Mid-week thoughts

Kevin Stefanski sure takes losing hard. Seemingly too hard. But that's not bad.

"We achieved a lot . . . but . . . we came up short," he said in his postmortem to the Browns' highly successful 2020 season, "and there's a very real sense of disappointment among our players and coaches."

Actually, there's nothing wrong with that approach. Swallowing a loss is harder the more successful you are and the 12-6 record the Browns rang up was bound to generate more disappointment than usual with the season-ending finale in Kansas City a few days ago.

That heart-breaking loss to the Chiefs in the division semifinal should nag at Stefanski and everyone else in the organization throughout the offseason. It should not be forgotten. So close and yet so far against the defending Super Bowl champions should incentivize until the next training camp.

This team, mainly through the coaching of Stefanski and his staff, maintained a resolve that enabled them to battle through rough periods along the way and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002 with a rookie head coach.

Stefanski probably won't ever forget the final eight minutes of the Chiefs game -- when the Browns had a great chance to take the lead late --  and sort of beat himself up for the way he handled it. "I didn't put guys in a position to succeed," he said. "That is where I'm going to work hard to make sure the next time we are in that situation, I do."

He might also want to think about utilizing the NFL's best running backs at the same time rather than one at a time. By now, he should know that with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in a game, that puts more pressure on the opposition because both are playmakers and can explode at any time.

Chubb should run the football at least 20 times a game. Only once in 14 games this season did he carry more than 20 times. In fact, he averaged only 15.8 carries a game. He should average much more. Less than 16 is way too few for one of the NFL's most dangerous runners.

And there is no excuse to keep Hunt chained to the bench as Stefanski did in the first half of the KC loss. He was strictly a spectator as the Cleveland offense huffed and puffed futilely through the first 30 minutes. That's not thinking clearly.

As the playcaller, it is Stefanski's job to utilize all his weapons. Perhaps to a certain extent that's what he meant when he said he was not putting guys in a position to succeed. It's difficult to succeed if a playmaker, in this case Hunt, who later scored a touchdown when called on in the second half, is tethered to the bench.

He pronounced himself "excited" about Chubb and Hunt. "I'm excited about them moving forward," he said. "It is our job to grow in this offense and find more things they can do." It took him an entire season to find this out?

The limelight this offseason, Stefanski said, will be on improvement. "We will have to spend a lot of time . . . finding ways to make sure we are getting better," he said. "We have to get better as a football team. I have to get better as coach. That will be our focus."

He might think about getting better as a playcaller, too. Toward the end of the season, he tilted a higher percentage of plays toward the passing game, apparently forgetting how much the ground game early in the season helped establish one of the league's best and most effective offenses.

Final grade for Stefanski: B+. While he did a terrific job, I can't yet give him any kind of A because there is still plenty of room for improvement. Qualifying for the playoffs is the easy part. Getting back to them next year won't be as easy.

Monday leftovers

A lot to unpack as the Browns' 2020 season grinds to a close. Let's start with . . . 

The punt that was and the punt that wasn't. Their connection explains the tale of why the Browns have turned their attention to the 2021 National Football League season.

First, the punt that was. 

Midway through the fourth quarter Sunday in Kansas City in a divisional playoff game. Eight minutes left in regulation and the Browns, trailing by five points but with momentum, begin what ultimately became their final drive of the afternoon after an end-zone interception by Karl Joseph.

Two minutes later, Baker Mayfield sneaks a couple of yards for a first down at the 31-yard line then is force to call a timeout on first down -- the second after losing a replay challenge earlier -- due to a communications problem with the bench. 

Three plays yield one net yard. Four minutes and 19 seconds remain and Kevin Stefanski is faced with a decision. The season is in the balance. Punt to get better field position and put the fate of that season in the hands of a defense that has struggled most of the season, or go for it on fourth-and-9 from your 32.

Situation: The Browns had the Chiefs back on their heels. Patrick Mahomes II was in the dressing room with a concussion. Journeyman Chad Henne, who threw the earlier pick, was the Chiefs' quarterback. Decisions, decisions.

Stefanski chose the former. Did not hesitate. Jamie Gillan's punt pinned the Chiefs at their 28 with 4:09 left. All the defense needed was a stop. Somehow get Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend on the field for the first time.

Six plays and a couple of minutes later, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett dropped Henne for a six-yard loss. The decision to punt sure looked good as the Chiefs faced a third and 14 at their 35. Henne gained all but a foot of that as the Browns lost contain to bring up fourth down at the Chiefs 48,

Which brings us to the punt that wasn't.

Just about everyone watching from the press box, on television, those few seated in Arrowhead Stadium and on the Cleveland sideline believed Chiefs head coach Andy Reid would punt. Didn't think anything else even as the Chiefs lined up as if to run a play. 

It sure sounded as though Henne, in shotgun formation with less than a foot to go, tried to pull the Browns offside with several attempts using a hard count and get a cheap first down. The Browns didn't budge. Until center Austin Reiter snapped the football to Henne with two seconds left on the play clock.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who tortured the Cleveland secondary all day, jab-stepped cornerback M. J. Stewart out of position long enough to break wide open in the right flat for a short pass and gave himself up after making the first down.

Bottom line: Reid gambled and win. Stefanski gambled and lost. The old master bettered the rookie. He was outcoached.

Nevertheless, I can't quarrel with Stefanski's original decision to punt. Conventional wisdom at that point,  especially with Mahomes out of commission, was the correct call even though it didn't turn out as he had hoped. Too much time remained to go for it so close to his end zone.

***

The rule that took away what almost probably would have been a Cleveland touchdown late in the second quarter is being battered again by pundits and NFL critics all over the media landscape. And because it doesn't occur often enough to reconsider, it probably will remain in the rules book.

If Rashard Higgins' fumble at the Kansas City one-foot line had skittered out of bounds there instead of rolling into and out of the end zone, the Browns would have had a first and goal at that point and in position to trim the Chiefs' lead to 16-10.

As it turned out, field judge David Meslow was totally correct to immediately rule it a touchback, according to the rule. The call survived the replay, which was generated automatically by the turnover.

It's one of the dumbest old rules in the book and eventually will be removed, replaced by one that covers the same situation, but makes more sense. Punishing the offense and rewarding the defense in that case makes absolutely no sense. 

The Chiefs probably don't think so. It all depends which end of the play you occupy. In this case, it was a gift and a warning sign the Browns were not going to go away anytime soon. That proved to be the case with a second half that frightened the daylights out of the Chiefs.

If there is a next time for Higgins, maybe he'll aim for the outside of the pylon which would almost guarantee the ball will land out of bounds instead of in the end zone.

***

Joe Woods has taken a lot of heat this season and rightly so to a degree. But the beleaguered Cleveland defensive coordinator has been operating with a paucity of quality personnel most of the season. In order to see what he can really do, General Manager Andrew Berry must  help him in the offseason as much as he helped reconstruct the offense this season.

Injuries and COVID-19 miseries throughout the season robbed Woods of his better (relatively speaking) defenders in the secondary. The club's linebacker corps ranks well below the norm. And the defensive line, the team's strength on that side of the ball, needs more than Garrett. A lot more.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done. It's not fair to pin the entire blame at Woods. He can game plan only with what he's got. He is very fortunate the offense played as well as it did to take off some of the heat. Let's see what he can do with a more talented roster. After what he's gone through this season, he deserves the chance.

***

Considering the starting offensive line, the heart and soul on that side of the football, played as a unit a little more than half the time this season is a testament to the importance of having quality personnel on the bench.

When fully healthy, or least healthy enough to play significant minutes, the Browns were 7-3 in 18 games, 5-3 when at least one missed a start. During a four-game stretch when right guard Wyatt Teller was idle with a calf strain, they split four games. And when they were together for a subsequent four-game stretch, they won all four.

