Mid-week thoughts

It's understandable why many Browns fans suspect Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is losing confidence in his quarterback and therefore does not trust him anymore as the disappointing 2021season winds down.

Even if that's the case, Stefanski will never admit it. He frequently points fingers of guilt at himself as one of the reasons the Cleveland offense has been nowhere near the scary unit it was last season. An admirable stance as he attempts to deflect, but that goes just so far.

The club is 7-8 heading into the final two games with the playoffs still in the crosshairs; the offense isn't playing nearly as aggressively as it should; and their quarterback is experiencing his worst season as a professional with no satisfactory end in sight.

Fact of the matter is there is a reason Baker Mayfield has been a spectacular failure in his fourth National Football League season. He has been severely limited physically due to a serious of injuries that have affected what he does for a living and cannot be minimized.

It started halfway through the second game of the season against the Houston Texans and had a significant effect on how he has performed. Attempting to make a tackle after throwing an interception badly damaged his left shoulder.

Numerous blows to the shoulder made it so bad at one point, he reluctantly sat out .a game. Subsequent injuries to a foot, an ankle and both knees limited what he could do. He became a shell of the quarterback fans embraced through his first three seasons.

He has been wearing a shoulder harness on that shoulder that seems to restrict his throwing motion. Fox Sports NFL analyst Troy Aikman, working the Browns' game in Green Bay last Saturday, pointed out Mayfield seemed to have more problems throwing to his left than in the middl or to his right, citing the harness as a possible reason.

Stefanski's offense for a while now has become conservative in the passing game. Rarely do you see Mayfield throw anything longer than mid-range depth. And when he does go deep on occasion, his accuracy percentage plummets. Opposing teams sense this and sometimes play as many as eight or nine men in the box and dare him to throw.

It is unfair to take what he has done this season and use it as a barometer to what lies in his future, whether it's in Cleveland or elsewhere. What's fair is seeing what he can do when completely healthy -- or as completely healthy as a football player can be -- next season, an iffy assumption at this point.

It is also possible Mayfield -- he will never admits this -- has lost confidence and trust in his receiving corps. The release of mercurial wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. midway through the season and a COVID-19 surge that wrecked havoc with the receiving corps might have had had something to do with that.

Dropped passes can sometimes be used as a reason for a quarterback's problems. Not with the Browns this season believe it or not. Receivers have dropped only 19 passes -- sure seems like a lot more -- according to league stats.

It should not come as a surprise, then, that the one position that needs the most help on either side of the football in the offseason is wide receiver. Jarvis Landry is clearly the best and most trusted member of that group and there is no guarantee he'll be back next season. 

How Stefanski gameplans the next two games with his wounded quarterback probably will determine whether it's a second straight invitation to the playoffs or time to whip out the golf clubs. 

***

Now that he has escaped COVID prison, it is assumed Chase McLaughlin will be the Browns' kicker the next two games after some roster massaging recently gave the club three kickers. Chris Naggar, who subbed for McLaughlin in the Green Bay loss, was joined Wednesday by Chris Blewitt, who last kicked with Washington. Three is one too many kickers.

Blewitt, signed before the club knew McLaughlin would be back, played two games with Washington earlier this season and made two of five field goals, The other three were blocked. Can't imagine what attracted General Manager Andrew Berry to him.

McLaughlin returns in the midst of a slump that has seen him miss four of his last six field-goal attempts. But his head coach head-scratchingly still has faith in him. "Chase is our kicker," he says repeatedly. "He has high expectations for himself. We expect him when he's out there to make his kicks and we're counting on him. I think he knows that."

On another occasion when questioned about McLaughlin's problems, he said, "Chase understands he has to make those kicks. He puts as much pressure on himself as anybody else. So he wants to come through and we're counting on him." Last time I checked, pressure is part of the job. Comes with the territory.

***

As it stands now, the Browns will be at just about full strength for the rest of the season with the return Thursday of center JC Tretter, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II and McLaughlin to the active roster. Every position on both sides of the ball has quality depth.

Help on the way

After seeing the good news that emanated from Berea Monday, my first thought was now the Browns have no excuse to go into Pittsburgh next Monday night and ignite a stink bomb with so much on the line.

That's because they activated offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr, running back Kareem Hunt, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, safety Ronnie Harrison Jr., cornerback Troy Hill, defensive tackle Malik McDowell and linebacker Mack Wilson off the COVID-19 reserve list.

Seven returning starters or major contributors who weren't in Green Bay Saturday when the Browns scared the daylights out of the Packers before falling short make this team tougher, smarter and, presumably, more accountable against their biggest and bitterest rival.

Forget excuses. There is no reason this much stronger team -- it might get even stronger if center JC Tretter, safety John Johnson III and kicker Chase McLaughlin escape COVID prison by Monday -- can't exact revenge for the 15-10 loss in Cleveland in week eight.

If this club needs to be reminded of the importance of this game and any motivating factors attached, it's a lost cause. So why bother? From here on out, every snap, every move, every possession, requires intense and complete concentration.

The talent is there with the latest roster massaging, but it will take a lot more than that to remain relevant in the race to the postseason. How much does this team want to win? I'm asking because it seems too many times this season, the want was missing. That little extra effort was absent.

Football is as much a mental and psychological sport as it is a physical sport. Playing from the neck up, as well as the neck down, enables players to play above their talent level. In other words, overachieve. 

A coach's approach to a game throughout the week leading up to it is also critical.  Head coach Kevin Stefanski relies on isolating a game from a record standpoint within the context of the season. His goal each week is to emerge 1-0. He has hit that goal only seven time this season.

In his news conference Monday, he spoke in general, seemingly careful terms of the Steelers, pointing out the obvious. "Division game; an opponent we know really well; very, very well coached; and a bunch of great players," he began. "So we know it's going to be a 60-minute fight. We get that. That's what we expect." 

So what did anyone get from that that would get them excited? Nothing really. It sounded more like he was trying to emulate deliberately droll New England head coach Bill Belichick in saying as little as possible. Checked all the boxes.

Behind closed doors, though, it might be different. Stefanski should be crawling into every player's head on a daily basis about the importance of this one. I don't enough about him to know whether such a tactic is antithetical to his coaching philosophy. If it is, it might be time to think about changing at least once. 

As for excuses, forget it. Stefanski is a no-excuse guy to begin with. Reasoning is another matter. That's why there is no reason the suddenly much stronger Browns can't go out Monday night and emerge with a 1-0 record.

Sunday leftovers

Despite all the chaos that has accompanied the Browns throughout the 2021 season and the disappointment  of owning a 7-8 record and residing in the AFC North basement after 15 games, they still have a shot at qualifying for the postseason for the second year in a row. 

Yes they do. They really do. Honest. It's entirely possible, believe it or not, after all this losing.

It's still more of a possibility than a probability at this point, though, because certain outcomes have to fall into place next weekend in order for the dream scenario to actually become a reality. Here's what the landscape looks like now.

The Cincinnati Bengals lead the division at 9-6 after walloping Baltimore Sunday for the second time this season. The Ravens, who have lost four straight, fall to 8-7, a half game ahead of the 7-7-1 Pittsburgh Steelers, who are a half game in front of the Browns.

This is what needs to happen for the Browns to continue playing football after Jan. 9. First of all, they must win both games remaining on the schedule -- a week from Monday night in Pittsburgh and the season finale at home against the Bengals. Anything less than that eliminates them.

In order to set up the possibility of a Cleveland-Cincinnati division-deciding game on Jan. 9, the Bengals first must cooperate and lose their home finale to the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday. A victory clinches the AFC North title no matter what else happens. Easier said than done.

The Chiefs, who pummeled the Steelers Sunday, have won eight in a row to win the AFC West, but have not clinched the American Conference's best record and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They have to keep winning to hold off the charging Tennessee Titans for the bye, pretty much guaranteeing a competitive game in Cincy.

A Cleveland victory in Pittsburgh, which happens about as often as a total solar eclipse, and Cincinnati loss to the Chiefs guarantees a division-clinching game in the Browns' home finale. Odds on that eventuating fall somewhere between "no way" and "stranger things have happened."

If it falls that way, the Bengals will arrive for the game with only one goal in mind: Revenge for the 41-16 spanking the Browns delivered in Cincinnati in week nine, a game where Browns cornerback Denzel Ward set the tone with a 99-yard pick six on the game's opening drive and the Bengals dominated the stats sheet.

Nick Chubb scored twice, one on a 70-yard gallop, and Baker Mayfield threw a pair of scoring passes. But that was then, This is now when the Bengals are 4-2 after that game and the Browns have won only twice in that span

One team is trending upward; the other spiraling and efforting to find themselves. Both are on a path to play for extra money games. The Browns, after all this nonsense, find themselves in a position to control their own fate. Whether they are good enough to reverse what has turned into another hopeless finish is the big question.

