CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – As time expired Thursday night, fireworks streamed into the air above Cleveland Browns Stadium and the capacity crowd of 67,919 erupted in celebration.
With a 37-20 thumping of the Jets and another 300-yard passing performance by Joe Flacco, the Browns are headed to the playoffs for the second time in four years.
“Last time we did it, there weren't that many [fans allowed] out there,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “This is a special city. They love their Brownies, as I'm reminded often. So to be able for them to savor in this and enjoy this, I think it's a big deal.”
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from Thursday night.
The scoreboards read “Playoff Bound” as players celebrated in the middle of the field before taking the party to the fans, some of which were chanting Joe Flacco’s name. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz told Za’Darius Smith to take a victory lap. David Njoku chugged a beer celebrating with die hards. Others high-fived and hugged fans in the front rows. The party was on, but it was short lived because there’s work to do. The coveted second season awaits.
Considering all that has been lost this season player wise, this team never gave up. ““It means everything,” running back Jerome Ford said. “We have been doing it for our brothers.” They continued to plow through every mountain of adversity thrown in their way. “You hate to lose great players, and we lost some great players along the way,” Stefanski said. “But go ask those guys. They tell you it's a team sport. I know this. Those guys that weren't with us tonight, they were with us tonight on the field, and they got our back and we got theirs.” The bonds within the locker room that have been formed are real. It explains how and why they have been able to do what felt like to be impossible. “I just look at the guys in this room, just the camaraderie and the energy that has been going,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “Guys have been able to step up when other guys have went down.”
As for the game itself, the tone was set immediately. The Browns scored on their opening drive for the fourth time in five games with Flacco at the helm. Flacco found Jerome Ford, who fought his way onto the end zone, for a seven-yard touchdown. It capped a seven-play, 75-yard march to open the game. Ford also turned a broken play into a 50-yard score from Flacco that put the Browns up 34-14 in the second quarter. Flacco threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns. “This is obviously a very unique situation for me,” Flacco said. “So, a lot of different emotions are going through my head and just the city has been so unbelievable and you can tell how hungry they are for good football and they've been getting it all year. And it makes a difference to go out there and play in front of a crowd like that week in and week out. So, if we can continue to play good football and these guys can continue to show up like that. That's just how you build an organization year after year. And this city, you can just tell they love football and it's special going out there and playing for them.” OK, so he also threw a pick six that Jets edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II tipped to himself and ran 37 yards to cut the Browns lead to 27-14 in the second quarter, but Flacco continues to be fantastic. Flacco is the only Brown to throw for 300 yards in four straight games. He’s also the first in NFL history to throw for at least 250 and two touchdowns in each of his first five games with a team. “It's a great story,” Stefanski said. “I know you guys love this story, but I'm just happy for Joe. I'm happy for him having this success, being a part of a football team. He's got something left in the tank.”
Like Flacco in mid-November, Kareem Hunt was signed off the street in late September. He is tied for the team lead with nine touchdowns this season. All of them have come on the ground. Hunt scored again Thursday night – a 7-yard run that put the Browns up 13-7. “It means everything to be from Cleveland,” Hunt said. “I'm going to be die hard as a Brown no matter what. Even when I'm done playing football, I'm still going to be with the Browns in my heart and it means a lot just to come out here and help this team. And it would mean more than anything to bring a Super Bowl here and just end it like that.”
Ford’s two touchdowns Thursday night also gave him nine this season – five receiving and four rushing.
Tight end David Njoku hit 100-yard receiving in the first half and finished with 134 yards on six catches. Njoku has overcome his own injuries and this season is a lesson. “Anything is possible,” Njoku said. “It’s just the will to not give up, the will to keep pushing through everything. Obviously, when Deshaun went down, it hurt a lot. When Nick [Chubb] went down, it hurt a lot. So many injuries this year that we have went through, but we didn’t quit. We rally together and push through. That is why I’m so proud of this team. But, we aren’t done yet.”