Berry did a terrific job of putting together what is recognized in many quarters as one of the best, if not the best, offensive lines in the league. That they were able to piece together a 12-6 overall record with all the physical interruptions provides hope they will be even better next season.

***

Questions about the Cleveland receivers Sunday: Why was rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones targeted just once? He caught a 23-yarder and that was it. Nice per-catch average, though. . . . Was it in the game plan to target Jarvis Landry 10 times and have him catch seven of those for 20 yards? And a touchdown. But 20 yards? . . . Why has rookie tight end Harrison Bryant fallen out of favor? Targeted just once like his fellow rookie. Didn't catch it. . . . Why was high-priced tight end Austin Hooper targeted just thrice? . . . Why wasn't No. 3 receiver KhaDarel Hodge's name not on the stats sheet? . . . Why was Nick Chubb targeted five times -- caught two, dropped two -- and Kareem Hunt, a much better receiver out of the backfield, just once? . . . And why did Hunt, playing against his old team, touch the ball just seven times (for 34 yards and a touchdown)? . . . Stefanski has to learn over the offseason how to use his talented backs better.

***

Finally . . . Baker Mayfield has started every game since replacing Tyrod Taylor in the third game of the 2018 season. If you're not keeping count, that's 47 in a row. . . .  Travis Kelce and Hill combined for 16 catches against the Browns for 219 yards and a Kelce touchdown. . . . Kelce faked Browns cornerback Denzel Ward out of his jock strap and various other parts of his uniform in getting open and scoring on his 24-yard reception. . . . Final quote for what it's worth from Stefanski after the game: "It stings. We came here to win and didn't get the job done. There is a finality to that." Yes there is. On to next season.

They have arrived

During the course of a football season, teams find out a lot about themselves along the way. Take the Browns, for example, Sunday in Kansas City in the divisional playoff game against the Chiefs.

Even though they dropped a 22-17 heartbreaker to the Chiefs, they walked off the field knowing they belonged. Naturally, there's little solace knowing the season is over after one of the most memorable seasons in recent franchise history, but now they know they can hang with the big boys. 

Except for a defense that must and almost assuredly will be addressed seriously in the offseason and can be pointed at as one of the major reasons the Browns did not advance to the AFC championship game next Sunday. They came a lot closer than most believed.

A few veteran observers of the National Football League believed the Browns were on the verge of something special and were at least a year away from making significant noise. But certainly not this. Not scaring and pushing arguably the league's best team to the limit.

There is no shame in losing as they did. In doing so, they sent a message to the rest of the NFL after impressive offensive performances in two post-season games. They raced well past competitive and now stand tall as contender.

In a game rife with gambles by head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski, the Browns pushed the defending Super Bowl champions to the edge before the defense for the umpteenth time this season failed to come up big with the game hanging in the balance.

The Browns had made up most of a 19-3 deficit with a pair of second-half touchdowns by Jarvis Landry and Kareem Hunt after a first half that saw the offense puzzlingly sputter. They actually had a decent shot at taking the lead.

The Chiefs were ripe to be upset. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, who had toyed with the Cleveland defense all afternoon until getting whacked and knocked dizzy by Cleveland linebacker Mack Wilson on a third-and-a-foot run midway through the third quarter, was in the dressing room with a concussion.

Chad Henne, a 13-year journeyman most people thought was out of football, had taken over and produced just a field goal. Four minutes and change remained in regulation after the Browns punted. All they needed was a stop against a team that had not punted all afternoon. Just one measly stop.

Stefanski, who was perfect on three fourth-down gambles, played his final, as it turned out, gamble of the day, betting his defense would finally do the job, especially with Mahomes in the dressing room. So much for gambling perfection.

For some reason, which will probably be explained later, the Cleveland defense overshifted to the strong (or right) side of the Chiefs' formation as the clock moved relentlessly, protecting against the possibility of wide receiver Tyreek Hill or tight end Travis Kelce making a play. That left the weak side open.

Henne took advantage moments later when, after taking a six-yard sack courtesy of Myles Garrett, found wide open space around the left side with nary a Brown defender in sight and lumbered 13 yards and two feet on a third and 14 with exactly two minutes and no timeouts left. 

Then Chiefs head coach Andy Reid boldly called a little five-yard pass on fourth and a foot to the reliable Hill, who had eight receptions for 110 yards on the afternoon, choking off any possibility of a Cleveland comeback. 

Frankly, I expected this one to be more of a blowout with the Browns playing catchup all afternoon with an offense quite capable of doing just that. It wasn't until Stefanski finally woke up and unleashed the ground game in the second half that the Browns came alive on that side of the football.

Mahomes led the Chiefs to 19 first-half points on all four possessions, while the Browns mustered just a Cody Parkey field goal. (It would have been 23 points had Harrison Butker not missed an extra point and chip-shot field goal.)

Their deepest penetration during the half came at the tailend of a six-play drive that died when wide receiver Rashard Higgins fumbled while stretching for the pylon at the tailend of 25-yard catch and run on a first down from the Kansas City 26.

The ball slipped out of his hands after a hard hit by free safety Daniel Sorensen and skittered into and then out of the end zone for a touchback. So instead of the Browns narrowing the lead to 16-10, the Chiefs stretched it to 19-3 on a short Butker field goal. 

In that half, the run-loving Stefanski mysteriously dialed up just six run plays that gained 18 miserly yards. That bears repeating. Six plays with Nick Chubb and Hunt very healthy and extremely ready. Perhaps that was because Baker Mayfield was pretty much on target with most of his 18 passes and looked confident. It didn't help this receivers dropped five passes.

Nevertheless, virtually abandoning a phase of the game that pretty much got them to this point of the season is inexcusable. Once Stefanski realized his mistake, that's when the Cleveland offense looked very much like the one that overwhelmed Pittsburgh a week ago.

After two incompletions and a Tyrann Mathieu pick to open up the second half, the head coach finally awoke and called on Chubb, who immediately gouged out 41 yards on his first two carries -- more than doubling the entire first-half output in less than a minute -- and the Browns scored on the next two possessions, including an 18-play, 75-yard semi-marathon that bled 8:17 off the clock.

It was only the second interception Mayfield has thrown in the last nearly 11 games and the first since week 14 against Baltimore. But the defense, to their credit along with uncharacteristic consecutive incomplete passes by Mahomes, forced another Butker field goal.

The Cleveland offense, operating with three men manning at left tackle, pretty much kept Mayfield clean, a Chiefs blitz resulting in his only sack. 

Rookie Jedrick Wills jr. opened up the game at the position and left with an ankle injury on the first play. He was replaced by Kendall Lamm, who lasted until he left early in the third quarter with an elbow issue. Newcomer Blake Hance took over just when Stefanski turned to the ground game and played well.

All in all, the results of this unusual season have clearly laid the groundwork for the 2021 season, giving Browns Nation more than just hope for the immediate future. It glows brightly and portends much bigger things.

Close with a cigar?

It sure appears as though the novelty of seeing the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the National Football League playoffs has captured the attention and imagination of those who ply the league's landscape for a living.

That the Browns even made the playoffs after spending two decades wandering the depths of the league's standings on an annual basis was, at best, a mild surprise. But after ending the Pittsburgh Steelers' season prematurely a week ago, they have everyone's attention. 

No longer are the Browns the league's punching bag, the butt of never-ending jokes. All of a sudden, everyone wants to know about this outlier, this interloper. Who are they? What are they doing here? And why, again all of a sudden, have they become the darlings of the postseason?

Pundits all over the country have discovered this is not a bad football team, at least on the offensive side of the football. And when they play takeaway on defense, winning games usually follows. Nine of 10 to be exact.