Right now, though, one thing is certain. Losing is decidedly not an option.

***

Another question: When is Kevin Stefanski going to turn Nick Chubb loose? Answer later.

I mean really loose, as in at least 30 touches a game, being in the huddle on third and short, flanking wide and/or slotting as a receiver in a naked backfield situation, and being in the game when clutch plays are a priority. That kind of loose. 

Like the Bengals do with Joe Mixon, the Tennessee Titans do with Derrick Henry (when healthy), the Minnesota Vikings do with Dalvin Cook and the Indianapolis Colts do with Jonathan Taylor. Bellcows who frequently make the difference between winning and losing.

When you have a unique talent like Chubb, you maximize that talent, not minimize. Too many times in Stefanski's world, Chubb, who turns 27 (Monday), doesn't seem to fit. And I can't figure out why.

The head coach and playcaller wants his offense to be aggressive. Does he not see Chubb gives him the best opportunity to sustain drives with his bullish approach to running with a football? He leads the NFL  annually in broken tackles and yards after contact. Can't get much more aggressive than that.

Chubb's style wears down defenses and is close to being the perfect weapon in the fourth quarter of games when either protecting a lead or building on it. Stefanski gives opposing defenses a break when he tethers his best running back to the bench on occasions.

So when is he going to turn Chubb loose? Probably never as long as he is the head coach and playcaller. Sure hope I'm wrong.

***

Credit to Mayfield for not using his prolonged COVID-19 absence as the reason for leaving a malodorous aroma behind that befitted his four-interceptions performance as the Browns left Green Bay in the wake of their 24-22 loss to the Packers Saturday.

"I don't think it was anything preparation-wise mentally," he said, not using a total lack of practice time as an excuse. "It was just missed throws. Uncharacteristic and I just hurt this team. That's the most frustrating thing.

"I've had a ton of reps making those throws and expect myself to make them. . . . I'd be (here) giving an excuse that I haven't practiced, but I'm a quarterback in the NFL and I need to make those throws. I have before time and again. I'll learn from my mistakes. I hurt this team. There's no excuse."

Got that right.

***

The restructured offensive line had an interesting evening. With Nick Harris replacing JC Tretter at center, Blake Hance back at right tackle and Joel Bitonio manning left tackle again, Mayfield was sacked five times and hit at least another half dozen times in his 41 dropbacks.

They saved their best for the ground game, which looked a lot like it did last season and the early part of this season, grinding out 217 yards behind some terrific blocking by Harris, who showed he's a better pivot than guard, and guards Wyatt Teller and Michael Dunn. They looked especially sharp on screens.

Once Stefanski begins to realize his ground game is really pretty good, especially on the edges where wide receivers and tight ends join in on the fun to open holes for Chubb, he just might ponder returning the run-pass ratio closer to 50-50 than the 60-40 it has become in favor of the pass.

***

Finally . . . Wide receiver Rashard Higgins turned in a five-catch, 58-yard performance on six targets in his return to the starting lineup. Four of the grabs produced first downs. . . . Tight end Harrison Bryant and rookie wideout Anthony Schwartz were each targeted just once, Both passes were caught in the end zone. . . . Corey Bojorquez punted five times for the Packers. Dustin Colquitt of the Browns was called on only once midway through the fourth quarter. . . . Myles Garrett, laboring with a badly injured groin muscle, managed just one tackle and one hit on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers while playing 52 of the club's 59 snaps.  . . . Safety M. J. Stewart, who seemed to be in on just about every play, had 10 tackles; all but one was solo. . . . Green Bay linebacker De'Vondre Campbell topped him with 13 stops, 12 solo.

The offense lives

It is extremely difficult, damn near impossible in fact, to extract anything positive out of a loss, whether it's a bitter pill like last Monday's crusher against Las Vegas or a walloping where absolutely nothing can be gleaned.

And then the Browns, the 7-7 and staggering Browns, went out and played a football game on Christmas Day in Green Bay against a vastly superior team in the Packers, who are well on their way to the postseason. And scared the crap out of therm.

The Packers extended their latest winning streak to four games with a 24-22 victory Saturday that had them hanging on for dear life at the end as the Browns, playing easily their best overall game in the last two months, made a game of it right down to the finish.

They actually had the football in the final moments of regulation and were driving toward what would have been, could have been, should have been but wasn't a dagger-like game-winning field goal at the very least, or a game-winning touchdown at best. 

That's when Baker Mayfield, who had thrown three first-half interceptions that led to three Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes and had never thrown four in a National Football League game, delivered his fourth with 43 seconds left in regulation. 

The initial trio were all his fault. This one wasn't. Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas, who had picked off one earlier, semi-mugged Donovan Peoples-Jones off the line of scrimmage and hauled the pass in shortly after shoving the Cleveland wide receiver to the ground.

Mayfield barked at the officials. DPJ pleaded with them. Nothing. Normally, I don't quarrel with calls, but this one should have been (a) illegal contact, (b) holding) or (c) pass interference. It did not draw yellow laundry. It was (d) no call.

It was tough, but the fact the Browns were as close to the Packers at the time and seriously threatening says something with only two games left in the regular season, If they play in Pittsburgh next weekend and the season finale at home against Cincinnati as well as they did Saturday, what's left of their chancers for the postseason should not be a concern.

I know a loss is a loss, but this one had a different feel about it. The offense for the first time in nearly two months, looked scary. The ground game, AWOL during that dry period, burst forth for 219 yards, Nick Chubb accounting for 126 in addition to 58 more yards on three pass receptions. 

Nope, this game was not going to be the rout many people expected. The offense looked alive, racking up 408 total yards, their highest total since the week-five loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The blocking along the offensive line was crisp, although the pass blocking was average at best, Mayfield hitting the  deck five times. 

Even so, he looked more sure of what he was doing. With a few exceptions, he was delivering the ball on time and accurately. His confidence level was higher that it has been in the last couple of months. 

The Cleveland defense sensed something was different and pretty much shut down the Green Bay offense in the second half, forcing a couple of three-and-outs along the way. With the offense finally looking anything but listless, it seemed as though everything was coming together. 

They clamped down on Rodgers and the Packers' offense in general in the second half,  limiting them to just 107 yards and forcing three punts on four of their possessions. That's when the Browns climbed back into the game.

After easily and flawlessly scoring on the first drive of the game on a one-yard plunge by Chubb  and Mayfield connecting with tight end Harrison Bryant from a yard out on another smooth drive midway through the second quarter, the Browns trailed by nine points at the half. Rookie kicker Chris Naggar missed the extra point on the first and head coach Kevin Stefanski needlessly went for two on the second and failed. 

But one could sense the Browns were legitimately in this one with a chance for one of the season's biggest upsets despite Mayfield, fresh off the COVID-19 list, throwing those three awful first-half picks Rodgers turned into touchdowns and a 21-12 halftime lead.

If he wasn't carelessly trying to hit Peoples-Jones in double coverage, Mayfield was sailing a pass over Jarvis Landry's head or misfiring again with Landry while bootlegging to his left. The rout, it appeared, was on as Rodgers connected twice with Davante Adams and once with Allen Lazard for scores.

The Packers ran 23 of their 36 first-half plays in Cleveland territory, Rodgers playing pitch and catch with Adams (10 catches, 114 yards) and Allen Lazard (2-45 and a TD) and getting a 143-yard game from scrimmage from running backs Aaron Jones and A, J, Dillon.

The Browns put together two long drives in the second half, netting a 37-yard field goal by Naggar after a 14-play, 66-yard possession that consumed eight minutes and a few seconds, and Dustin Colquitt's only punt of the game after a 10-play, 24-yard journey that ended with Mayfield sacked twice in field-goal territory.

They then broke through with a 76-yarder that took only 2:10 off the clock. Chubb accounted for 31 yards and D'Ernest Johnson ripped off a 30-yard burst around the right side on a third-and-10 from the Green Bay 35, setting up Mayfield's five-yard scoring strike to rookie Anthony Schwartz with 4:31 left.

A little more than two minutes later, the surging Browns had the ball again as the defense limited the Packers to just one first down in their last three possessions.  They reached midfield and it started to look a lot like what the Raiders did to the Browns last Monday with their come-from-behind victory.

This one might have not turned out the way fans wanted, but there was definitely a gleam. Solid signs that life have been breathed back into the heretofore fractured offense. Whether it's too late will be determined in the next two weeks.

This one's easy

It was way back in the spring when the Browns' 2021 schedule was released by the National Football League that the season began to take shape regarding how the club would finish. 

It's an annual rite for some of us avid followers of the team to grab the schedule, study it carefully (sort of) and go down the list game by game marking Ws and Ls next to the games with no knowledge other than the Browns' 11-5 finish last season. It's a fun guessing/prediction game that gets us in an NFL frame of mind.