Receiver Elijah Moor caught five passes for 61 yards, including an 8-yard score that pushed the Browns lead to 27-7 midway through the second quarter drawing a big fist pump by Flacco after the catch. “You just lose control of yourself a little bit in the moment,” Flacco said. “It's an unbelievable game. The crowd out there was just amazing. When you're in the arena like that and you just have all those people and you're doing it with your teammates and I don't know, you're pushing towards a win to get you into the playoffs. Like I said, I think you kind of lose control of yourself a little bit, but it's just so much fun.” Moore departed in the second quarter after suffering an injury after a 22-yard catch. Moore was examined for a head injury and ruled out shortly after due to a concussion.
Following a Jets turnover on a kickoff, Stefanski went for it on fourth-and-4 from the six instead of kicking a 23-yard field goal. Flacco’s pass to Cedric Tillman was off the mark and not close leaving Cleveland without any points off the turnover. The decision set the defense up to make a play. Safety Ronnie Hickman picked Siemian off and weaved his way 30 yards for a touchdown and a 20-7 Browns lead with 2:01 on the first quarter clock. “The ball finds Ronnie Hickman. It's incredible,” Stefanski said. “Out at practice, walkthrough, somehow the ball finds its way into his lap and he does a great job. You know, scoring - it was a great play by a young man and he's doing a nice job. We're going to continue to need these guys to step up.”
Myles Garrett’s sackless streak ended and he drew a holding penalty too. Garrett made life miserable on the Jets front all night. Garrett also played with a heavy heart after losing an uncle on Christmas night. “I'm not one to really wear it on my face too often, but it's taking its toll in different ways and just keeping my head to the sky and trying to stay focused,” Garrett said. “I know that's what he want me to do and that's what my mother want me to do.” It made the celebration of making the playoffs bittersweet as Garrett left the field. “I'm happy for my teammates, and that's honest and true and that'll always be how I feel because this team, it's unlike any other,” Garrett said. “I'm always proud to be around and be a part of a special organization. But I know that feeling how I feel doesn't feel right without CJ, hearing him. I know even though he's watching, it's just a little bit different. It's not the same.”
New kicker Riley Patterson missed his second PAT try wide right that kept the Browns lead at 13-7 but he made a 33-yard field goal to cap the scoring for the night as well as four PATs. Mike Ford Jr. recovered a fumble at the New York 12 on the ensuing kickoff when Jets returner Israel Abanikanda lost the football after being hit by linebacker Matthew Adams. Shelby Harris blocked a 31-yard field goal try by Greg Zuerlein to end New York’s opening drive of the third quarter. “Every week we feel like we can get a block,” Harris said. Zuerlein hit 46-yard field goal as time expired for halftime to make it a 34-17 game. His 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter ended the Jets scoring.
As for New York, it’s laughable they believe Aaron Rodgers is going to fix that team next season. Rodgers is not going to make them any more well coached, or less sloppy and more disciplined. New York looked like so many Browns teams of the past Thursday night. They were penalized 12 times, including for not doing the basics, like lining up properly. Rodgers isn’t fixing their inability to be detailed in what they do. That’s coaching, and the Jets are not well coached. Both teams were hit with significant injuries this season. The Jets built their “team” around one player. The Browns built theirs around nearly 70 men. One is headed to the playoffs while the other clings to the delusion that their one player will fix everything for them next year.
This is the seventh Browns team to win 11 games in a season. Stefanski has two of them and he joined Paul Brown as the only coaches in team history to do that more than once. Stefanski also surpassed Bill Belichick with his 36th victory as head coach. Belichick won 35 in 80 games. Stefanski needed just 66 games to pass him.
It was the Browns fourth win in a row, tying the longest win streak in the expansion era. Stefanski has three of the four four-game win streaks since 1999.
The 8-1 home record is also a new team record. Stefanski is 24-10 at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Deshaun Watson joined Moore, Myles Garrett, Joel Bitonio and Charlie Hughlett for the coin toss. Nick Chubb, donning a Batman mask, was the Dawg Pound captain and guitar smasher. Chubb flipped the mask into the crowd as he descended the steps.
Receiver Amari Cooper, coming off a record setting 265 yard and two touchdown performance, was a late scratch due to a heel injury suffered in the win at Houston.