Have the newcomers to this team fallen in love? Some have. Even to the point of suggesting the Browns will end the Kansas City Chiefs' season Sunday afternoon and deny them a chance at back-to-back Super Bowl championships. Forget the 10 points the Browns have been spotted by oddsmakers. Straight up.

But many more prefer the chalk-favorite Chiefs and All-Universe quarterback Patrick Mahomes II. That makes perfect sense, especially when you notice Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is 25-5 after a bye week -- the Chiefs were off last week -- and 7-0 against the Browns.

At the same time, though, they have entered the world of Kevin Stefanski football and have come away with a greater understanding of what they are and who they are and have been impressed by the 180-degree turnaround in such a short period of time in the face of a global pandemic.

They see a young team that is extremely dangerous in every phase when in possession of the football. Very few weaknesses to exploit by the opposition.

If it isn't Baker Mayfield throwing with unerring accuracy -- only one interception in the last 10-plus games -- to a vast array of capable receivers, it's Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt providing the necessary power on the ground, all behind one of the NFL's best offensive lines now that Joel Bitonio has escaped COVID-19 hell.

That offense has generated 40 or more points on four occasions this season, including the wild-card victory in Pittsburgh last Sunday. The great Chiefs offense has produced just one. The Cleveland offense has logged seven of their victories when scoring 34 or more points..

The Chiefs will face a supremely confident football team that, for the first time in roughly two months, will be as healthy as it has been all season. They believe in themselves to the point where they don't hope to win games, they expect to win them.

It's the product of trickle-down from the head coach. Stefanski steadfastly believed in them. They returned that belief after the losing stopped. Sounds corny, but the proof lies in what this team has accomplished, winning more games this season than any since it was reborn in 1999. 

A winning culture, something this franchise has yearned for for way too many years, has finally taken hold in Berea. In some ways, it bears some resemblance to the winning years of the original Browns in the eras of quarterbacks Otto Graham, Frank Ryan, Bill Nelsen, Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar.

Like his famed predecessors, Mayfield has become the leader of this team, the spark that lights the flame. He is the antithesis of the quarterback who came out of college as a gunslinger. Under Stefanski, he has become the complete quarterback. 

Mahomes, on the other hand, is still a gunslinger in an extremely prolific sort of way. He's got great weapons in wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce. Their symbiotic football relationship has accounted for 192 receptions, 2,692 yards and 26 touchdowns this season in 15 games.

Like Mayfield this season, Mahomes makes few mistakes when throwing with only six interceptions -- three in one game -- in 588 attempts. That's 0.01% of his attempts. 

He is more quick strike than Mayfield, who has adopted the chains-moving, clock-milking approach Stefanski likes. Expect him to wear out the reasonably healthy Cleveland secondary with the return of cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson. Look for Ward to shadow Hill.

Where the Browns have an edge is in the running game with Chubb and Hunt, who is extra juiced to face his former team. The Chiefs counter with ex-Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, whom they picked up on waivers early in the season, and rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who is nursing ankle and hip injuries.

Defensively, the Chiefs have a decided edge from a talent standpoint. Whereas the Browns are, with the exception of Ward, talent-starved in the back seven, the Chiefs are stabilized there with the extraordinary talents of strong safety Tyrann Mathieu, a playmaker in the mold of ex-Steeler Troy Polamalu.

Mathieu, who no longer wants to be called the Honey Badger, has swiped a career-high six passes (of the club's 16), and is among the team leaders in tackles with 62. Like Polamalu, who bedeviled the Browns for many seasons, he almost always seems to be near the football.

Most of the pressure on Mayfield will come from defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end Frank Clark, who own nearly half of the club's 32 sacks. If the Cleveland quarterback is as quick to deliver the ball as he was against the Steelers, another no-sack game looms. 

The Browns' defense, minus a playmaker like Mathieu, has been hammered for 196 points in the last seven games (28 a game) and yet emerged with a 5-2 record. That's because the offense scored 218 points (31 a game) to rescue victory from defeat. That has been the main trend this season. 

Other facts to take into consideration . . .  

Mahomes and most of the Chiefs starters have not played a game for three weeks, having been given the week off in week 17 after clinching the top seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. It will be 21 days since they played. Rust is a convenient excuse if they get off to a slow start.

It sure seemed as the though the 14-2 Chiefs coasted in the second half of the season, winning many games by slim margins. Weeks nine through 16, they won games by 2, 4, 3, 6, 6, 3 and 3 points. Overall, they won eight games by 6 points or less. The defense, which had surrendered just 19 points a game in the first eight games, gave up 24.5 per thereafter. 

One last stat: These two teams have met 13 times at Arrowhead Stadium with the Chiefs holding a 9-3-1 edge. 

I lied. One more final important fact: The Browns' defense has created 26 takeaways in 10 games in clump-like fashion. They have produced at least two in seven of those games. They are 3-4 in games with no takeaways. Each team has turned the ball over 16 times. 

Now that the Cleveland attack is as well-rounded as it has been all season, it will interesting to see how Stefanski game plans this one. Does he go slow, but steady to nail Mahomes to the bench for long stretches? Or does he attack the Chiefs through the air -- they permit 236 yards a game against the pass -- as he did against Pittsburgh? Or perhaps allows the strong ground game to set up the pass?

This one most likely will turn out for the Browns much like it has during the regular season with the offense desperately trying to keep up with the leaky defense, this time against the best quarterback in the league. 

Like last week, my head and heart have had a raging argument all week. The heart, after what happened in Pittsburgh, said, "Why not two in a row?" The head, the wise one, retorted, "You got lucky last week. Sorry, not this week." After a coin flip, the head wins again, but it will be close. Make it:

Chiefs 42, Browns 35

Mid-week thoughts

There is an overriding reason the Browns are supremely confident as they prepare for phase two of their quest to upset the professional football world in the AFC division semifinals Sunday in Kansas City.

No, it's not that they believe they are better than the Chiefs from a personnel standpoint. There is no question whatsoever the defending Super Bowl champions are significantly better in every phase of the game.

And no, it's not because they are still feeling pretty good about themselves and enjoying the fruits of their labor after sending the Pittsburgh Steelers packing in the wild-card round of the National Football League playoffs last Sunday.

It's an intangible that often accompanies underdog teams in the postseason and supplies the silent reason they perform in unexpected ways once the games take on extra special meaning. Often times, there is no reasonable explanation for it.

It is simply called belief. Let Baker Mayfield explain.

 "We believe in ourselves and that is why we are here," the Browns' quarterback said recently. "We have a bunch of fighters who have scratched and clawed to get here, We are going to continue to do that week in and week out."

It could serve as a mantra for the Browns, who are huge underdogs for Sunday's game. They weren't supposed to be "here"," as Mayfield put it. Rookie head coach, new systems installed in all phases, limited training camp, no exhibitions. And still alive.

Cleveland Browns and playoffs in the same sentence is oxymoronic, but only for the time being. That they qualified for the postseason this season from out of practically nowhere has to be the NFL's feel-good story of the season. 

Mayfield is the team's leader in many ways. He has become a very good quarterback after buying into what head coach Kevin Stefanski has been selling. His positive attitude radiates all over the roster, not just on the offensive side of the football.

He talks about scratching and clawing for a reason. He knows all about it. He experienced it in college, walking on at two schools and becoming the starting quarterback at both. Intangibles like that enabled him to become the first overall selection in the 2018 NFL college draft.

Mayfield epitomizes the scratch-and-claw nature of this team. They are two of the reasons he is where he is. 

There are those on the league's landscape who believe the Browns don't belong on the same field with the Chiefs with regard to the personnel. Maybe so, but you won't get the Browns to believe that. 

After fighting COVID-19 for much of the last two months, it has been reported there is a good chance the Browns will enter Sunday's game in their best physical shape since the bye week. Starting cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson are back with guard Joel Bitonio expected back by Sunday.

