CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Hours after the Browns punched their ticket to the playoffs, Kevin Stefanski and the Browns received some good news.
Here's our top Brownie Bites from Stefanksi's victory Friday Zoom.
Moore home – Receiver Elijah Moore was released from the hospital following an overnight stay after he suffered a head injury in the second quarter of Thursday night's 37-20 win over the Jets. "I don't have a ton of other information other than say that he's doing better, he's home," Stefanski said. Following a 22-yard catch, Moore remained down on the field, and he appeared convulse as trainers raced out to tend to him. Moore appears to be okay. "I've been texting with him," Stefanski said. "Those are always scary, as we all know. But I will say this about him. I'm very proud of him. He was getting going. I thought the route he ran for that touchdown was outstanding. He's done a great job for us. And with Amari [Cooper] going down, put him over there in that spot and didn't miss a beat. I mean, the play he made to break up was almost an interception, break it up, grab it. He was outstanding." Moore caught five passes for 61 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown that put the Browns in front 27-7 in the second quarter. Moore, acquired from the Jets in March, was also sent to mid field for the coin toss as a game captain. "That's chosen by the players and they chose Elijah," Stefanski said. "This last, you know, part of it obviously going up against your former team, but more of it was just how hard he works. He shows up every day, he does his job, he practices really hard. So just proud of him getting that opportunity last week, excuse me, last night, getting those balls and doing something with them. And as you know, we're blessed to have a bunch of different guys on offense that we can get the ball to and feel really good about. And Elijah is certainly one of them."
Hall of Fame company – Stefanski joined Paul Brown as the only Browns head coaches to win 11 games in the regular season multiple times Thursday night. Stefanski also passed Bill Belichick for wins with his 37th victory Thursday night, and he did it in 14 fewer games. "I don't really spend time thinking about how I factor into that," Stefanski said. "I'm proud of this football team. I'm proud of the players. Look at that locker room. Look at how they are on the field. Look at them picking each other up. I think it's about those guys out there on the field."
In AB we trust – Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry has been plugging holes since training camp. "I think it's been unbelievable," Stefanski said. "And I think, again, the credit goes to Andrew and his entire staff. I mean, our crew works really hard to find people that are sometimes available and working them out. I mean, just look at the guys that are playing for us that weren't with us at training camp. And that's just a testament to our personnel staff in finding guys that we knew we could trust. And then obviously, the coaches getting them ready to go." Joe Flacco obviously is the most significant add in season but adding Kareem Hunt in late September after Nick Chubb was lost for the year can't be forgotten either. Hunt is tied for the team scoring lead with nine rushing touchdowns.
Feel the buzz – Stefanski praised the atmosphere inside Cleveland Browns Stadium Thursday night. "There was a buzz in that stadium," Stefanski said. "They came ready to roll and that fourth quarter, you could feel that they were just waiting for that clock to hit zero like probably all of us were, so that they could finally celebrate that. So special for them, special for our players to be able to get around the stadium and be with our fans. I mean, those are great moments for this organization, for this city."
Specialist update – It doesn't sound like kicker Dustin Hopkins will be ready for the regular season finale in Cincinnati but punter Corey Bojorquez might be. "I don't really have an update," Stefanski said. "I think Corey has probably a better chance than Dustin, but we'll see how that goes throughout the next few days."
QB 3 – The Browns are signing quarterback Jeff Driskel off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad a league source confirmed to 92.3 The Fan. The team is currently working through their corresponding move the source said but it looks like the Browns will carry three quarterbacks on the active roster for the final week of the regular season. Driskel, who is in his sixth season, has not appeared in a game this season but has started 11 of the 23 he has played in where he's completed 59.2% of his passes for 2,228 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions with Cincinnati, Detroit and Houston.
