To the victor goes the spoils, as the old saying goes. That proved true following the Rams 36-19 win over the Browns, after safety John Johnson III made sure to take full advantage of the new found bragging rights he had over his former team.
In the win, Johnson III came up with one of the biggest plays of the game for Los Angeles, intercepting Browns QB Joe Flacco with 6:30 to go in the fourth quarter to set his team up with great field position at Cleveland's 42. At the time, the game was still very much up for grabs with the Rams clinging to a one-point lead, 20-19.
The ex-Brown's big play, swayed momentum back in favor of LA, as five plays later Matthews Stafford found star wideout Cooper Kupp for a touchdown to push their lead to eight.
From there, an avalanche ensued as the Rams added 9 more points over the final 2:30 of regulation to pull away from Cleveland.
After the game, Johnson III took to X to troll his former team.
Coupled his comments after the game, it's pretty clear this game came with a little extra juice for Johnson III.
“Just one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Johnson told cleveland.com postgame referring to the post. “I don’t think they viewed me (as trash) – I think it was more of a mutual thing -- but I was supposed to be there. I had three years. So playing them, I definitely had a little extra motivation.”
Back in 2021, Johnson III netted a three-year, $33 million deal with the Browns after spending the previous four seasons with the Rams. Through his two seasons in Cleveland, the 27-year-old didn't seem to fit then defensive coordinator Joe Woods' scheme very well.
After a 2022 season marred by the defense's propensity to give up big plays, general manager Andrew Berry decided it was time to part ways with Johnson III. Upon entering free agency, the Boston College product found a home back where his career began with the Rams. Cleveland was on the hook for $3.75 million in dead cap fees due to Johnson III this season.
Johnson III did clarify that there was no ill-will toward the Browns organization and that their parting of ways this past offseason was mutual.
That said, Browns fans certainly would have preferred to get out of Los Angeles without one of their team's castaways making a game-altering play against them.
More must-reads: