Monday leftovers

Thursday edition

While the Browns' offense grabbed most of the attention in Thursday night's playoff-clinching victory over the New York Jets with a 34-point first half, not enough has been showered on the other side of the football.

After being scalded for 17 halftime points and probably a scolding from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the Browns limited the Jets to just a Greg Zuerlein field goal in seven possessions after Kevin Stefanski took his offense conservative.

He gambled the offense put enough points on the board to pull back a little bit and give the defense, which has struggled a bit  recently, a chance at redemption. Othere than the field goal, the Jets threatened only one other time, but defensive tackle Shelby Harris blocked another Zuerlein attempt on the intial possession of the second half.

The Jets piled up sizable yardage with quarterback Trevor Siemian playing pitch and catch with wide receiver Garrett Wilson and tight end Tyler Conklin, and running back Breece Hall was a pest running and receiving with 126 yards on 22 touches, but the Jets got no closer than the Cleveland 32.

They spun their wheels for a majority of the second half, unable to come up with a big play when needed. Linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Sione Takitaki were two of the main reasons, combing for 27 tackles, 18 solo for the evening.

Owusu-Koramoah has become the player the Browns envisioned when they selected him in the second round of the 2021 college draft out of Notre Dame. He always seems go be where the football is and has improved his tackling to the point where he leads the Browns in that department with 101 this season.

Takitaki has come a long way since starting his pro career as a special teams ace and situational linebacker, looking comfortable after filling in for oft-injured middle backer Anthony Walker Jr., who missed most of last season with a serious knee injury.

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Credit Joe Flacco, as if he hasn't received enough already, with adjusting nicely in the absence of Amari Cooper Thursday night. Didn't take him long to tap tight end David Njoku with a 28-yard pass that set up Jerome Ford's seven-yard scoring scamper on the opening drive of the game.

The old quarterback has been money on opening possessions this season, putting touchdowns on the board right out of the chute in four of his five starts. He took the offense 75 yards in nine plays against the Los Angeles Rams in his Cleveland debut in week 13, Jerome Ford capping it off with a 24-yard pass.

He began the following week against Jacksonville with a six-play, 75-yard march. hitting Njoku with another 24-yard scoring flip. Then came his only miss so far against Chicago, the initial possession ending in a punt after a six-play, 19-yard drive stalled and brought on Corey Bojorquez.

Flacco got back on track next game against Houston, opening up the game with a 53-yard bomb to Cooper that ended three plays later with Ford again scooting four yards for the score. And on Thursday night, he engineered a seven-play, 75-yarder, highlighted by strikes of 36 and 28 yards to Njoku

There is nothing better for a defense than to watch your offense put up numbers like that and immediately gain an emotional and psychological advantage. Put the opposition on quick notice that it won't be easy.

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Rookie wide receiver Cedric Tillman learned the hard way Thursday night that quitting on running a route with Flacco under center is a really, really big no-no.

It happened late in the opening quarter with the Browns holding a 13-7 lead, shortly after recovering a fumbled kickoff return at the Jets' 12. Three plays later, Stefanski gambled on fourth and four at the New York six. A strong rush and good coverage caused Flacco to scramble.

He moved right and appeared to wave Tillman to the wide receiver's right in the end zone. The wideout did and then stopped. The pass was nearly intercepted. 

Flacco raised his arms disgustingly, indicating by motioning that the play might have resulted in a touchdown had Tillman not quit his route. He has been victimized enough by sloppy route running in his brief tenure with the Browns. 

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Finally . . . New kicker Riley Patterson got off on the wrong foot with Browns fans, sending his initial point-after effort wide right following safety Ronnie Hickman's pick six. The fans mockingly cheered his 33-yard field goal late in the game and the success on the other four PAT. . . . The Browns close out the regular season Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, who helped them open the season back on Sept. 10 that resulted in a 24-3 Cleveland victory that featured quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson. . . . New punter Matt Haack looked a lot like Bojorquez in his Cleveland debut. The left-footed kicker averaged 51.7 yards a punt. The left-footed Bojorquez has averaged 49.5 yards this season on 80 punts. . . . Bojorquez might be ready for the playoffs. Can't say the same for Dustin Hopkins.