Since 1999, I have been more correct than I wanted. No boasting here. The difference between realism and idealism was the great decider. It was easy assigning more Ls than Ws. Many more Ls for sure because it was not difficult being right considering how bad those teams were. 

Coming up with guesses of 3-13 and 4-12 were no-brainers. The team rarely proved me wrong. Most notable were the 2002 (9-7) and 2007 (10-6) teams that surprised even the most ardent fans. And of course, last season's stunning season that led to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Then there was the lamentable Hue Jackson era (2016-17). My most pessimistic self tried but couldn't bring me to forecast anything less than three victories in those two campaigns. In the NFL, it is damn near impossible not to stumble into at least a victory or two along the 16-game journey. 

Producing just one victory during those two very forgettable seasons was well beyond embarrassing for the once-proud franchise, And that one -- a three-point victory over San Diego in game 15 -- would have gone into overtime had a veteran kicker not missed a field goal as time expired.

So what does that have to do with predicting the outcome of Saturday's game in Green Bay between the Browns and Packers? As I went down the schedule that came out in the spring and marked my Ws and Ls, I remembered arriving at the Christmas Day date in Green Bay.

The Browns were healthy and coming off the best season since the resurrection in 1999. The Packers, on the other hand, had trouble convincing quarterback Aaron Rodgers to continue playing for them, He tried everything to force the team to trade him. 

Nevertheless, I picked the Packers to win mainly because the game was in Green Bay, where the Packers are as invincible as any team in the NFL can be at home, and figured Rodgers would cave and play at least one more season.

So here we are after 14 games. The Packers are 11-3, posting winning streaks of seven and three games, are the only team in the league to clinch a playoffs and Rodgers, who caved, is having his best season with 30 touchdown passes and four interceptions.

The Browns are a mediocre 7-7, coming off a gut-wrenching loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak that is playing havoc with the roster and fading fast in their quest to make it two straight seasons in the postseason. 

For the record, I had the Browns at 10 Ws and 4 Ls at this point in a season that went to crap on the offensive side of the ball after a major shoulder injury to quarterback Baker Mayfield in week two and a defense that has played well enough to win, but has not been rescued by the offense.

Even though they are stumbling to the finish line, there is still a slim chance to qualify for the playoffs. Too mary variables to go into here. Even if (when?) they lose to the Packers, they must knock off the Steelers on the road  in week 17 and Cincinnati in the home finale in week 18 to at least have a chance. 

The Packers are unbeaten at home in seven games this season, outscoring opponents, 215-132, at Lambeau Field. They are also a lot healthier than the Browns. Their next incentive: Clinching the first-week bye in the playoffs. 

The Browns, meanwhile, get Mayfield back from COVID prison, but he has missed every practice the last two weeks. He'll also be playing behind an offensive line that will have a rookie at right tackle and a second-year center who has never made an NFL snap replacing COVID-reserve bound JC Tretter.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry also escapes COVID, along with cornerback A.J. Green and defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo. But the club's best pass rusher pulled a groin muscle against the Raiders and will be well under 100% if he suits up against the Packers. What makes that even more deflating is Myles Garrett at 50% is better than anyone else along the line at 100%. That's if he doesn't re-aggravate it.

Little or no pass rush means a heavier load to pull for a secondary already decimated by COVID. It would have been a problem with Rodgers even if Garrett was completely healthy. 

He has arguably the best receiver in the NFL in Davante Adams with 96 receptions for 1,248 yards and eight touchdowns. The Baltimore Ravens, in a display of sheer respect, triple-teamed him last Sunday and he still managed to score. Randall Cobb is a solid secondary receiver with five TDs.

Rodgers also has the luxury of handing off or throwing to two versatile running backs. Aaron Jones and A. J. Dillon have combined for 1,909 total yards from scrimmage, 1,293 on the ground, with 15 touchdowns, seven on the ground.

This is a loaded football team with a very opportunistic defense picking off 14 passes, including a pair of pick sixes. Their +12 turnover ratio tells you they rarely make mistakes on offense. Two of their three losses were by a total of nine points.

This one screams rout. The Browns' offense, which began the season carrying a scary label, is fractured beyond repair. The defense is showing signs of wear and tear. Combine that with Rodgers having a dream season in what could be his final season with the Packers and it's difficult to come to any other conclusion.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski returns from COVIDSaturday just in time to witness up close and personally exactly what a scary football team looks like. Rodgers throws another three scoring passes and departs after three quarters when the outcome become obvious. And the defense shuts down a Cleveland offense that has scored more than 24 points in a game only once in the last nine games and averages just 15 per in the last four. Make it:

Packers 34, Browns 13

Monday leftovers (Tuesday edition)

There's a part, a very important part, of coaching that doesn't often come up. Kevin Stefanski faces one as he prepares the Browns for a Christmas Day date in Green Bay against the 11-3 Packers.

The Browns are coming off an extremely difficult last-second loss Monday night at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. It was the kind of loss that gnaws at the sports psyche. Can't imagine many of the Browns had a decent night's sleep after that one.

At the risk of overdramatizing the situation, getting his team to put the 16-14 loss behind them right now could be a monumental task for Stefanski with precious few days to prepare. To make matters worse, he'll have to do it virtually from home, shut down by a positive COVID-19 test.

Trying to reach into the souls of players who rely on raw emotions to play a collision sport is not easy. Attempting to do so with the ache of the loss still in their thoughts makes it that much more difficult. That's what the head coach has to do between now and Saturday in order to get an extreme effort out of them.

He can't look them all in the eye face to face and get them to focus on just the Packers and purge all memories of the Raiders loss. It has to be difficult to mentally and psychologically separate from the aching loss. It's damn near impossible to have a short memory after playing so hard and losing that way.

It's difficult to address the problem when the players are having a tough time reconciling a loss they believed was a victory as late as the final seconds of the game and then suddenly it was gone. 

Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, standing in for Stefanski Monday night, witnessed the visceral pain after the game. "The locker room right now is hurting," he said. "This is the most I have seen it in that kind of pain.

"When you lose that type of game, that one is tough. . . . We will have our job cut out for us this week in terms of coaches and getting (the players) back up again and getting their spirits back up because they are young people."

Shrugging it off is not a panacea. Defensive end Myles Garrett tried. "It (the opportunity to still make the playoffs) is completely up for grabs," he said. "You've got to keep on working, keep on winning. Destiny is still in our favor if we continue to do the things we need to." Sounded like a self pep talk.

Joel Bitonio, who moved over and played left tackle against the Raiders, was a little more cautious. "I think if we can still handle our business -- obviously we don't control our own destiny -- but if we handle  our business down the stretch, I think good things can still happen for this team," he said.

With only three games left and anything less than a sweep virtually assuring no postseason, that sounds a little like whistling past the graveyard. Optimistic? Absolutely. Realistic? Not so.

Emotion is such a large part of football at most levels. Coaches strive to get their teams to the proper emotional level in hopes of getting them to overachieve; to play beyond their unique talents for 60 minutes. 

The Xs and Os of the game are a completely different category. They have nothing to do with emotion. That's where execution is the most important factor. And that is why Stefanski's job, even if he doesn't clear protocol by game time, becomes that much tougher.

He needs to get their attention pronto and keep it throughout the week. Making it so after Monday night's loss is his greatest challenge.

***

Time for the Browns to look for a new placekicker. Chase McLaughlin, who got off to a terrific start this season, seems to have bottomed out and needs to go back out on the market.  Some might argue this point, but his kicking cost the Browns a victory Monday night.

There is an old expression in football regarding kickers. "You are as good as your last kick," it states. And McLaughlin's last kick, in this case a 47-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the first half, sailed about four feet wide of the right upright and guaranteed a scoreless first half for the Browns.

He makes that kick and the Browns, at least theoretically, have a 17-13 lead heading into the final minutes of the game with the Raiders needing a touchdown to win. His miss gave the Browns only a one-point lead. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr needed just a field goal to drive a stick into the hearts of Browns Nation and Daniel Carlson provided it from 48 yards.

Not certain there is something technique-wise wrong with McLaughlin or just a plain lack of confidence once he started missing. He has connected from 52, 53 and 57 yards this season, so it's not the leg that's the problem.

It's time to see what rookie Chris Naggar can do. Naggar, who has lingered on the practice squad all season as insurance in the event McLaughlin either was hurt or performed poorly, was undrafted out of Southern Methodist and signed with the New York Jets before the Browns picked him in early September.

If General Manager Andrew Berry decides to make a switch, there are plenty of veteran placekickers on the street, including Roberto Augayo, former Ohio State kicker Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo and Stephen Gostkowski.

***

Looking back on the the play dialed up on third-and-3 at the Browns' 30 with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter and a first down needed to wrap up a 14-13 victory. It was basically a dive play over the right side, a play Chubb normally gouges out in clutch situations.

