“I will be better for this team, for my family, for this organization,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.”

Winston’s game-winning pick-six came with 1:48 left and the Browns trailed 34-32 after a Broncos field goal with 2:54 left. He fired a ball to the short left side for Elijah Moore, and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian undercut the route, picked it up and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown that gave the final lead.

“Bad throws,” Winston said. “It was a bad throw. Bad throw.”

Despite a gutsy, gunslinging, never-ending performance, Winston couldn’t find much good in anything he did, including two TD passes to David Njoku, a 70-yard TD pass to Jerry Jeudy and a 24-yard TD Pass to Nick Chubb.

“Yeah, man, that was a tough question, man, in front of the whole world, in front of the whole world,” Winston said. “I screwed it up for us in front of the whole wild world. But I will continue to improve. We’re going to put this behind us and, God willing, go to Pittsburgh and finish strong. Finish. It’s about finishing. It’s about showing up when you need to show up the most. That’s what great players do. I believe I am a great player and I have to demonstrate that over and over again, game after game.”

Kevin Stefanski acknowledged that turning the ball over was unacceptable.

“I think as a team you have to win the turnover margin,” he said. “That is the first key to these games. It’s hard to go out there and be a good football team when you turn the ball over the way we did, and that’s just the truth.”

Moore was at least partially to blame for the crucial final pick-six.

“So what happened was he jumped up and caught it,” Moore said. “I didn’t know if my hand was touching him. So that’s what got me excited, like I touched him, wasn’t it? And then my coach says, ‘Touch him again.’ It was just like, I had to do a better job.”

Winston’s first pick six came with 1:38 left in the half when defensive end Nik Bonitto, who was initially covering David Njoku, recognized Winston’s eyes, went to Jordan Akins, the designated receiver, and intercepted the ball, rushing it 71 yards House for the TD. That made it 21-10 for the Broncos, but Winston stormed back with an 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown to David Njoku with 13 seconds left in the half to make it 21 -17.

Winston couldn’t even celebrate Jeudy’s 70-yard touchdown, which came one play after Marvin Mims Jr.’s 93-yard score.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “That doesn’t matter. It’s about finishing. It’s about taking action when your team needs you most. I’m proud of that. I will continue working. I’ll fix it. I apologized to the boys, I know that, but I’m still going to give the Lord the glory. From a mental perspective, nothing will change. But from a physical perspective, I will continue to work and get better, especially in the fourth quarter where you have to be the best.”

What will he do this week to correct the errors?

“You’re getting better,” he said. “You play when it matters most. That’s what great quarterbacks do. Do the play.

Does that make it even more frustrating considering he believes he’s far from the player who threw a ton of picks early in his career?

“Yes, I’m a better player,” he said. “But in times like these, it is an opportunity to continue to glorify the Lord even in the most difficult circumstances. I know I’m better than this. I know. I just pray for the Lord to deliver me from pick sixes. That’s just, that’s not me. Phenomenal game, the offense did some great things, but I blew it.”

With a short week and a visit to the Steelers, who were in first place on Monday, what is the process and mindset for the next game?

“What it is is simple,” he said. “It’s one piece at a time. It’s prayer. It asks why. It’s more prayer. Freedom from this is requested. It will just work. It’s about taking responsibility for making sure my teammates know that I will recover and that I will. This is the easiest way.”

Winston praised receiver Jeudy for his outstanding, career-high 235-yard performance in his “revenge game” against the Broncos, who selected him 15th overall in 2020 and then never gave him the exposure he felt he deserved. They traded him to the Browns in March for a fifth- and sixth-round pick.

“Jerry’s return to Denver is obviously very emotional,” Winston said. “For him to go out and perform the way he did. What does that say about him?

“He’s phenomenal, man. We knew what time it was at the beginning of the week. He was hungry. He prepared himself. He was ready to come back here and show up and show up, and he did. It is important. It’s unfortunate we didn’t give him that win, but I’m glad he had a career day. I’m glad he did great. But he’s a great receiver.”

Still, he blamed himself for messing up his return home.

“It’s hard for any team to win when their quarterback has given them two defensive touchdowns,” Winston said. “The defense played well, the offense played well. I didn’t do a good job.”