Not to be dismissed, though, is the distinct possibility the Browns' season will end in Kansas City. Oddsmakers say the Chiefs are 10 points better. Then again, those same people said the Steelers were six points better than Cleveland last Sunday.

In the Any Given Sunday world of the NFL, anything is possible. Belief has been a strong ally of many teams that have provided surprises over the years when they were not expected to win. It receives another test Sunday in K.C.

Monday leftovers

In the afterglow of the franchise's biggest, shape-shifting victory since returning to the National Football League in 1999 after an unwarranted and undeserved three-year absence, the Browns have found brand new respect around the world of professional football.

Their 48-37 thumping of the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night in the first round of the division wild-card playoffs triggered seismic shocks that boldly announced the Cleveland Browns are no longer those Cleveland Browns after two decades of miserable football.

These Browns are no longer the punchlines of the sport. No longer are they being laughed at nationally. No longer are they the soft spot on schedules. They grabbed hold of the national television spotlight Sunday night and painted an entirely different -- and much prettier -- picture.

In its run-up to the game last week, the Wall Street Journal ran the following headline: Here's Your NFL Playoffs, Which Have Mostly Everything, Including, Yes, The Cleveland Browns. Someone wasn't paying attention.

"I wasn't here for the things that happened in the past, some of which I was too young to remember," Baker Mayfield, who was still in diapers in Austin, Texas, when the original Browns last won a playoff game for Cleveland in 1995, said after the game.

"We are here for a reason. There is a new standard and I keep talking about it.. . . . There is a new standard and we are going to try to keep it that way. . . . I want to turn this thing into a winning culture." That's been the goal of this franchise for a great deal of those two decades, but it has sadly fallen short. Until now.

A new attitude has enveloped this franchise in spite of a deadly global pandemic and has protected the team despite the numerous obstacles that threatened to blow up the season, Instead, it produced a football team whose focus was paramount in earning its first invite to the postseason since 2002.

Nothing, it seemed, bothered the Browns this season. Not the early-season thrashings by the Baltimore Ravens and Steelers. Not the late-season COVID-19 outbreak that cost them at least one game and their head coach in the most important game of the entire season.

Kevin Stefanski is the glue that not only holds his team together, he is the leader at the top rung of the coaching ladder the Browns have sought for way too long. He has come in and in less than a season righted a ship that had been floundering aimlessly. 

What made it remarkable for the rookie head coach was accomplishing it without the benefit of various  off-season programs and minicamps, new philosophies for both sides of the football, a training camp that began late and the league cancelling all exhibition games. Impediments he deftly negotiated as he connected with his team.

That the Browns finished 11-5 in the regular season and then knocked off the Steelers despite all the roadblocks in his way has rocketed Stefanski in or near the lead in coach-of-the-year consideration. What he has accomplished this season far transcends the every-year hopes of Browns Nation. This was totally unexpected.

And now he can get off the couch in his basement, turn off the TV, test negative for the virus and rejoin the team that made him proud to be where he is and who he is. He can actually coach his team in person (or via Zoom) as the Browns prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in the conference semifinal.

Oddsmakers say the 14-2 Chiefs are 10 points better than the Browns. Wouldn't be surprised if Stefanski uses that as a motivating tool. Right now, his men are probably still feeling pretty good about themselves after the Steelers outcome. Refocusing should change that by Tuesday.

If you are a fatalist, you believe all this was meant to happen. Stefanski, who lost out to the clueless Freddie Kitchens in 2019, was meant to coach this team to the playoffs. And then win the first game. The next step falls into the category of you never know.

The standard, according to his quarterback, inspirational offensive leader and linchpin on that side of the ball, has been set. And so far, no one seems to be objecting to the ride.

***

Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, who guided the Browns in Stefanski's absence, said something interesting following the game Sunday night. "Iron sharpens iron," he pointed out. "Because of the adversity we have had this year, it had made us a better team and made us a closer team."

Sort of a bunker mentality approach that has paid off handsomely. This team has fought -- and won -- all season long with an offense that can stagger opponents quickly and a defense that regurgitates points almost as fast as the offense scores them.

And yet the strong belief in themselves has showed in their performances. They are antithetical to the old Browns of this century, the ones that just weren't good enough on many different levels and flailed season after season, 

The performance of this team this season has put a gigantic smile on the face of the Cleveland sports community.and silenced critics, many of whom had gotten so used to the losing, they automatically expected it to continue. They are late to the bandwagon. 

***

A major key to the club's success this season has been the bench. Odell Beckham Jr. (remember him?) goes down with a torn ACL in week seven, but the offense doesn't miss a beat. Up step Rashard Higgins and KhaDarel Hodge. 

Tight end Austin Hooper misses time with a neck injury and up step David Njoku and rookie Harrison Bryant. Guard Wyatt Teller has ankle problems. Up steps Chris Hubbard. Joel Bitonio lands in COVID-19 hell and Michael Dunn steps up. He does down against the Steelers and Blake Hance takes over. Nick Chubb misses three games with a knee. Kareem Hunt takes over and the beat goes on.

The defense, which has trouble even when healthy, has been devastated, particularly in the secondary. Safeties Andrew Sendejo and Ronnie Harrison Jr. have missed time, as have cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson. Losing defensive end Olivier Vernon with a ruptured Achilles in the regular-season finale has given veteran Adrian Clayborn and Porter Gustin valuable playing time.

Stefanski's next-man-up mantra has worked out well so far. General Manager Andrew Berry and his staff deserve credit for the success off the bench. 

***

Finally . . . While their interceptions did not put points on the board, picks by linebacker Sione Takitaki and Gustin took on more value because they robbed the Pittsburgh offense of valuable clock time. Gustin's pick, courtesy of Vincent Taylor's  block of a Ben Roethlisberger pass, was an athletic beauty. He dove and cradled the football as he hit the ground midway through the second quarter. Takitaki, who had a pick six against the Eagles earlier this season, sealed the deal with three minutes left. . . . JuJu Smith-Schuster, who denigrated the Browns last week -- "the Browns is the Browns" -- had an outstanding game, albeit in a loss. The wide receiver was targeted 19 times and caught 13 for 157 yards and a touchdown. Fellow wideout Diontae Johnson was right behind with 11 grabs on 16 targets for 117 yards as the Pittsburgh offense piled up massive amounts of garbage-time yards. Big Ben aimed 46 of his 68 passes at Smith-Schuster, Johnson and tight end Eric Ebron for 336 yards and the one score. . . . The patchwork Cleveland offensive line kept Mayfield spotless with no sacks and nary a quarterback hit. 

They're going to Kansas City

It began with a simple shotgun snap by an All Pro center that would have sailed far over the head of Manute Bol had he been alive. And then it got worse. Way, way worse. For the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

After 15 minutes of football Sunday night, the Browns made up for decades of abject misery against their division rivals with a scoring flurry that hasn't been witnessed by Browns Nation in such an important game since can't remember when. It was exciting and surreal at the same time to watch unfold in front of a national television audience. 

When it was over, the Browns had three takeaways, a 28-0 lead they never lost and a loyal fan base wondering whether perhaps the two teams had switched uniforms. With a minor scare or two along the way, the cushion enabled them to coast to a 48-37 victory in a National Football League division wild-card game.

It was the first post-season victory for the franchise since the original Browns knocked off the New England Patriots in the 1994 wild-card round under Bill Belichick. Their only other victory (33-13) at Heinz Field was Oct. 5, 2003.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski, confined at home back in Cleveland due to COVID-19, watched the game on television and had to be absolutely elated at the way his club performed. Overall, his offense was opportunistic, the defense even more-so with five takeaways and a discipline level that produced just three penalties. Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer had the easiest job of the evening as acting head coach.