He gained a majority of his yards Monday when he ran left behind Bitonio at tackle and Michael Dunn, who played well in his first start at guard. Clearly in the nature of a second guess, I found it puzzling playcaller Alex Van Pelt went right instead of left.

Chubb was stuffed at the line of scrimmage behind tackle Blake Hance and guard Wyatt Teller, who were submarined by defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and 6-3, 225-pound rookie safety Divine Deablo for no gain. That was the beginning of an ending that will be remembered for a long time for the wrong reasons.

***

Finally . . . While they had a tough time blocking for Chubb, the offensive line protected Nick Mullens well in his 30 dropbacks. The emergency starter completed 20 passes for 147 yards, mostly short tosses, but was not sacked. Most of his incompletions came on medium-range or deep routes, His longest connection was a 25-yarder to Donovan Peoples-Jones on the club's second scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, , , , The Browns' two sacks of Carr were split among rookie tackle Tommy Togiai, end Joe Jackson, rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Garrett, , , , The offense was perfect in two red-zone appearances with a pair of touchdowns. . . . Half of the Browns' 10 possessions ended in a three-and-out. . . . The 236 total yards on offense is the second-worst of the season, beaten out by the 217 against New England.

Another aching loss

Some losses in the National Football League are tougher to take than others. Like the ones that flirt with the boundaries of agony. The Browns' bitter-pill 16-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders Monday night on Daniel Carlson's third field goal of the game at the gun is an exquisite example of such a loss.

Within that loss lies an aphorism that adequately describes why this one wound up in the wrong column and knocked them all the way down to the cellar of the AFC North whereas a victory, which was well within reach, would have elevated them to the top of the division with three games left in the regular season.

This kind of stunning setback, which fans have grown accustomed to for the better part of the last two decades because the Browns always seem to find a way, does not eliminate them from a post-season invitation, but is severely limits their opportunities. It basically will take a sweep of the final three games to make the postseason a reality.

It has been said -- and proven -- many times that a prevent defense is a deadly recipe that almost always prevents a team from winning, this time spoiling a dramatic comeback led by a third-string quarterback who needed a whole half to right a sputtering offense. What does a prevent defense do? Rhetorical question.

The Browns owned a 14-13 lead and the football after Greedy Williams picked off a Derek Carr pass with 2:47 left in regulation and the Raiders with three timeouts left, including the two-minute warning. This game was eminently winnable.

All they needed was a first down from an offense that had awakened after sleep-walking through the first 30 minutes and taken their first lead of the evening when quarterback Nick Mullens connected with tight end Harrison Bryant on a six-yard scoring toss after a Wyatt Teller holding penalty wiped out what would have been Nick Chubb's second touchdown of the game four plays earlier.

Instead, they put up their fifth three-and-out of the game (a prevent offense?) with the usually reliable Chubb gouging out only eight yards in three attempts to the disappointment of the crowd at this rescheduled game from Saturday. It took only 57 seconds off the clock, but exhausted the Raiders' timeouts. 

The delicious irony here is the offense at that point basically turned the game over to the defense, which had limited the Raiders to just two Carlson field goals after surrendering a touchdown on their first possession of the game. They did so by keeping the Raiders between the 30s with a variety of coverages by a secondary riddled by COVID,

And that's when the Browns, in all their wisdom, went to the old football standby, the prevent defense. Sounds a little like an oxymoron. With the Raiders operating sans timeouts, the Cleveland defense went zone,  or cover 4 in today's parlance, pretty much tossing out the welcome mat for Carr to come on down. They took what was working earlier and trashed it.

Beginning at his 27 with 110 seconds left, Carr plumbed the underneath routes with regularity, dialing up various-sized chunk plays along the way. The defense obliged with the deadly -- for the Browns --  combination of soft coverage and sloppy tackling.

At one point, Raiders tight end Foster Moreau caught a short pass along the sideline and picked up 10 extra yards as defenders whiffed. The aggression that had bolstered the defense earlier disappeared. 

At one point, it appeared the Browns caught a break when a holding penalty on Raiders tackle Kolton Miller wiped out a 17-yard gain and stunted the drive with about a half minute left and the ball at the Las Vegas 43.

So where all this time was the Cleveland pass rush, which had been getting just occasional pressure on Carr throughout the game? Yep, you guessed it. Gassed. That's why the Raiders were at the Cleveland 30 two completed passes and 27 yards later, well within Carlson's range.

Browns acting head coach Mike Priefer called a timeout a split second before Carlson launched his first attempt, a 48-yarder that was good. Interim Raiders head coach Rich Bisaccia did the same thing on the final play play of the first half with Browns kicker Chase McLaughlin and it worked. McLaughlin made a 47-yarder a split second after the timeout was called, but was wide right on the real one.

Carlson was dead center on the one that counted, 

It ruined a strong second-half comeback by a Cleveland offense that meekly rang up 14 plays, 52 total yards, 15 yards on the ground, 10:42 of ball ownership and four Dustin Colquitt punts on the first four possessions of the game. 

It was on the fifth possession that Mullens, victimized at least three times by dropped passes, and the offense showed signs of life, reaching Raiders territory for the first time in the game with about half a minute left in the first half. 

It sprung to life after Myles Garrett and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah combined on a strip sack of Carr midway through the third quarter just inside Raiders territory. Chubb, who looked more like the old Chubb with a 77-yard second half, skirted left end from four yards out six plays later for the touchdown behind center JC Tretter and Joel Bitonio, who moved to left tackle, his old college position, for this game.

Two possessions later, a Mullens-Bryant scoring connection from six yards on fourth down climaxed a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took 8:22 off the clock and gave the Browns their first lead of the game with 3:45 left. Chubb ground out 34 yards on seven carries and Donovan Peoples-Jones, who dropped a pair of very catchable passes in the first half, contributed with 36 yards on two receptions.

It sure looked like this one would wind up putting the Browns atop the AFC North, especially after Williams picked off Carr 45 seconds later. But with Browns fans, there is nothing certain until the final gun goes off and the scoreboard shows the Browns scored more points than the opposition.

They proved that again Monday night in agonizing fashion.

Anybody's guess

Right now, at this very minute. your guess is as good as mine as to what the Browns' offensive and defensive units will look like when they kick off late Monday evening against the Las Vegas Raiders in their rescheduled National Football League game.

The latest COVID-19 surge is playing havoc at a most inopportune time as the Browns scurry from the standpoint of its  roster, which has become extremely malleable in the last several days, in an attempt to sustain their chances of playing in the postseason.

As many as 20 players, including head coach Kevin Stefanski and two of his assistant coaches, have spent the past few days bouncing into and out of COVID protocol. Because of the fluid situation, the NFL has allowed the Browns to declare their final game roster by 2 p.m. Monday.

Between now and then, the possibility of several starters clearing protocol remains in force. It started Sunday when right guard Wyatt Teller escaped COVID prison, welcoming defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on his way in.

There is no telling how many of Teller's teammates,  if any at all, will test negative and escape between now and Monday afternoon. And that is why predicting the outcome of the game is a fool's  errand, so to speak. But here goes, anyway, because that's what we do.

Getting Teller back is a huge plus. That cannot be stressed enough. The offensive line had become a mess after tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and rookie James Hudson III entered protocol and Jack Conklin gone for the season.. With Teller back, the only question that remains is who mans the tackles.

Blake Hance, who had problems filling in for Conklin at right tackle, was a left tackle at Northwestern for four seasons. Thus, a perfect fit for Wills at left tackle, where he would be much more comfortable. Right tackle should be either Michael Dunn or Alex Taylor, neither of whom has played a snap this season.

The rest of the offense, as now constituted, suggests the Raiders will see an awful lot of running backs Nick Chubb and D'Ernest Johnson, exploiting a weakness that surrenders 125 yards a game. Success on the ground would take the pressure off starting quarterback Nick Mullens.

With wide receiver Jarvis Landry and tight end Austin Hooper, two of Baker Mayfield's favorites, on the COVID-reserve list, Mullens' options are limited. The most reliable targets now are Donovan Peoples-Jones, Harrison Bryant, David Njoku and Rashard Higgins, that's if the Browns' offensive honchos decide to throw to him.

Defensively, COVID has semi-crippled the secondary, particularly at safety with John Johnson III, Ronnie Harrison Jr, and Grant Delpit commiserating with each other. That means the deep secondary will be manned by M. J. Stewart Jr, normally a cornerback, Jovante Moffatt and rookie Richard LeCounte III.  Corner is a little better with Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams healthy, or COVID resistant.

The linebacker situation improved substantially with the return from the virus of middle backer Anthony Walker Jr., who calls defensive signals, along with rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and veterans Malcolm Smith and Sione Takitaki. 

Now factor in that Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has strafed opposing defenses for nearly 4,000 yards this season, completing 68% of his passes for 18 touchdown passes and just 10 interceptions. And that's where we arrive at the key to this one from a Cleveland standpoint.

