BEREA, Ohio -- David Njoku knew where the ball was, where the backline was and seemingly where the camera was, too.
As quarterback Joe Flacco scrambled right, the Cleveland Browns tight end pushed his way to the back of the end zone. It was late in the second quarter, and the Browns were trailing the Chicago Bears 7-0. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker had Njoku blanketed. But with nowhere else to go, Flacco gave Njoku a chance and tossed the ball his direction. Njoku jumped, caught the pass over his head and tapped both feet in bounds.
As he showed the official he had come down with the ball, Njoku stared straight into the lens of the team's end zone photographer.
coolest dude in the room pic.twitter.com/LD9l9D5pIb
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 17, 2023
A 2017 first-round pick, Njoku had always flashed the potential of being a top-tier tight end. Now, he's performing like one. And he's a major reason why the Browns are on the precipice of their first playoff appearance since 2020 despite a deluge of injuries to the offense.
"I'm proud of Dave, the person he is and the player he is," said coach Kevin Stefanski, who gave Njoku the game ball in the postgame locker room. "He's one of the best teammates I've ever been around. The growth that he's made both as a person and a player. ... He's got that mentality where he fights for everything, and he put it on display [against the Bears]. He really did. We needed him."
Njoku is coming off the best two-game stretch of his career.
Two weeks ago, in a 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Njoku caught six passes for 91 yards and scored Cleveland's first two touchdowns, from 34 and 30 yards.
Sunday against the Bears, Njoku was even better.
He finished with a game-high 10 receptions for 104 yards and the one touchdown at the back of the end zone. He and Amari Cooper (109 yards) became the first Browns duo to finish with more than 100 receiving yards in the same game since 2013 (Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron).
"He's been awesome," Flacco said. "When you get the ball in his hands, he's such a strong runner. ... It's just the kind of player he is."
Njoku has also earned the trust of Flacco, who keeps going his way in critical situations.
With Sunday's game tied and 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Browns faced third-and-15 near midfield. As the pocket was collapsing, Flacco lofted the ball to Njoku, who had dashed open. Njoku leaped to bring in the pass, then turned upfield for a 34-yard gain to the Chicago 19-yard line, putting the Browns in position for the game-winning field goal.
"It's not me. It's a team effort," Njoku said, when asked about his surging play. "The chemistry [on this team]. We're all so, so intertwined together. We really play for each other when we're out there. And honestly, there's so many things going on, injuries and all that stuff happening and the fact that we just find a way, I have the utmost respect for this team."
During the 2022 offseason, the Browns rolled the dice that Njoku would become a difference-maker.
He was coming off three straight seasons with fewer than 500 receiving yards. Over his first five seasons in the league, he had only one with more than 36 receptions.
Still, the Browns signed Njoku to a four-year, $56.75 million extension, making him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league.
This season, Njoku is living up to that contract.
Despite the quarterback turmoil the Browns have had to overcome, Njoku already has a career-high 69 receptions for 704 yards and five touchdowns. He hasn't missed a game, either, even after suffering second-degree burns to his arms and face in a backyard fire pit accident in mid-October. With all the moving parts offensively, the Browns have desperately needed the continuity that Njoku has provided.
"Knowing what he's been through, especially this year with the [burn] incident," defensive end Myles Garrett said, "it's been fun seeing him grow as a person, maturing, evolving as a player and how good of a teammate he's become, how great of a teammate he's become because that can't be understated.
"And he's turned from a guy who's trying to make plays, trying to find his role on the team, to one of the biggest advocates for every single player on this team."