A meaningful Steelers game

It's not over yet for the Browns despite what went down agonizingly on Sunday in the New Jersey Meadowlands. There is still one more opportunity for this team to qualify for the National Football League playoffs for the first since since 2002.

To do so would require them to accomplish something in the season finale they have produced just three times since the 2000 season. A victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. In the last 39 games overall against their archrivals, they have won just five games, three in Cleveland.

Heading into week 17, the Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts are tied at 10-5. in the crazy AFC wild-card race. A victory over what for the Steelers will be a meaningless game after clinching the AFC North by beating the Colts Sunday would nicely cap a Browns season few saw coming.

That triggers a very interesting situation. Do the Steelers, now that they have clinched the division title and have nothing else to play for, rest their starters next Sunday against the Browns, who should be at full strength after losing to the Jets minus their COVID-19-related top four wide receivers?

Next weekend, the Colts welcome Jacksonville, the Ravens travel to Cincinnati and Miami is at Buffalo. The Ravens and Dolphins win tiebreakers with the Browns, who win any tiebreaker with the Colts (head-to-head). A victory is virtually mandatory since the Colts figure to knock off the 1-14 Jaguars,

It''s either win and advance or lose and get ready for the offseason. It is that simple. A victory over the Jets Sunday combined with the Colts loss in Pittsburgh would have garnered an invite to the postseason. 

The teeth-gnashing 23-16 loss to the awful Jets was a shattering and demoralizing, but not fatal, blow to the club's postseason hopes.  The major cause was the forced absence of wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge, all back home with COVID-19 issues, along with linebackers B.J. Goodson and Jacob Phillips.

That receiving quartet represents 47.7% of quarterback Baker Mayfield's completions, 43.4% of his targets and 57.8% of his passing yardage. It forced head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski to alter the game plan, focusing instead on the ground game and running backs and tight ends in the passing game.

The listless Browns offense pretty much sleepwalked through the first half when Mayfield targeted wide receivers only twice with his first 24 passes. Way too much emphasis on tight ends and running backs. The stodgy offense became too predictable and the now 2-13 Jets were ready for it, limiting the Cleveland attack to only 103 yards.

The Cleveland defense, meanwhile, was victimized by one gadget play and blown coverages on all three Jets touchdown passes, which were scored on consecutive possessions in the first and second quarters and on the first possession of the third quarter.. 

The gadget play, which caught the Cleveland defense napping, began with Jets quarterback Sam Darnold handing off to running back Ty Johnson, who flipped the ball to wide receiver Jamison Crowder heading the other way, The wide receiver pulled-up and threw to a wide-open Braxton Berrios, who curled out of the backfield for the long reception and raced untouched into the end zone, The play covered 43 yards.

Two plays later, Jets defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi strip-sacked Mayfield to set up an 11-yard scoring throw by Darnold to -- yep, wide-open again -- tight end Christopher Herndon to boost the New York lead to 13-3 after Sheldon Richardson blocked the extra point.

Jamison, who accounted for 92 receiving yards, 14 yards on the ground and the scoring toss, broke wide open again -- surprise! -- to haul in a Darnold pass play that covered 30 yards, confused a flummoxed secondary and pushed the lead to 20-3.

The Jets' defense, in the meantime, made certain Nick Chubb was not going to hurt them, holding him to just six yards on eight carries in the first half (he wound up with 28 yards on 11 carries). The Browns finished with a season-low 45 yards.

Chubb operated behind a line with backups at two positions (Kendall Lamm at left tackle for Jedrick Wills Jr, who became ill before the game, and rookie Nick Harris, subbing for Wyatt Teller at right guard). The Jets all but dared Mayfield to beat them with all those complementary parts back home.

Stefanski finally began dialing up more plays for wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley in the second half, After catching his only first-half target for six yards, the rookie compiled four more grabs for 54 more yards on 10 more targets in the final 30 minutes.

Mayfield started heating up when Bradley entered the picture, throwing for 182 yards after a looking uncomfortable and uncertain with a 103-yard first half. He clearly missed those forced to stay back in Cleveland. With them, this one is celebrated as the playoff clincher.

But Stefanski is not one to make excuses, but he certainly has to know he'll have everyone back for the Steelers game with a chance to avenge the week six 38-7 drubbing in Pittsburgh and make up for what went down against the Jets.

The Cleveland offense finally mounted scoring drives of 60 yards in the third quarter with Chubb capping the 10-play drive from a yard out and Kareem Hunt in the fourth quarter, blasting four yards to end a 12-play, 83-yard march with 12:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Cody Parkey, who accounted for the Browns' only first-half points with a 44-yard field goal to open the scoring, missed the extra point to put the Browns in a four-point hole that became seven on a Sam Ficken field goal.

Nevertheless, they were in position to at least tie the game in the waning moments. It was a case of so close and yet so far. As close as the New York 15-yard line with 88 seconds left in regulation and momentum. It came down to fourth down and less than a yard with the offense looked halfway decent. Time for Mayfield's third quarterback sneak of the game. But the Jets were ready for it this time.

Mayfield lowered his head and ducked in behind left guard Joel Bitonio, who was stood up by Tarell Basham and Mayfield somehow lost control of the ball. Hunt managed to grab it and lunged past the line to gain, but referee Land Clark correctly ruled only Mayfield was eligible to recover and advance the ball and it was placed back at the spot where he lost it, which was short of the line to gain. Not far enough.

A bitter ending to what the Browns had envisioned as a victory before the pandemic hit where it hurt the most. And now it comes down to just one game. Somehow fitting for a team whose resilience has been one of its hallmarks.