Carr has been sacked 31 times. The Browns' defensive line will miss Clowney, but get back edge rusher Takkarist McKinley, who had his best game of the season in last Sunday's victory over Baltimore and is back off the COVID list. How well he and the incomparable Myles Garrett play will be a major factor.'

Carr will be without tight end Darren Waller, one of his favorite receivers, sidelined with a strained IT band. The Cleveland secondary can expect to see plenty of smallish wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, coming off a 13-catch, 113-yard effort last week against Kansas City. He's caught 86 passes this season for 877 yards and five touchdowns.

The Raiders, who have lost five of the last six games after starting the season 5-2, are almost certain to arrive for the game in a nasty mood, angry at the NFL for postponing the game, originally scheduled for last Saturday, and moving it to Monday because of the raging COVID surge.

Look for the Browns to play this one extremely tight to the vest, conservative from the first snap. Nothing fancy. Fundamentally sound football, especially with a third-string quarterback. Mullens is a three-year veteran, but he is still a third-string quarterback with this team working with an iffy receiving corps.

The defense has been saving the offense for more than a month now and has proven it can surmount most obstacles. With COVID messing with the roster, this obstacle is easily the most critical with prolonging postseason hopes on the line.

It won't be pretty. It doesn't have to be. Mullens produces a near-perfect game, Chubb and Johnson wear down the Vegas defense and the defense continues to rescue its buddies on offense as the postseason target draws closer. Make it: 

Browns 21, Raiders 19

A reprieve

It would appear the National Football League is changing the rules regarding the goal of playing every game as scheduled this season.

The league Friday postponed three games scheduled for this weekend due to a severe outbreak of a COVID-19 variant and rescheduled one for Monday night -- the Browns-Las Vegas Raiders game originally scheduled for Saturday -- and two for Tuesday evening.

They were the first games this season affected by COVID, a huge difference from the 2020 season when the league went to extremely generous lengths with the rescheduling in order to make certain to get in the entire schedule.

In order to prevent a recurrence this season as the virus showed signs of lessening its power. the league sent a memo to all 32 clubs last summer dictating new rules. It was Draconian in nature.

It stated that if a game cannot be rescheduled during the 18-week scheduling period due to an outbreak of COVID among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak forfeits the game and is credited with a loss. Players on both teams would not be paid and the team responsible for the cancellation covers all financial losses.

That situation never came close this season to becoming a possibility. Until the Omicron variant of COVID showed up last week and wreaked havoc on seven teams (including the Browns), which were placed in enhanced mitigation protocols.

The variant struck so swiftly, suddenly and quietly, it took the league by surprise.and placed competitive balance in jeopardy. Initially, Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated no games would be moved. But as more names appeared on COVID-resevre lists on a daily basis, it became apparent something had to be done. 

The NFL Friday said it made the schedule changes "based on medical advice and after discussion with the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) as we are seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus this week resulting in a substantial increase in cases across the league. We continue to make decisions in consultation with medical experts to ensure the health and safety of the NFL community."

The affected teams -- the Browns, Washington Football Team and Los Angeles Rams -- have to be breathing a sigh of relief. Not so in Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Seattle, teams that have COVID under control and were ready to play. They are pissed.

Raiders linebacker K. J.Wright vented via Twitter, "I pay my players dues just to get lied to and the rules bent. If it was the other way around, I swear we would be playing (Saturday). I just wanna play ball. I would say play or forfeit."

Browns fans, angered initially at the prospect of the team having to play with what amounts to a team  heavily comprised of lesser talent, are relieved. Had the shoe been on the other foot and the Raiders seeking some sort of relief, would Browns fans have been so tolerant? Rhetorical question.

The announcement of the rescheduling arrived just as the Browns added defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and injured running back Kareem Hunt to the COVID-reserve list, bringing the grand total to 24 players, including the practice squad. Middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr, who calls defensive signals, came off the list and will be available Monday night. 

So much can happen in the next 48 hours as to who will be available for the Monday night game. As it stands now,  both sides of the football are missing eight starters and/or vital contributors. 

The relaxed rules freeing vaccinated, asymptomatic players currently from the COVID-reserve list for a return to the main roster is a distinct possibility. The Browns can use all the help they can get at this point.

This just in

This is getting ridiculous. Just when you think the Browns' COVID-19 crisis couldn't get any worse, it did with suddenness late Thursday.

The Browns' starting quarterback against the Las Vegas Raiders late Saturday afternoon will not be Baker Mayfield. It was scheduled to be Case Keenum. Won't be him, either, because he joined the growing COVID-19 reserve list alongside Mayfield Thursday.

Say hello to Nick Mullens, who has dwelled on the Browns' practice squad just about all season, He suited up for an evening to back up Keenum in the Denver Thursday night victory in week seven. Keenum was subbing for the injured Mayfield.

The Browns signed Mullens a few days after he was released by Philadelphia at the beginning of the season and eventually placed him on the practice squad. He now is, at least for one game, in charge of an offense that has suffered numerous setbacks this season and underperformed.

Mullens is not a National Football League neophyte, having played three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers from 2018 to 2020, banking 16 starts with a 5-11 record. He has thrown for 4,714 yards with 25 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions, completing 64.5% of his passes.

He faced the Raiders once before when they were based in Oakland. He was 16-of-22 for 262 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-3 rout in week nine of the 2018 season. And now he gets another shot in the nationally televised game against the Raiders as he joins the you-never-know-what's-going-to-happen-next crowd.

The big question now is who will back up Mullens in the event he gets hurt? One possibility is practice squad fullback Johnny Stanton IV, who played quarterback in high school and most of his collegiate career at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., and Nevada-Las Vegas..

As far as we know, Stanton is not on the COVID-19 reserve list. But with the speed events are happening, anything is possible. It can be safely assumed, though, General Manager Andrew Berry is scouring the free-agent wire just in case.

For sure, it is a challenge for the entire offensive staff to pull this one off successfully.

Mid-week thoughts

The many faces of COVID-19 are changing almost as rapidly as the 13 morphing faces on Michael Jackson's famous Black or White video.

Its impact on the National Football League, as well as other sports but to a lesser degree, has been devastating in the last week or two and threatens to have a profound effect on what the final standings look like on Jan. 9.

Right now, the Browns find themselves in second place in the AFC North and in a strong position with regard to the postseason with four games remaining, beginning with Saturday's late afternoon flexed home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

They also find themselves in a personnel crunch as the Omicron variant of COVID runs roughshod over a seven-team NFL bloc that clearly affects the competitive level of current games. It has forced the league to relax some of the strict rules regarding full vaccinated and asymptomatic players testing positive.

As it stand right now, the Browns list 17 players and coaches, including quarterback Baker Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski, in COVID protocol. It's gotten to the point where players are beginning to swap places on the COVID reserve list.

As tight end David Njoku was activated off the list Thursday, safety Ronnie Harrison Jr, battling an ankle injury, replaced him. It makes the job of preparing for the Raiders that much more difficult for the coaches. It's pretty much scrambling on the fly.

With a little luck, that number could possibly be reduced slightly by Friday afternoon. Both sides of the football have been hit hard with at least 10 starters and key contributors off the bench most likely watching the nationally televised game at home.

The loss of Harrison and John Johnson III reduces the safety corps to Grant Delpit, seldom-used Javonte Moffatt and rookie Richard LeCounte III, who has not taken a snap from scrimmage this season. That very likely will change defensive coordinator Joe Woods' game plan.

Wood often likes to play three safeties in his 4-2-5 scheme. It could mean occasionally switching to a conventional 4-3-4 alignment with the return of outside linebacker Jordan Phillips, who joins Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Malcolm Smith, in the middle for COVID-ridden Anthony Walker Jr.

Smith doesn't seem concerned with all the chaos. "We had a chance to walk through (plays) outdoors, so we're all right," he told reporters. "At this point of the season -- I don't even know what week it is -- it's  a lot less physical than you might think.

"As long as we get to do something and are communicating, even if if we're doing it on Zoom, it's better than the last minute is. We are in position now to prepare for (any roster surprises the night before the game)."

The offensive line undergoes a massive overhaul with tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and guard Wyatt Teller unavailable. Blake Hance, who had problems at right tackle subbing for Jack Conklin, moves to his more natural position at left tackle with Michael Dunn replacing Teller at right guard and rookie James Hudson III at right tackle. How left guard Joel Bitonio and center JC Tretter avoided COVID is a mystery.

Stefanski's game plan on offense, with the playcalling handled by Alex Van Pelt, is almost certain to focus on the run game for a couple of reasons. Chances are he wants to get Nick Chubb cooking again against a mediocre Vegas run defense after a two-game slumber against Baltimore (75 yards on 25 carries) and he has a paucity of reliable wide receivers.

With Jarvis Landry in COVID prison, Donovan Peoples-Jones becomes the top target, the seldom-used and mostly forgotten Rashard Higgins moves up to two (maybe) with practice squader J'Marcus Bradley available in larger packages.

Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, who takes over head-coaching duties for Stefanski, isn't worried, either. "If this was week one or two, it would be different, but it's our 14th game and week 15," he said. "Because we have so much football under our belt, I'm not concerned about the physical part, but you'd like obviously to have a practice before you go out and play."

The entire situation is a mess as the NFL shoots for two consecutive seasons without a postponement or cancellation during a pandemic. Unfortunately, teams vying to play in the postseason during these trying times are prisoners with the teams boasting the most talented backups and practice squads the biggest beneficiaries.

What happens this weekend -- and who knows how many weekends after that -- with this variant wreaking so much havoc could very well mean the difference between qualifying for football in mid-January and beyond and hauling out the golf clubs with an eye on next season.

Monday leftovers

Yes, the Browns' offense is broken. But it's far from being on life support. It's sort of having a faith in Kevin Stefanski thing.

He's a smart man. And smart men quite often can be very stubborn. Right now, the Browns' head coach is in one of those stubborn stages. Has been for a while. But the Browns are 7-6 and still alive in the playoff hunt.

It sure appears as though Stefanski and his quarterback are going through a rough period. Like about the last nine or 10 games. Baker Mayfield would like to play gunslinger like he did the second half of last season when he was the linchpin of a very dangerous offense.

Stefanski, who is blissfully in love with two and three tight end looks, is not enamored with that prospect. That's clearly the anthesis of Mayfield's agenda. For whatever reason, Stefanski wants Mayfield to be a different quarterback, i.e. a game manager.

A better guess is he wants to keep his quarterback upright for the rest of the season and is willing to dumb down the offense and rely on his weakened offensive line to help a terrific running backs corps gouge out yardage and bleed the clock and thus make play action more effective.

Now that his defense is playing as well as any Cleveland defense in recent memory, those two aspects of the game are vital parts of a formula that generally produces excellent results, the kind that ultimately lead to playing football in the postseason.

Mayfield has not been healthy since a series of major injuries in the first six games of the season and several minor ones since that have made it difficult to be the quarterback he wants to be. It has hampered his effectiveness,

He not so subtly complained after the victory Sunday about the offense becoming too conservative in the second half. He was correct, It was too conservative. It was antithetical to Mayfield's talents.

It took Stefanski about half of last season to convince Mayfield his way was best for him and the team. And when the quarterback bought into it, the team flourished, at least on that side of the ball. 

One possibility about the supposed divide between the quarterback and his head coach could be Stefanski's conservative bent is meant to protect Mayfield, who has endured a battering this season, and prevented him from sustaining a season-ending injury.

Step one might have been taken in Sunday's victory. For the first time this season, Mayfield was not sacked. He was hit only once. That cannot be stressed enough. Stefanski dialed up max protection on many of his 38 dropbacks, which included six scrambles. Inserting Blake Hance as a sixth offensive lineman on about a dozen and a half of those helped.

It's going to be tricky from here on out as the battle for the playoffs in the tightly bunched AFC North begins to slowly unfold. One misstep could mean the difference between finishing atop the division or tumbling back into the cellar. 

And the way the defense has played the last six weeks, the onus is on the offense to come close to replicating that success. A symbiotic working relationship between the head coach and quarterback would be a good start.

*     *     *

The great dictator of the Browns' immediate future just might turn out to be the injury factor, not the schedule.

It has become so much of a factor this season, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that the first item on Stefanski's daily agenda is checking to see who is and who is not available for something as simple as practice. 

With the spate of soft-tissue injuries and COVID-19 positive tests plaguing the NFL and playing havoc with rosters on a daily basis, game plans for the next game probably have -- or should have -- plans A though F ready to implement depending on availability.

Coordinators have to be flexible when constructing those plans. The manner in which they put together different packages to fit the various situations can be hectic. A late injury, such as the concussion rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II suffered late last Friday, causes immediate scrambling.

Most of the situational packages are on the defensive side of the football, which is fortunate for the Browns because (a) they are the hot unit right now and (b) their defensive roster boasts numerous players versatile enough to slide into different positions and be effective.

In Sunday's victory over Baltimore, a cranky ankle during his pre-game warmups rendered strong safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. unavailable for the afternoon. Grant Delpit, who can play either safety, stepped in and responded with a team-leading 11 solo tackles. 

Keeping track of the comings and goings on the roster, including the practice squad, can become a headache, especially with the suddenness of a positive COVID test. Good timing, it would appear, is everything. 

When punter Jamie Gillan tested positive last week, the Browns immediately picked up veteran Dustin Colquitt, who had been cut by the Atlanta Falcons days earlier. He placed two of his five punts inside the Baltimore 20 and handled all the snaps flawlessly as the holder for placements.

The latest to hit the injured list and unavailable for Saturday's early evening home game against the Las Vegas Raiders are slot cornerback Troy Hill and running back Kareem Hunt. But Stefanski might get tight ends David Njoku and Harrison Bryant back. In some ways, it balances out.

All this factors into the success or failure of a team with a serious shot at the postseason making all the right moves and, at the same time, not losing effectiveness while doing so. 

The high toll of injuries and COVID-19 have caught up with the Ravens, whose first-place standing in the AFC North has become precarious with the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals lurking only a game behind with four weeks left in the regular season. Right now, attrition is their biggest enemy.

*     *     *

Here's the question: Why isn't wide receiver Rashard Higgins a big part of the Cleveland offense? Or any part, for that matter. He has proven in the past that he and Mayfield like playing pitch and catch. So why was he a healthy scratch two weeks ago in the first Baltimore game? 

And why was he not targeted once in the rematch Sunday although he booked 24 snaps? The subject was broached Monday by the media. Here was Stefanski's answer:

"I know he didn't have any targets, but he prepares really hard. He is ready to go. The ball did not find his way to him (Sunday), but that is kind of how it went. . . . That's based on who is in there when we are lining them up and the coverage. I wouldn't read much into that."

First of all, it's nice to know Higgins prepares really hard and that he's ready to go. That's part of what he's paid to do. He's also paid to catch forward passes. It's difficult to do that when those forward passes are directed elsewhere. Even seldom-used fullback Andy Janovich was targeted once.

For the record, Higgins has been targeted 31 times in nine games with 15 receptions for 185 yards and one of the few touchdowns by wide receivers this season. One of these days, we might get a real explanation from Stefanski instead of a non-answer.

*     *     *

When Urban Meyer coached at Ohio State for seven seasons, he lost only nine games, never more than two in any season. And then he made a mistake by taking the job as head coach and ringmaster of the NFL Jacksonville Jagwires. (I know, I know.) And sullied his reputation as a head coach.

After 13 games with the Jagwires this season, Meyer so far has managed to lose 11 games, or two more losses than he accumulated in seven seasons in Columbus. Speculation around the NFL landscape is Meyer will be a one-season coach and head back into retirement.

Making the transition from college to the NFL, no matter how successful you are, is treacherous. Just ask Nick Saban, an eminently successful coach at four colleges (268-66-1). Saban dipped his tootsies in the NFL between gigs at Louisiana State and Alabama and was 15-17 with the Miami Dolphins in 2005-06. He couldn't get back to the collegiate ranks quickly enough.

*     *     *

Finally . . . A couple of early muffs on kicks by Demetric Felton landed the rookie on the bench, where he watched JoJo Natson show him how to handle the job. Stefanski was asked if the bright sun might have been a problem for Felton. The reply: "He needs to catch the ball. Whether it's the sun, wind, whatever it is, he needs to catch it." . . . Rookie James Hudson III played the entire game at right offensive tackle and seemed to do all right. Didn't hear his name mentioned at all. A good sign. . . . Of the Browns' 65 total tackles, 56 were solo. . . . The next four quarterbacks the Browns face: Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Burrow. That'll keep the secondary busy.

Not over yet

In the National Football League, it's all about survival for teams contending for the postseason when the homestretch of the season comes into view. Like Sunday afternoon for the Browns, for example.

Teetering ever so slightly on the brink of elimination, they played the survival game to the hilt against the Baltimore Ravens and won as barely as possible, managing to stick around one more week in the playoff chase with a 24-22 victory not meant for the fainthearted.

A successful onsides kick by the Ravens with 1:17 left in regulation heightened the drama, which had reached dangerous proportions for Browns Nation and almost assuredly triggered thoughts of -- wait for it -- here we go again.

But a strong stand by the defense -- that unit is clearly carrying this club right now -- took a victory and kept it that way instead of turning it into yet another maddeningly frustrating loss, keeping the season alive in the process.

Jadeveon Clowney, whose contributions to the Cleveland defense have been few and far between this season, and cornerback Denzel Ward came through with the big plays. Clowney recorded his fifth sack of the season and Ward delivered a solid stick on a fourth-down pass as the drive died at the Cleveland 43.