Their reward is a visit to Kansas City next Sunday to take on arguably the best team in the league, the 14-2 Chiefs, in a conference semifinal two steps from the Super Bowl. Two gigantic steps to be certain, but not many Browns fans realistically thought this Steelers stunner would happen, either.

Steelers Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey started the dreamy first quarter by air-mailing the first snap of the game from shotgun formation at the Pittsburgh 22 over quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's head so far, it was recovered in the end zone by Cleveland safety Karl Joseph. Just like that, 7-0 Browns.

Slot cornerback M.J. Stewart picked off Roethlisberger on the next possession. Fifty-eight seconds later, Baker Mayfield connected with Jarvis Landry on the first of his three touchdown passes, a 40-yard catch and run for a 14-0 lead. 

After forcing a punt, the Browns mostly used the infantry route to travel 68 yards in three minutes, Kareem Hunt dragging Pittsburgh linebacker Robert Spillane into the end zone from 11 yards out. That made it 21-0. But not for long.

Safety Sheldrick Redwine intercepted Roethlisberger four plays later and returned it to the Steelers' 15.  Hunt's second touchdown, an eight-yard burst, made it 28-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter, causing shock in the NBC-TV booth.

"This is almost like 18 years of frustration," said venerable play-by-play man Al Michaels, somewhat disbelievingly. "It's like a volcano right now." A few minutes later, he added, "Cleveland fans, you're not dreaming this." If it was, those fans would be saying, "Don't wake me up."

It was a nightmarish, Murphy's Law (Anything that can go wrong will go wrong) first quarter for the stunned Steelers. Sort of the way it has been for the Browns the last two decades. 

What made the final score so shocking was the Browns' inability to best prepare for their archrivals because of a COVID-19 breakout that played havoc with not only the roster, but the practice schedule. They had only one day to practice to prep for the game. 

(When informed of that fact, my bride said, "I encourage them not to practice then.")

What Browns Nation witnessed was an offense that kept mistakes at a minimum (no turnovers), blocked furiously for running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and protected their quarterback zealously. The Steelers, who led the NFL in sacks this season and had dropped Mayfield eight times in two earlier games, shot blanks all everning.

Chubb and Hunt combined for 31 touches, 206 total yards and three touchdowns, two by Hunt on the ground and a well-executed screen pass early in the fourth quarter against a Pittsburgh blitz, Chubb blazing 40 yards for the score after the Steelers had crept to within 35-23 with momentum. It was like a dagger.

The offense had correct answers most of the evening. The only blip was the entire third quarter, a three-possession effort that produced just 27 total yards on 13 plays and three Jamie Gillan punts.

Making the evening even more miraculous was the heroic (pardon the hyperbole) performance of the offensive line, which operated at times with 40% backups. All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin yanked a hamstring blocking with 9:08 left in the first half and was replaced by Kendall Lamm, who played well after a rough start.

The dreaded COVID-19 kept left guard Joel Bitonio back in Cleveland. Michael Dunn played well in his absence until he was injured with 9:37 left in regulation. That's when Blake Hance, signed four days ago off the New York Jets' practice squad, entered and played without incident.

After the game, Mayfield was asked about the musical chairs along the offensive line and seemed to be amused at the situation. "I had to introduce myself to the guy (Hance) in the dressing room before the game," he noted. 

Center JC Tretter, left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and right guard Wyatt Teller were stalwarts throughout the 65-snap evening, keeping their quarterback clean.

The defense, meanwhile, played a staggering 84 snaps and what might be called a gutsy game, utilizing mostly soft coverage in the second half, almost inviting the Steelers to catch up. Roethlisberger was more than willing to accommodate in the second half after the Browns built a 35-10 halftime lead.

The willingness to let Steelers receivers frolic in the zones' soft spots was schemed primarily to prevent Roethlisberger going over the top for easy scores. The large lead in some way protected them from letting the Steelers get close enough to threaten it.

The Steelers played catchup the entire game. It basically forced Big Ben, who boasted a 23-2-1 career record against the Browns, to throw a career-high 68 passes (he completed 47) for 501 yards and four picks, 38 of those passes and 324 of those yards coming in the second half as he strafed relentlessly. All, as it turned, out, in vain.

For the last 19 years, the Browns have entered Heinz Field to play a football game against the Steelers, boasting just the one victory. That occurred in the regular season.  This one, however, meant more, a whole lot more for this erstwhile woebegone franchise. This one will be remembered for a very long time. 

It left the 38-year-old Roethlisberger teary-eyed at the end. That alone should make Browns Nation feel good for at least the next few days.

Here comes next season

All season long, the Browns and their fans have bought into Kevin Stefanski football. And why not? Hauling an 11-5 record into the wild-card round of the National Football League playoffs 
Sunday night in Pittsburgh is a pretty impressive feat for this franchise..

A large part of that success is the manner in which they play the game when owning the football. Pound and ground is a significant part of the formula that has landed the Browns in the postseason for the first time since 2002. 

Stefanski arrived in Cleveland with the reputation of favoring the ground game heavily to the point where it was almost mandatory to make it somewhere near 50% of the offense. It also helped quarterback Baker Mayfield become a trusted game manager.

But with five games left in the regular season, Stefanski seemed to forget the major reason his men won eight of the first 11 games. It certainly wasn't the sieve-like defense. He surprisingly deemphasized the running game.

Before they erupted for 192 yards in the playoff-clinching victory a week ago against the Steelers, thanks in large part to Mayfield's 44 scrambling yards, the Cleveland infantry averaged only 102 yards a game in splitting those four games. 

When the Browns played -- and lost to the -- the New York Jets with their top four receivers idled by the coronavirus, the head coach/playcaller dialed up 60 pass plays to just 15 on the ground. Nick Chubb carried a season-low 11 times. 

Although COVID-19 will confine Stefanski to his home for the game, he is still be the major architect in crafting the game plan against the Steelers. Surely he had to notice Chubb's 108 yards in only 14 trips against them a week ago.

Other facets of that successful formula are designed rollouts, bootlegs, misdirection plays, play-action screens, a lot of pre-snap motion. Stefanski called a misdirection rollout against the Steelers last week and it was blown up mainly because the tight end on that side failed to block his man and Mayfield was sacked.

Just because it doesn't work once is not a reason to abandon it. Properly executed, the above kinds of plays should work against the Steelers' defense. Keeping Mayfield out of the pocket out is essential, especially with Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio back home with COVID-19.

Chubb needs to touch the football at least 25 times against a Steelers defense that will have linebacker T. J. Watt and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward back after resting last week. He is the money back. He is the one whose grinding style can wear down a defense.

Kareem Hunt has been terrific all season as a complement to Chubb in the backfield. But his value in this one could very well lie in the passing game with his ability to get open, rack up yards after contact and add his willingness to block. His talents need to be maximized.

Getting rookie tight end Hunter Bryant back from COVID-19 hell and fellow rookie wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones back from a concussion gives Mayfield two more reliable receivers in the passing game.

But going back to what got Stefanski and the Browns to the point this season where the offense was a legitimate threat no matter where they were on the field needs to be revisited. But if the game plan is as vanilla as it was last week, prepare for an early sayonara to the postseason.

The Browns need to keep the Steelers' defense off balance. Keep them guessing. They are a reactive defense that at times can be influenced by misdirection.

As for the Cleveland defense, the good news is safeties Andrew Sendejo and Ronnie Harrison Jr. and linebackers B. J,. Goodson and Malcolm Smith are back. The bad news is cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson are not. That means Robert Jackson, who was torched last week, makes his second start.

Mason Rudolph seemingly toyed with the Cleveland secondary a week ago in a meaningless game for the Steelers. So you can imagine what Ben Roethlisberger, he of the 23-2-1 record against the Browns, can do Sunday night against that secondary.

The Steelers' Achilles' heel is running the football, averaging just 85 yards a game. The offensive line, however, has permitted only 14 sacks this season probably because Roethlisberger has one of the quickest releases in the league.

The Steelers have had a strange season, winning their first 11 games before inexplicably losing the next three in a row, including their only home loss this season to Washington. They were on the verge of losing a fourth in a row, trailing 24-7 against Indianapolis midway through the third quarter before Roethlisberger's three touchdown passes pulled out a 28-24 victory.

Without a ground game, the future Hall of Famer has been outstanding with 33 scoring passes and just 10 interceptions. In JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson. rookie Chase Claypool and James Washington, he has arguably the best quartet of receivers in the NFL at his disposal. They have banked 277 receptions for 3,019 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The Cleveland secondary, which has redefined the term beleaguered all season, faces a long evening unless defensive coordinator Joe Woods somehow comes up with a pass rush that bothers the 38-year-old Pittsburgh quarterback. Right now, only Myles Garrett is a threat and he'll likely draw at least a double team.

Smith-Schuster added some fuel to the fire for the game midweek when asked about the Browns.  "I think they're still the same Browns team I play every year," he replied. "I think they're nameless gray faces. They have a couple of good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don't know. The Browns is the Browns."

Did that make the Browns' (probably virtual) bulletin board? Undoubtedly. Will it make a difference in the outcome? Probably not. The Steelers have way too many advantages. Like home-field, where the Browns have won only once since Heinz Field opened. The Steelers are playoff-hardened. They're used to this. The Browns are just happy to finally be here.

There's more. The Browns have had only one practice this week because of the virus. (Had only one last week, too.) The Steelers with no concerns of that nature practiced all week. Mayfield didn't pick up a football until Friday. Roethlisberger practiced all week. Lack of practice with the passing game, where timing and rhythm are essential to its success, will be a factor.

And then there is the head coach, the man responsible for where this team is and who should be a part of this. Kevin Stefanski won't be there. A team without its leader is a little like like a hand without a thumb or a foot without a big toe.

The heart says the Browns will shock everyone and somehow pull this one out. The head, which has a much clearer picture of what will eventuate, begs to differ. In a case like this, it's always best to  go, albeit grudgingly, with the head. Make it:

Steelers 31, Browns 16

Mid-week thoughts

If there was any question whether the Browns were satisfied after making the National Football League playoffs for the first time in the last 18 years, they were dispelled right after their victory over Pittsburgh last Sunday.

"Was the goal ever to just go to the playoffs?" asked head coach Kevin Stefanski of his team.

No," they replied in unison. "No, sir."

"You got more in you?" intoned Stefanski.

"Yes, sir," they bellowed.

There is no doubt the Browns will be ready from an emotional and psychological standpoint when they meet the Steelers for the third time this season Sunday night in Pittsburgh, this time without their leader and head coach.

There are times in the NFL when non-physical attributes can lift a team to the the point where overachieving every so often results in the team with lesser talent emerging victorious. Perfect example even though it took place 56 years ago: The seven-point underdog Browns shut down the Baltimore Colts, 27-0, in the 1964 NFL championship game.

Oddsmakers say the Steelers are six points better than the Browns in this one. It was four points before Stefanski tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. That's how much respect they give to the rookie head coach.

It's just another chance to overcome adversity in a season loaded with it. By now, this group of players should be used to making adjustments on the fly. Playing the role of underdog is something they have dealt with since the opening-game thrashing in Baltimore.

Stefanski guided the Browns to an 11-5 record in spite of numerous roadblocks, not to mention the runaway coronavirus mess that has played havoc with the roster the last month. And yet here they are playing the most meaningful game of the season.

Mike Priefer, the special teams coordinator who will be the acting head coach Sunday night, fully understands the situation. As the only other coach on the staff who deals with the entire team, he ostensibly knows how to handle every situation from a personnel direction.

He has his head coach's full support. "I think the players understand it really doesn't matter who's the head coach," Stefanski  said. "They know what our identity is. Coach Priefer will be the guy Sunday. I have a ton of confidence in him. I know they do as well."

Priefer's main job will be to think like his head coach when important decisions need to be made. Like managing the clock,  penalties, officiating challenges, fourth-down decisions, making sure everyone is on the same page, thinking at least two plays ahead. Sort of operating in a "what would Kevin Stefanski do in this situation" kind of world.

The Browns don't need much in the way of motivation. They have a ton, anyhow, with Joel Bitonio, one of the respected veteran leaders on the team, and their head coach unable to be part of a game their fans have been waiting for for nearly two decades.

It might be hackneyed -- but appropriate here given the circumstances -- but this is win-one-for-the coach (and Bitonio) time. 

It'a also a "got nothing to lose" game where the smart money says they won't win. So why not play loose and see where that leads?

As Stefanski correctly said, "We have to find a way."

Any more bad news?

It took 18 long, agonizing, numbingly frustrating years for the Browns to return to the National Football League playoffs. It took just 24 hours for that team to find out the man mainly responsible for that feat will not be on the sidelines to lead them Sunday night against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

In a season where a deadly pandemic has hounded numerous NFL teams to the point where the league staggered to the regular-season finish line just a few days ago, the Browns have been victimized by the loss of their leader.

Kevin Stefanski, the stoical, detail-oriented head coach and playcaller on offense for the Browns and the man who accomplished what so many before him did not, will sit this one out after a positive COVID-19 test. 

Mike Priefer, the Browns' special teams coordinator, will assume the head-coaching duties. It will be the second stint as an acting head coach for the Cleveland-born coach, having filled in for Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer in week 13 of the 2016 season after he underwent emergency eye surgery.

In addition, the Browns will also be without left guard Joel Bitonio and wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, who tested positive, depriving the club of arguably its best offensive lineman and a wide receiver who has provided solid depth at his position.

The stunning news with less than a week seemed surreal in a way. It's almost as though this isn't really happening. Finally punching a ticket to the playoffs and now this. All season long, Stefanski interacted with his men and escaped unharmed. 

He is the club's rock. He is extremely well-focused and makes certain his players follow the path he sets. He was the antithesis of his predecessor, who had no idea how to lead a football team. It's worth noting the Browns never lost a game after a loss this season.

Yes, it's the players who determine who wins and loses. But it takes strong personalities at the coaching level to maximize their talents. A perfect example of how much of a difference Stefanski made this season is his relationship with Baker Mayfield.

The inconsistent, sometimes-maddening, interception-throwing  passer is not the same quarterback who began the season. Slowly but surely, he began paying attention to what his head coach was preaching. The interceptions stopped. The victories mounted. Mayfield had bought into what his head coach was selling.

From a team standpoint, Stefanski has had everyone's attention. Winning 11 of the 16 games can do that. And you can bet that as the club meets virtually with their boss throughout this week, he will have their rapt attention.

From a tactical standpoint, the biggest concern now is who replaces Bitonio, the longest-tenured Brown, at left guard. No matter who replaces him, the rhythm of the offensive line, which is one of the NFL's best when healthy, will not be the same. 

Assuming he is healthy, the most likely candidate to replace Bitonio was rookie Nick Harris, but he was  placed on injured reserve Tuesday with ankle problems. He had filled in at right guard for two games. Harris, normally a center, suffered the injury in the loss to the New York Jets in week 16.

Up next is Michael Dunn, who has bounced up and down this season from the practice squad, followed by Blake Hance, recently picked off the Jets' practice squad, and Cordel Iwuagwu from the practice squad. Dunn is the likely starter.

From a coaching standpoint, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt takes over the playcalling duties. Van Pelt and Stefanski put together the general offensive game plan, so that aspect of the game should not be much different. Coordinator Joe Woods, as always, will handle the defense.

