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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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.