A Jekyll-Hyde performance by the Browns' offense took what looked like a romp in the first half and turned it into a nail-biting mess in the final 30 minutes that in previous years would not have turned out as positively. If that's a sign, then it comes with a warning attached.

This football team has problems putting away a game. Whether it doesn't know how to or is incapable of it most likely will be answered in the final four weeks of the regular season.

When head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski took his foot off the accelerator and dialed it back in the second half after accumulating a 24-6 lead at the half, it basically allowed the Baltimore offense, which lost its star quarterback in the second quarter, to not only stay close, but believe winning was possible.

Just about everyone believed the Ravens were cooked after Lamar Jackson injured an ankle when Cleveland linebacker Jeremiah-Owusu-Koramoah decked him after releasing a pass a few seconds into the second quarter.

Baker Mayfield, looking more like his old self despite numerous injuries, had thrown touchdown passes to Jarvis Landry (his first as a receiver this season) and Austin Hooper and Myles Garrett recorded a rare triple with a strip sack and touchdown run with the fumble as the Cleveland defense shut just about everything down.

Playing with only one healthy tight end limited what Stefanski likes to run and seemed to hamper his playcalling. To help the ground game, which more than doubled its 40-yard output a couple of weeks ago against the Ravens, he employed offensive lineman Blake Hance to enhance that aspect. 

Tyler Huntley, best known as caddy to one of the  NFL's most dynamic quarterbacks, took over for Jackson, but needed a full quarter to get his bearings. Once he did, he strafed the Cleveland secondary relentlessly and accurately in the final 30 minutes.

Huntley, who piloted the Ravens to a narrow victory over Chicago in week 11, looked like a mini version of Jackson in the second half, playing pitch and catch with tight end Mark Andrews -- eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown -- and looking very much like the elusive Jackson with 45 yards on the ground in six attempts.

His remarkable 12-yard scramble in the third quarter on a second and 20 at his 18, during which he serpentined at least 40 yards, leaving four Browns flailing hopelessly at him, was immediately worthy of top 10 status on SportsCenter and every football wrapup show in the country. To call it dazzling would be underselling it. 

An 18-point lead at the half ostensibly took the mystery out of this one, especially with Jackson, who has wrecked Cleveland defenses for the last four seasons, in the locker room and done for the afternoon. It allowed the fans to breathe easier. But not for long.

The game and momentum turned slowly in the Ravens' favor in the second half, the offense showing life while the Cleveland offense slowed down perceptibly. The Ravens, who ran only 26 plays on offense in the first half, ripped off 43 more in the second half, including 18 straight in the 13-point fourth quarter, 

The Cleveland offense, meanwhile, snapped the ball just 28 times in the scoreless second half and generated only 95 yards and five first downs after a 33-play, 195-yard first half. The closest they got to the Ravens' goal line was the 23, where Chase McLaughlin nicked the left upright on a failed 41-yard field-goal attempt.

A surprising strategic move by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh after his team's first touchdown lessened the concern somewhat, a two-point attempt failing after Huntley badly overthrew a wide-open Andrews at the goal line and was picked off by safety Grant Delpit. That made it a two-possession game.

The successful onsides kick with 77 seconds left brought the mystery and potential misery back into play for Browns fans. The ball ricocheted of the right shoulder of fullback Andy Janovich, whose main job was to block, and into the arms of Baltimore safety Chuck Clark. 

And that's when the weary Cleveland defense showed finally up and basically said, "Not this time." The sense of urgency that prevailed in the first half and disappeared in the second half returned just in time.

That the Ravens came as close as they did, though, was more of an indictment against Stefanski for playing not to lose offensively rather than continuing to attack a Baltimore defense rife with injuries in the secondary, which drew four pass interference flags in the first half to sustain drives. 

Whether this is a portent of how future events unfold for the 7-6 Browns is a matter that will be determined in the next four games, all of which will be laden with playoff fever. This team, quite literally, controls its own fate from here on out.

Finding a way

The stage is set. So, too, is the downside of a negative outcome when the Browns and Baltimore Ravens hook up for the second time in two weeks Sunday with the southern shore of Lake Erie as the backdrop this time.

When these rivals last met in Baltimore, the Ravens shoved the Browns precipitously close to the precipice of playoff elimination in what has become a quagmire in the AFC North, a division so tightly bunched, no one has clinched anything yet.

The Browns need to -- no. make that must -- win this one to have the remotest chance of making it consecutive seasons of playing football in mid-January, something they haven't accomplished since their rebirth in 1999.

A loss, for all practical purposes, closes the book on the 2021 season. It would take a confluence of circumstances that border on miraculous to change that, including winning the final four games. And the way they have played on offense the last two months, that ain't happenin'.

Despite everything that has emanated this week after the bye week, this is still the same team (again on offense) that limped into the bye. The quarterback, despite protestations to the contrary, is still hurting. A week of rest is not going to cure all the ills he feels on a daily basis.

He says he feels better. I don't buy it. He hasn't been the same quarterback since week two when his litany of injuries began. Looking good in practice against teammates does not translate to looking good when the opposition is trying to hurt you even more.

When the teams met in Baltimore, the Ravens stacked the box with eight and sometimes nine men, challenging Baker Mayfield to beat them. Even healthy, he has trouble beating the Ravens. The offense  produced just 10 points.

The defense kept giving Mayfield and his men the ball, picking off Lamar Jackson four times. The offense reciprocated with a lone field goal. And the offense that takes the field Sunday isn't any different. In fact, it might be worse, especially at tackle with a pro sophomore and a raw rookie anchoring the line, and only one healthy tight end in Austin Hooper.

Jedrick Wills Jr. has had a so-so season at left tackle. In the National Football League, so-so is not nearly good enough. And rookie James Hudson III, who flunked an earlier test this season, replaces Blake Hance at right tackle for Jack Conklin, out for the season with a torn patellar tendon.

The biggest challenge falls on the shoulders of head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski, who found moderate success with a multi-tight end look for at least half the plays he dials up. With Hooper the lone tight end, it sort of forces Stefanski to once again recognize the wide receivers and running backs.

That could mean a return of the rollouts, bootlegs, misdirections and screens that helped make Mayfield one of the most successful quarterbacks in the NFL the second half of last season. 

With the likes of Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Rashard Higgins and running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt available, it opens up numerous possibilities for this stodgy and predictable offense to come alive again and help the defense for once.

And it would be refreshing to see Stefanski not give up early on the run game as he did against the Ravens the last time and pound away at the Baltimore defense no matter how many men park in the box. Becoming a one-dimensional offense is what the Ravens want.

Stefanski needs to call on and then rely on the ground game right out of the chute and stick with it. Establish ownership of the line of scrimmage. He and his staff have had plenty of time to come up with solutions and reestablish themselves as the league's best team on the ground.

Not only would it set the tone of the game, it would send a message to the defense, which has played lights out with one exception the last two months. Not taking advantage of opportunities created by the defense lately has frustrated that unit. It's the defense everyone expected to see when General Manager Andrew Berry crafted it out of the college draft and free agency.

It will be without middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. (COVID-19 reserve) and rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II (concussion) Sunday with veteran steady Malcolm Smith taking over for Walker and Greedy Williams filling in for Newsome opposite Denzel Ward.

Don't expect four more picks from Jackson. A more realistic number is one with an outside chance of two. It would behoove the Browns to pay particularly close attention to Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, Jackson's most targeted receiver this season. 

Blitzing Jackson with a large degree of frequency, much as Pittsburgh employed last Sunday in the victory over the Ravens to tighten the AFC North race, might not be a bad idea. The Steelers dropped Jackson seven times. raising his league-leading total to 37.

After crunching numbers, they show Jackson is the Baltimore offense. Between his throwing and running, either by design or scrambling, Jackson accounts for positive yardage on nearly 60% of the plays from scrimmage and just shy of 80% of the total yardage. Quite remarkable for one man.

The Ravens have been hit harder by injuries than any other team in the league and yet find ways to win. That's why they are 8-4 at this juncture, while the Browns, who are having all sorts of trouble finding those ways, sit at 6-6 and at the crossroads.

It was after game six this season, a 37-14 pounding by the Arizona Cardinals at home, that Stefanski said, "We re a 3-3 team and played like it. We are very, very average and it's my responsibility to get it fixed." 

Now here we are at 6-6, playing like a very, very average 6-6 team. It's safe now to assume the head coach and his staff have failed to get it, whatever it is, fixed. The offense, which should be throwing haymakers, are instead throwing jabs. 

The Browns have a clear advantage in this one in that they have had a week to prepare, while injuries continue to bedevil the Ravens, On other other hand, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, clearly the smarter of the Harbaugh brothers, is 23-4 against the Browns (two of the losses in overtime) and 11-2 in Cleveland.

