CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Right tackle Jack Conklin and cornerback Denzel Ward were banged up Sunday and it is unclear if one or both will be available for the season finale.
Conklin suffered an ankle injury while Ward injured his shoulder during the 24-10 win over the Commanders.
“We will see how this goes throughout the week on both of those [injuries],” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I don’t know definitively, but we will monitor that throughout the week.”
Conklin just signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $60 million while Ward, who was named a Pro Bowl alternate, came away with his third interception of the season on the second pass of the game from Carson Wentz in Washington.
Time check – The NFL announced Monday afternoon the Browns will play the Steelers on Sunday at 1 p.m.
As part of the league’s new scheduling model, every game in Week 18 was listed as ‘To Be Announced’ in April when the schedules were released to ensure that the networks were able to secure key games with playoff implications in key windows for the final weekend of the regular season.
“You know that they are fighting for the playoffs, and you know that a lot of eyeballs are going to be glued to the TV watching this one,” Stefanski said. “That is what is the exciting part for us to be in a meaningful game. We understand that it is our last one, but we are excited about going against a division opponent. We know how tight these games have been so that is the exciting part to be able to compete for 60 minutes.”
A Browns win would eliminate the Steelers from the playoffs.
“It is not our focus,” Stefanski said. “We understand those type of things, but this is a division game and it is a rivalry game. We have a ton of respect for that organization, those coaches and those players. We get to lace them up Sunday – don’t know what time yet – but we get to compete for 60 minutes, and we are excited about that.”
Go to guy – Donovan Peoples-Jones has established himself as the go-to guy behind Amari Cooper among receivers this season.
The 2020 sixth-round pick caught his third touchdown pass of the season Sunday after being unable to haul in a catch moments earlier from Deshaun Watson.
“It really instills confidence because I know that even like [Sunday] I had the drop, I really wanted that bad, and sometimes you don’t know if you will get the ball after that,” Peoples-Jones said. “To know that he’s coming right back to me the next play shows that he is not worried about that. That really makes me feel good and makes me excited, too.”
Peoples-Jones has set career highs with 59 catches for 797 yards this season with a game to play.
Send in the calvary – When defensive end Chase Winovich got to Wentz, he knew the clock was ticking if he wanted to bag his first sack of the season.
Winovich knew Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett were closing in.
“I knew the cavalry was coming so I had to get him down quick if I wanted the full sack,” Winovich said. “I did, thankfully. It was a great moment. It was a long time coming. It was a little bit of a… I have been through a lot these past two years, trying to get back and get that sack again. Finally, I got it.”
The never-ending drive – If there was one blemish from Sunday’s win in Washington it was the Commanders’ 21-play, 94-yard drive at the end of the first half that chewed up 11 minutes and ended with Cardon Wentz’s one-yard touchdown run to give the home team a 7-3 halftime lead.
“It wasn’t a couple of third downs – that is the first problem. It was too many,” Stefanski said. “Listen, our defense played really, really well [Sunday]. That one drive was really what we didn’t do well. I will tell you what I was proud about was that was the last drive before the end of the half; then they come out, get the ball and they have a chance to double dip – we have seen that – and they didn’t. They went three-and-out.
“Credit to them for that long drive. They made their plays. All in all, I thought the defense just played really relentless to the football, rushed the passer well, good in coverage versus some very good wide receivers and tackled well. Just guys running for the ball I think was the difference.”
Going for it – The Browns lead the NFL in going for it on fourth down this season.
They are 22-40 after being successful on one of two attempts against the Commanders but they failed to punch it in after Stefanski took three points off the board following a Commanders offsides penalty to move the ball to the 2.5 yard line.
Stefanski explained his thought process when it comes to deciding to go for it and the play he calls.
“A lot of it comes down to what type of moment it is in the game, how your defense is playing and then the play,” Stefanski said. “Ultimately, that play down there in the red zone did not work, but we have to look long and hard and say, ‘Why didn’t it work and what could we have done better?’ That is really where your focus goes.
“I think our players, they want to play aggressive. They want on fourth-and-1, you get it to stay on the field and stay in a big drive. There have been moments where you are able to stay on the field and turn them into points, and we understand the risk that is involved, as well. We get it. It is just ultimately trying to make aggressive but smart decisions.”
Up next – Players off Tuesday; practice Wednesday.