Priefer has eventual head coaching in his crosshairs. "I aspire to be a head coach," he said in a 2019 interview with the Cleveland media. "I'd love to be a head coach . . . I would love to be up in front of the team and be the leader, but right now, my job is to be the best special teams coordinator I can be for this team and this franchise."

With Priefer in charge of the decision making Sunday night, assistant special teams coordinator Doug Colman most likely will take over that aspect of the game.

Asked about his new coaching opponent Sunday night in a rematch of last Sunday's playoff-clinching victory for the Browns, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin head-scratchingly replied, via an NFL network tweet, "Obviously, I know very little about Mike Priefer, about global decision-making in terms of being a head coach."

Monday leftovers

There must have been an ulterior motive that caused Kevin Stefanski to unveil what can loosely be called a vanilla game plan in Sunday's playoff-clinching victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Did he reason the Steelers would be just a little easier to beat with Ben Roethlisberger, J. J. Watt, Maurkice Pouncey and Cameron Heyward given the afternoon off? And then projected that reasoning thinking the Steelers might be their first playoff opponent? So why show too much?

Where were the rollouts for Baker Mayfield? Where were the bootlegs? And the misdirection? All parts of a Cleveland offense that ranks as one of the best in the National Football League this season. Where were they?

For Sunday's game, the correct answer is buried deep in the playbook. Most everything was generated from the pocket, a residence Mayfield often finds stressful. He is a much better quarterback when moving. Stats back up that contention.

This might be concluded as a stretch. But think about it. It has been a few weeks since the Browns have played the kind of football on offense that played such a huge part in the 11-5 record. Since scoring 42 points in a losing effort against Baltimore three weeks ago, the Cleveland offense has gone soft.

It has produced just 60 points in the last three games. Only eight touchdowns in those games. In the previous three games, it produced 14 touchdowns. Granted the offense was strapped by the virus in the penultimate game against the New York Jets, but that side of the football has not been a big threat lately.

And with a defense that poses no threat whatsoever, that's not a good combination when preparing for the first playoff game since 2002.  Throughout the season, the offense rescued the defense time and again by simply outscoring the opposition. 

When you get to the postseason, though, everything tightens up, especially on defense. As the old saying goes, offense wins games; defense wins championships. 

It is entirely possible the Cleveland offense has shot its wad. There is nothing left in the tank. Nick Chubb  limited to just 14 carries -- yes, he gained 108 yards and scored a touchdown -- against the Steelers is more than a little puzzling.

Chubb is Stefanski's lead back. With, say, 20 or 25 carries, who's to say he wouldn't have gained 160 yards, scored two touchdowns, kept the chains moving and prevented the Steelers' comeback? That's Stefanski's brand of football. Put the ball in the hands of playmakers and Chubb is one of the best.

He spent way too much time on the bench against the Steelers. What was Stefanski saving him for? Oh, that's right. This Sunday night's playoff game. 

Having Chubb and Kareem Hunt is a luxury. Both have played well this season. But the dynamic for this playoff game strongly suggests Chubb is the grinder this attack needs to succeed and the more versatile Hunt can pay bigger dividends when involved in the passing game.

So no matter what the Steelers' defense dictates on a given play, a return to a more wide open offense appears to be the Browns' best weapon -- maybe their only weapon -- if they harbor any notion of beating the Steelers twice this season. Vanilla football on offense won't cut it this time.

***

Maybe the grind of the season is getting to Stefanski. He yanked another brain cramp out of the brain cramp hat in the late stages of the game Sunday, setting the stage for some late-game drama that nearly cost his club the lead.

The Browns were nursing a 24-16 lead and methodically driving, taking six and a half minutes off the clock, reaching the Pittsburgh 31 with 4:30 left in regulation. The ball was within Cody Parkey's field-goal range and a possible 11-point lead. Instead of running the ball and keeping the clock moving, Stefanski called for a Mayfield pass on third and three.

The Steelers, who had sacked Mayfield three times earlier, added number four, a four-yard loss that took the Browns out of field-goal range. So instead of a Parkey field goal that would have given the Browns an insurmountable lead, Stefanski disdained a punt on fourth down to pin the Steelers deep in their territory.

He dialed up another pass for Mayfield, who delivered a pass that in baseball would be called low and away that Rashard Higgins could not handle. The gift turned into a seven-play, 65-yard touchdown drive by the Steelers in two minutes that added unnecessary drama to the game.

Coaching decisions like that stick out more in losses than victories. Fortunately for the rookie head coach, this one turned out all right. And perhaps it was a lesson learned from strategic and tactical standpoints. 

***

Jacob Phillips gave the Browns something to think about for next season from a defensive standpoint with his performance against the Steelers. The rookie seemed to be everywhere, racking up 10 tackles from his middle linebacker slot, eight of them solo.

Knee and COVID-19 problems limited him early in the season, but he was eventually inserted in the starting lineup when B..J. Goodson encountered coronavirus problems. He played about half the snaps in the Jets loss, but was a full-time participant in the Pittsburgh victory, logging all 67 snaps. 

The third-round pick was a middle linebacker at Louisiana State, where he piled up 113 tackles in his junior season before declaring for the draft. Even if Goodson is green-lighted to return for the playoff game, Phillips' coming-out game should merit more action.

***

It will be interesting to see how the Browns maneuver their roster in the wake of Olivier Vernon's ruptured Achilles' heel in the big victory. The defensive end played well this season, compiling nine sacks and countless quarterback hits. 

Right now, the club is down to four edge rushers -- Myles Garrett, Adrian Clayborn, Porter Gustin and Joe Jackson. Clayborn is a 10-year veteran who is more of a situational rusher. Gustin and Jackson are second-year men.

The Browns will need as many reinforcements against Roethlisberger as possible Sunday night. Cameron Malveaux, who appeared in earlier victories over Jacksonville and Philadelphia, is a possibility to be brought up from the practice squad.

***

Finally . . . Mayfield has clearly cleaned up his interception-a-game act. He has thrown just one pick (against Baltimore) in the last nine games after throwing seven in the first seven games. Alarmingly, though, he has been sacked eight times in the last two games after being dropped just seven teimes in the previous eight. . . . With the assumed return of Denzel Ward from COVID-19, Robert Jackson will be back on the bench. The Steelers picked on the second-year man unmercifully Sunday. . . . The Browns never lost two games in a row this season, a product of Stefanski's one-game-at-a-time resilience credo. . . . In keeping with the Stefanski run/pass ratio mantra, the Browns ran the football 48.5% of the time this season and threw it 51.5%. . . . At least the Browns are consistent when it comes to sacking quarterbacks. They recorded 37 in 2018, 38 in 2019 and another 38 this season.

Deja vu 

It was a good news/bad news kind of day for the Browns Sunday as they wrapped up the regular-season portion of the 2020 National Football League schedule.

First, the good news. They hung on to knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-22, to end the league's longest playoff drought at 17 seasons and enter wild-card weekend with an 11-5 record.

Now, the bad news. Their opponent in the first round of wild-card games? The Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Why bad? Because if they play next weekend against the Steelers like they did Sunday, can you say early exit? 

In a bit of irony, the last time the Browns qualified for the playoffs was 2002, Their first-round opponent? Yep, Bill Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers, who overcame deficits of 24-7 and 33-21 with 10 minutes left to win, 36-33.

With an entire season on the line, the Browns faced a Steelers team resting two of their game-changing playmakers on defense, their best offensive lineman and their future Hall of Fame quarterback. And yet, they played just barely well enough to win.

The celebration for this momentous feat should be enjoyed and, at the same time, short-lived because the Steelers will have defensive standouts Cameron Heyward and T. J. Watt, center Maurkice Pouncey and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back in uniform in what for the Steelers will be a much more meaningful game next weekend.

