Denzel Boston — Week 1: A Forty-Six-Yard Touchdown, Down Thirty-One
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 14
Boston's second NFL catch was a forty-six-yard touchdown, deep middle from the Jacksonville forty-six with two minutes left and Cleveland down 34–3. He was thrown to four times, caught two for fifty-nine yards, and both incompletions came on third down — one from the Jacksonville eight that ended the Browns' only trip inside the ten with a field goal — in a 34–10 loss to the Jaguars.
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The biggest play by expected points that either offense made on Sunday was Denzel Boston's. Fourth quarter, two minutes left, second and five at the Jacksonville 46, Cleveland down 34 to three: Deshaun Watson deep middle, 46 yards in the air, touchdown. It was worth +4.7 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — more than any of Trevor Lawrence's four touchdown throws. It was also Boston's second catch of the day. The first had come earlier in the quarter, with 13 36 left: 13 yards on second and 13 at the same 46, on the drive that stalled at the Jacksonville 15 on back-to-back sacks.
The line: four targets, two catches, 59 yards, one touchdown, +5.2 expected points on the targets, the highest figure for any Brown who was thrown to. A hundred 14 air yards on four targets, more than any other Cleveland receiver, and both incompletions were third downs. The first was third and 25 from the Cleveland 46 with eight seconds left in the half, deep left, 53 yards in the air. The second was the one that cost something: third and seven at the Jacksonville eight, eight 38 left in the third, down 31 to nothing, short left, incomplete, and Cleveland kicked a 26-yard field goal. That was the only throw the Browns made from inside the 10 all day.
One target before halftime, three after. Watson threw nine times in the second half and three of those went to Boston, more than to anyone else; KC Concepcion and Harold Fannin had two each. Cleveland ran seven plays in the red zone and scored no touchdowns there; the one that reached the end zone came from 46 yards out with the game decided.
Back in June the preview's read on Boston was a six-four second-round pick with a contested-catch, red-zone profile, a report from The Athletic calling him possibly the most impressive offensive player of Cleveland's spring, and a bet on the gap between that buzz and his price. Sunday ran the profile backwards: the one red-zone throw his way fell incomplete, and the touchdown came from midfield. One game cannot settle whether the red-zone role is his; it did put 59 yards and a score on a day the rest of the passing game managed a hundred 46. Cleveland is at the Buccaneers on Sunday the twentieth.
_Data via nflverse._
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