CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – After a two-year hiatus, the Cleveland Browns are back in the NFL playoffs.
The Browns clinched at least a Wild Card berth and prevented the Baltimore Ravens from clinching the AFC North with a 37-20 victory over the New York Jets Thursday night at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
"There was so much adversity this year, obviously, you guys know," tight end David Njoku, who caught six passes for 134 yards, said. "So many things internally, externally but we overcame them. I'm so proud of these guys. We aren't finished and we have a long way to go, but for now we are going to enjoy this and worry about next week, next week."
It is the earliest in the post-1999 expansion era the Browns have clinched a playoff spot. Their 2002 and 2020 Wild Card berths were secured in the final week of the regular season.
In 2002 the Browns beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-16 to improve to 9-7 and then got the requisite help required to clinch a Wild Card spot and in 2020 Cleveland beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-22, also at home, to end the NFL's longest running playoff drought.
"For me, it's almost a whole career goes – you remember the 0-16, 1-15, 3-13 years where there was no hope at the time," left guard Joel Bitonio, the longest tenured Brown, said. "You look back on it, it's like 'Hey, we're turning this team into a winning culture and we are expected to compete and go to the playoffs every year.' It's cool to be a part of that."
The mood within the Browns locker room was not one of exuberant celebration. There's more work to be done.
"We clinched the playoffs but at the end of the day it was one game," right guard Wyatt Teller said. "It's not the Super Bowl as much as I wish we just won the Super Bowl, it is not the Super Bowl but it was a real cool game and I'm happy we got to win."
Joe Flacco has come in and given the Browns the shot in the arm they needed to get to the playoffs – and beyond – with his fourth straight 300-yard passing performance to become the first in team history to do that.
"I mean, the city has been unbelievable," Flacco said. "My teammates have been unbelievable in terms of just embracing me onto this football team. So it's all been great and it makes it that much more special to be able to come in here and play some good football."
The Browns are far from a perfect team. Aside from having 14 players on injured reserve, they lead the NFL in turnovers, and they had three more of them Thursday night. There's always something to clean up.
"It is never a finished product," cornerback Greg Newsome said. "We are still trying to fix some things. We definitely have another level we can get to."
The 11th victory matched the 2020 regular season win total for the most in the expansion era and is tied with six other Browns teams for the second-most wins in a season.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski passed Bill Belichick on the Browns all-time coaching wins list with his 37th victory in his 66th game. Belichick won 36 in 80 games.
"Obviously, our depth has been tested in different areas throughout the season, but I think it's a really strong roster," Stefanski said. "I think we have an unbelievable coaching staff that I get to work with every single day. So felt good about this team. Now, you don't know in this NFL, my God, there are things that happen you can't predict. So, for us to just stay the course throughout the season, I'm proud of this team."
The Browns, who currently hold the top Wild Card slot in the AFC and No. 5 seed, finish the regular season at Cincinnati against the Bengals.
