directed Cleveland to points on its first possession.