Like the last game, this one figures to be low scoring with the defenses playing major roles. This time, the Browns will have moderate success on the ground, but still encounter problems getting into the end zone. This is the kind of game where you can make a solid argument for either team to win. 

But it's the X-factor that will determine who wins. Somehow, some way, the Ravens, maybe because they do it so often against the Browns, will find a way to win. It could be a late interception, a fumble, a dumb play call, a record-breaking 67-yard Justin Tucker field goal with no time left on the clock, whatever. Until the Browns find a way to win, make it:

Ravens 22, Browns 20

Mid-week thoughts

As the Browns prepare for the final five games of the 2021 season, a glimmer of hope arrived on the scene that is destined to serve only as a tease for those who still believe they will make it consecutive years to the postseason.

The Baltimore Ravens, Sunday's opponent in Cleveland for the back end of their unusual split-week doubleheader as they resume the season following their bye week, lost last Sunday. So did the Cincinnati Bengals and the AFC North grew tighter from top to bottom.

So why won't they? Simple. The defense has overtaken the offense as the most dominant unit, a stark reversal of last season, when the offense steamrollered opposing defenses because their defense couldn't  stop anyone.

This season, the defense -- with two notable exceptions -- wins games and keeps it close in losses. The offense, meanwhile, has fallen apart to the point where it is broken. The Ravens shut down the vaunted Cleveland ground game a week ago. Brace for a repeat Sunday.

It's interesting that fans quarrel with the playcalling of head coach Kevin Stefanski. But -- again with a couple of exceptions -- the playcalling has not been that bad. The execution, on the other hand, has been awful.

That's because the line, at one time ranked among the top lines in the National Football League, has been anything but the last two months, especially at the tackles. Right tackle Jack Conklin, when healthy, is the best player of the unit. But he has played only five full games out of 12. And now he's gone for the season.

Jedrick Willis Jr. is not playing like a No.1 draft pick at left tackle. He's decent in the run game, but is a semi-turnstile when attempting to protect his quarterback. 

The middle trio -- center JC Tretter and guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller -- have played every game and been solid, although their pass blocking this season has been spotty on occasion.  The key to the success of the offensive line however,  is playing well as a unit, One breakdown can blow up a play. Lately, though, the breakdowns have increased.

That's been the main problem of an offense that has encountered difficulty reaching opposing end zones with any regularity lately. Since week six, the Browns have scored 112 points in six games, misleading because of a 41-16 outlier victory in Cincinnati. The other five produced just 71 points.

It turned ugly in the 16-10 loss to the Ravens about 10 days ago in Baltimore, the offense converting four Lamar Jackson interceptions into a measly three points, which would have been zero had Chase McLaughlin's field-goal attempt not caromed off the left upright and over the crossbar.

If nothing else, that alone stands as a microcosm of just how poorly the offense has played for a major portion of this season. What once was labeled a scary offense has turned into a meek unit that is too easily stopped by the opposition.

Why is this happening? A semi-crippled quarterback -- okay, I'm exaggerating, but Baker Mayfield has not been even remotely the picture of health for the last eight games -- is just one of the reasons why. He hasn't been the same quarterback since injuring his left shoulder in week two trying to make a tackle after a pick. 

Teammates, coaches and front-office types marvel at how tough Mayfield is. They don't say anything about how ineffective he is. General Manager Andrew Berry went so far as to say he said expects Mayfield to play his best football in the final five weeks. (If he makes it that far,)

The failure of the head coach to acknowledge his quarterback is not healthy mystifies. It was blatantly  obvious in the Baltimore loss when he limped off the field after every possession. Backup Case Keenum began to throw at one point.

Mayfield has thrown only 11 touchdown passes (and six interceptions) in 11 games this season. For perspective purposes, he threw nine scoring passes in the final three regular-season games in 2020. He has been sacked 29 times this season because he holds on to the football too long and is not a running threat because he is at best semi-mobile because of numerous injuries. 

The wide receivers corps is no longer dangerous with a combined four touchdown receptions, Donovan Peoples-Jones has three of them. Jarvis Landry checks in with none, his only score this season coming on a run play that was supposed to be a pass play. The tight ends lead with five scoring receptions, while the running backs account for three. 

It's an offense that has trouble staying on the field and keeping the defense rested. Successfully converting third down has been particularly disastrous. In the five games since Keenum engineered a 17-14 victory over Denver in week seven in his lone start, the Browns are 16 for 56 on that key down. That's 28.6%.

Throw out Keenum's nine for 15 on third down against Denver and the Browns -- really Mayfield -- have converted only 34.1% on third down. It's a statistic Stefanski undoubtedly is aware of and yet despite his declaration that he -- and presumably his staff -- needs to coach better, that hasn't happened with only five games remaining.

These are grim reminders of just how mediocre, at best, this football team has become when owning the ball. Even though the Browns are technically not eliminated from the postseason, they have placed themselves in a position where anything less than winning out won't get the job done.

Unlike last season when the offense rescued the defense to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2002, it will be the opposite this time with the rapidly improving defense holding the key to playing meaningful football in mid-January and beyond.

Odds of that happening lie somewhere between "no way" and "do you believe in miracles?"

Mid-week thoughts 

Parsing the remarks of Browns General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski as the players enjoy the bye week. . . . 

First Stefanski, whose club has struggled and staggered through a two-month patch that has seen the defense glow much more often than it hasn't and an offense that, quite frankly, is fractured with no relief in sight.

After the latest offensive embarrassment a few nights ago in Baltimore, Stefanski partnered realism with optimism. "We have confidence in our run game," he said after the Browns pounded out 40 yards on the ground in the 16-10 loss to the Ravens.

"We have very, very (only two verys this time) high expectations in our run game . . . but we were really not efficient (against Baltimore). We can be better, We will be better. I know we can be better." Sounded more like a pep talk to himself.

As for his consistently insistent quarterback, Stefanski left no doubt who will start when the Browns and Ravens hook up again foe the second game of their unusual schedule doubleheader a week from Sunday in Cleveland. "Baker (Mayfield) is our starting quarterback," he declared. "He is healthy and getting healthier."

Let's see now. Mayfield has a fully torn labrum in his left shoulder, a non-displaced fracture at the top of the humerus in the same shoulder, two bad knees (a bone bruise in one), a nagging groin problem and a bruised heel. Otherwise, he's in great shape.

How does Stefanski know Mayfield is healthy? Didn't he notice that "healthy" quarterback limping noticeably back to the bench each time the Browns had to punt against or turned the ball over to the Ravens? He can't be that oblivious.

Healthy and getting healthier?  Really? If that is considered healthy, time to change the meaning of the word. Truth is Mayfield has taken a  severe beating on a weekly basis all season. He even admitted a couple of weeks ago this is the most beaten up he's been in his career.

The coach continued. "We just need to be better as an offense," he said. "Baker needs to play better. I have to coach better. We have to block better and we have to run routes better." Other than that, everything is hunky dory in Berea.

One last thought. "I believe in this run offense," he said. "I believe in the scheme. We have very high expectations of ourselves." That scheme and that belief have generated only 112 points in the last seven games, 71 in six games if you subtract the 41 put up in the Cincinnati victory, with a high game of 17 points. 

Berry, meantime, stepped front and center with the media the other day and made some interesting remarks with regard to the mediocrity his team has achieved and is looking forward to how his team finishes.

"We are going to play five teams I think are playoff caliber," he said."I'm excited to learn about how our team deals with adversity and resolve. . . . We are looking forward to seeing how our groups respond out of the bye."

Berry parroted Stefanski with regard to Mayfield."Baker is our quarterback," he said. "He is healthy enough to win games for us. He has won games for us the past couple of weeks, If he is ready to go, he is out starter."

Berry is not watching the same games I am the last couple of weeks. The Browns barely hung on to beat  winless Detroit in ugly fashion and were drilled defensively by the Ravens. He doesn't see how awful the offense is and that Mayfield isn't the same quarterback he was in the first five games of the season..

"We all think the offense can play at a higher level," he said. ". . . I know the offensive staff is hard at work finding the right solutions that will allow us to play at the highest level going into the last  five weeks of the season." They might start with taking better advantage of four takeaways by the defense.

His most startling remark came at the tailend of a question regarding Mayfield's development this season. "We expect him to play his best stretch of the year after the bye," he declared. If he meant on a relative basis, it's an indictment on how poorly Mayfield has played down the stretch because he got off a strong start..

Berry excused himself from the debate on the controversy surrounding Stefanski's playcalling this season. "That's not my area of expertise," he demurred. "I have a ton of confidence in him as a playcaller."

He also dismissed the notion the Browns might have developed a sense of entitlement entering the season after a surprisingly bountiful 2020 season. "I don't get a  sense there is a level of entitlement or that we have arrived because, quite honestly, we haven't. We haven't gotten there yet.

It bolsters the belief that making the playoffs is hard. Making them the following season(s) is harder.