Considering the damage backup quarterback Mason Rudolph dished out Sunday, imagine what Roethlisberger, who owns a 23-2-1 record against Cleveland, can do. Rudolph strafed the injury-riddled and COVID-19 stricken Cleveland secondary for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

That the Steelers hung in there with several of their playmaking stars resting after clinching the AFC North title last week should send a message to the Browns. What you see next week will in no way bear a resemblance to what you saw today.

Other stats to consider: The Steelers' supposedly weakened pass rush sacked Baker Mayfield four times for 30 yards in losses. The disappointing Browns pass rush dropped Rudolph just once.

One more time . . . Imagine what Heyward and Watt, two of the best fecal disturbers and quarterback hunters in the NFL, can do if their backups can wreak havoc like that. It won't be easy next week. 

The Browns were fortunate a two-point attempt by the Steelers in the final minute failed and had to survive a nearly botched onsides kick to add drama to the situation, reserve tight end Stephen Carlson barely covering the football after it slithered through his legs. Nothing comes easy to this team.

And when Mayfield, who won this one with his legs as much as his arm, picked up three yards on a third-and-two, cutting inside a Jack Conklin block on the edge, Browns Nation could breathe. And finally relax.

They had watched the Browns' offense, which went into hibernation after a flawless opening drive that saw Nick Chubb burst 47 yards to cap a six-play, 85-yard drive, come alive, in part with help from the defense, to take a 24-9 lead with a quarter left.

Mayfield's 28-yard scramble on third down to the Pittsburgh 16 helped set up a two-yard scoring grab by Austin Hooper. On the subsequent drive. cornerback M. J. Stewart Jr. picked off Rudolph at midfield and returned it 30 yards.

Four plays later, Jarvis Landry took an inside handoff and scooted into the end zone from three yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter. With a 15-point lead, you'd think there would be premature celebrations. Uh. no. These are the Browns and fans knew this one wasn't over yet. They weren't wrong.

With the exception of their first possession of the game and a late burst that put a pair of touchdowns on the board, the Browns were flat on offense and highly vulnerable on defense. They made Rudolph look like an honest-to-goodness solid NFL quarterback.

He connected on four clutch bombs (41 yards on a third and 11; 26 yards on a third and nine; 47 yards on a first and 10 late in the game; and a touchdown on fourth and 10 from 28 yards). It was one dagger after another as the Steelers refused to go away.

The Browns seemed motivated early, limiting the Pittsburgh offense to three field goals, but appeared to lose their edge and sharpness as the game wore on. 

Their reward for finally booking an invite to the postseason? Another trip to Heinz Field, where they have won just one game (33-13 on Oct. 5, 2003) since it opened in 2001, losing the last 17 in a row.

"Our playoffs started a week early," said Mayfield. "It just so happens we're playing the same opponent next week. We know what the Steelers are all about. It's going to be a physical game just like tonight was." 

A reminder: The Steelers walloped the Browns, 38-7, in week six at Heinz. Watt, Heyward and Roethlisberger were were all factors in that one.

Ready to celebrate?

Even though COVID-19 has been raging through the Browns' roster lately, disrupting almost on a daily basis the game plans for Sunday's home finale against Pittsburgh, no one has lost sight of the goal.

After blowing their first opportunity last Sunday to secure an invitation to the National Football League playoffs with a disastrous loss to the New York Jets, the Browns get a second opportunity, this time with a much healthier squad on offense.

That side of the football, almost solely responsible for the 10-5 record they have racked up, is inarguably the best attack this franchise has seen in at least a generation. And now that wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge are back from a COVID-19 hell, the odds have improved dramatically.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has cooperated nicely by resting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, center Maurkice Pouncey, linebacker T. J. Watt and defensive end Cameron Heyward after his team captured a high seed in the playoffs last Sunday. And word came down Saturday that Steelers cornerback Joe Haden and tight end Eric Ebron are COVID-19 victims.

So with the Browns getting healthier on offense and the Steelers giving at least four of their stars the afternoon off, that pretty much paves the way to a happy conclusion to the regular season, right? Before answering that, think for a minute. These are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mere mortals. Put their pants on the same way. One leg at a time. Except against the Browns. Especially on the final Sunday of a season. 

A fact to consider. The Browns have not knocked off the Steelers in the final game of a season since Dec. 26, 1987, a 19-13 victory in Pittsburgh. That's 12 season-ending losses since then regardless of the venue. The latest iteration is winless in nine attempts to close out a season with a smile.

This all underlines another sad fact: The Browns, no matter when during the season they meet,  have won just five (and tied one) of the last 41 games in this ill-defined rivalry. They lost to the Steelers in the second game last season with third-stringer Duck Hodges at quarterback.

But it was the first meeting last season that portends a glimmer of hope Sunday. With Roethlisberger down for the season early on, Mason Rudolph filled in and was brutal as the Browns won, 21-7 in a nationally televised Thursday night game. Rudolph was picked off four times and sacked other times.

The game unfortunately will be remembered more for what unfolded with just eight seconds remaining in regulation. After completing a seemingly harmless screen pass, Rudolph was tackled by Myles Garrett. It escalated into a brawl with Garrett eventually tearing off Rudolph's helmet and hitting him on the head with it, resulting in a season-ending six-game suspension for the defensive end.

With Roethlisberger out, Tomlin interestingly tapped Rudolph for this start, adding more than a little drama to a game already dripping with it. Oddsmakers thought so, too, The Browns, initially installed as 4.5-point favorites, immediately became 9.5-point favorites. 

It is more than apparent they believed the Browns were in much better position to win the game with the return of the four wide receivers. In addition, the offensive line became whole for the first time in a while with tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and right guard Wyatt Teller back.

Revenge will also be on the Browns' minds, the Steelers bringing them back to earth, ending a four-game winning streak with a 38-7 thrashing in week six. The Cleveland offense struggled with Nick Chubb on the injured list and Baker Mayfield in the midst of a brief struggling phase.

They compiled only 12 first downs, 220 yards in total offense and turned the ball over twice. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick set the tone early with a pick six on Mayfield's first pass of the game. The withering Pittsburgh pass rush sacked the Cleveland quarterback four times and hit him on nine other occasions.

The Browns also had revenge on their minds in the second Baltimore game, scaring the daylights out of the Ravens, who pounded the Browns, 38-6, in the season opener. The Ravens had to rally late to pull out a 47-42 victory on Monday Night Football. 

The Browns will be missing some key parts of a defense that has had problems when healthy most of the season. Cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson, linebackers B.J. Goodson and Malcolm Smith, safety Andrew Sendejo and rookie tight end Harrison Smith are out. Rookie A.J. Green has been called up from the practice squad to fill in for Ward and Johnson.

But the strength of the defensive unit, the line, is ready. How ready remains to be seen. The key will be to shut down the Pittsburgh ground game and force Rudolph to throw. 

The Cleveland offense, meanwhile, can't be any worse than it was against the Jets last Sunday. The return of Wills and Teller to the line and the absence of Watt and Heyward for the Steelers on defense is probably the best news from the fans' standpoint.

This, of course, is a must win game. Win and in. But if the Browns somehow lose, there believe it or not is still a chance for mid-January football. They can still make it they lose and Indianapolis loses to Jacksonville at home (won't happen) or Tennessee loses and Baltimore (at Cincinnati) and Miami (at Buffalo) win.

Way too many possibilities needed to eventuate. Forget those scenarios. After vacillating all week, the call here is the Browns will beat Rudolph -- this time with Garrett behaving himself -- for the second straight time with the distinct possibility of seeing Roethlisberger again in the first round of the playoffs.

Mayfield will look nothing like the overworked quarterback we saw last Sunday and head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski will not only have his men ready, he'll remember Chubb and Kareem Hunt still play for Cleveland. Make it: 

Browns 21, Steelers 13