Close, but . . . 

Kevin Stefanski has been down this road before. To be exact, it was week 16 of the National Football League season last year and the Browns streaking toward their best season since reentering the league in 1999.

In the week leading up to their road game against the one-victory New York Jets, the 10-4 Browns received word that COVID-19 had wiped out the entire wide receivers room. Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashard Higgins and KhaDarel Hodge out.

Ja'Marcus Bradley, activated from the practice squad, newly-signed free agent Marvin Hall and practice squader Derrick Willies were Baker Mayfield's lone targets with speed and quickness that afternoon. Three tight ends and running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were also available.

The Jets were terrible at stopping the run, the lifeblood of the Cleveland offense. The smart move was to run the football, right? That's what they did best. They had a terrific offensive line that run blocked better than protected Mayfield. Their receivers were back in Cleveland. Every logical reason to run, not throw. Grind it out and win the war of attrition. Slam dunk and move on. 

So why did the Browns lose the game, 23-16, to a ONE-VICTORY team? Because Stefanski flatulated all over the game plan, which called for only 18 rushing attempts in 80 snaps. Mayfield was tasked to drop back 60 times. He was sacked four times, completed 28 of 53 passes and scrambled for yardage three times.

Chubb and Hunt each scored once, but ran for just 39 yards primarily because Stefanski, a very smart and savvy coach, chose to eschew the run. The situation dictated run. The ground game never had a chance because Stefanski didn't let it.

So what does this have to do with Sunday's game in Foxboro, Mass., against the New England Patriots? This time, COVID-19 almost completely wiped out the running backs room this week.  Chubb, Hunt (on injured reserve), rookie Demetric Felton and practice squader John Kelly are back in Cleveland.

Only D'Ernest Johnson, who introduced  himself to the NFL community a few weeks ago with a 146-yard, one-touchdown effort in the nationally televised Thursday night victory over the Denver Broncos, is healthy. General Manager Andrew Berry scrambled to get help for Johnson, bringing free agents Brian Hill and Dexter Williams in off the street. Hill, a five-year NFL veteran, will be active Sunday.

The question that needs to answered now is whether Stefanski learned his lesson from last season's Jets loss with regard to crafting a better game plan this time with the healthy personnel on board. 

These are not the Jets. These are the 5-4 Patriots, who have won their last three games and four of the last five after a 1-3 start, two of those losses by a total of three points. Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick seems to be hitting a lot of the correct notes lately primarily on defense, doing so with a rookie quarterback.

While Mac Jones is putting up nice numbers and minimizing mistakes, it's the defense that has meant the difference between winning and losing. A thieving back seven (13 interceptions) has led the way. Overall, it has compiled 16 takeaways, 11 in the last five games, including a pair of pick sixes in the latest victory over Carolina.

Edge rusher Matthew Judon, who bedeviled the Browns for five years with the Baltimore Ravens, is well on the way to his best season ever in his first year with the Pats with nine of the team's 19 sacks. The run defense, meanwhile, has held four teams under 100 yards.

Jones, reportedly gaining confidence with each start, has led a well-balanced offense that has scored 25 or more points in six of the nine games. The 68% passer has thrown just 10 touchdown passes and been picked off seven times, but he has shown the ability to sustain drives and keep his defense rested.

His favorite receivers are tight end Hunter Henry (five touchdowns) and wideouts Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' relatively conservative offense.

With most Belichick teams over the years, no one running back sticks out. He prefers committee football with his backs. This season, it's been mostly Damien Harris with 547 yards and seven of the club's 11 touchdowns on the ground, and rookie Rhamondre Stevenson, but Harris will miss the game with a concussion.

Stevenson, a 6-0, 250-pound load, cleared concussion protocol Saturday and probably will share the ground game with veteran Brandon Bolden and J. J. Taylor, in theory tilting the edge to the Cleveland run defense.

So what can we expect from Stefanski as he seeks to put victories back to back for the first time since weeks three and four? Has he learned his lesson from the Jets game last season and lean more toward a strength, in this case a more balanced offense, with his main runners sidelined and his receiving corps in good shape? 

And what can we expect from the Cleveland defense? Last week, it was a relative blitzkrieg from the normally conservative Joe Wood with as much man coverage as they have played all season. With a rookie quarterback in Jones, more of the same would seem to be on the menu. And now that rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is back from injured reserve, that would be the ideal scenario.

But don't count out the possibility of the same kind of defense from Belichick when the Browns own the football. Confusing young quarterbacks with numerous disguised pass coverages is one of his specialties, especially with an opportunistic secondary.

This one figures to be relatively low scoring with the possibility of a lot of work by punters Jamie Gillan of the Browns and Jake Bailey. In games like this, my tendency is go with the better defense. Not to denigrate the Browns D, which has permitted just 45 points in the last three games, the Patriots have been more consistent on that side of the ball this season. Make it: Patriots 22, Browns 17