The truth is all hell could have broken loose. Justin Simmons knew if his gamble went awry, the Broncos were toast.



Yet he took it anyway, heeding the call from Vic Fangio.



On a Browns third-and-1 late in the fourth quarter, Simmons lined up high, some 8 yards from the line of scrimmage to give the impression he and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. planned to double the receiver out wide. If Simmons’ poker face held up, the money would be his. But one misstep and Odell Beckham Jr. would be celebrating a game-winning touchdown.



As the play clock wound down, the noise faded as Simmons zeroed in on the quarterback. He caught a glimpse of the play clock, turned to safety Kareem Jackson to hear his call, then fixated again on the clock. When it reached 15 seconds, Simmons made a beeline for the line of scrimmage, waiting just long enough to avoid jumping offsides before darting toward the quarterback. As soon as Baker Mayfield handed the ball off to Nick Chubb,...