CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Factory of Sadness turns into the Factory of Gladness.
Long-suffering Browns fans go back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Browns, who ended the season at 11-5, unleashed their 17-season playoffs with a 24-22 victory over the Steelers.
It was the longest active series in the NFL.
Fans slammed into the seats in FirstEnergy Stadium and chanted ‘Pittsburgh Sucks’.
Baker Mayfield, who promised he could turn this team around if anyone could, cheered along with the fans as he stepped off the field.
Myles Garrett, who was the captain for this match, ran to Mason Rudolph after the match and beat after last year’s tortuous helmet incident.
The Browns now have the chance to do it all against the Steelers (12-4) in the first round of the playoffs next weekend in Heinz Field. In that game, the Steelers will have Ben Roethlisberger, TJ Watt and other star players back.
“I’m proud of that football team, very proud of those guys,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. ‘… And I’m glad for our fans. They deserve it. They waited for this.
‘I also want to take note, I gave a match ball to Jimmy Haslam and Dee and the whole group. … They were just there for us.
“I’m really proud of all the people who’ve been with the organization for a long time.”
Late in the fourth quarter with a 24-16 lead, the Browns had a chance at the end for a bit of breathing space, but they could not reach into the goal area. A fourth pass intended for Rashard Higgins became incomplete and the Steelers took over at their 35 with 3:37 left.
Mason Rudolph, who has already hit two 41-yard passes in the game, found Diontae Johnson for 47 yards for the Browns. 24-22. But Rudolph’s two-point pass to Chase Claypool became incomplete, and the 12,000 fans at FirstEnergy Stadium roared like 68,000.
Browns tighthead prop Stephen Carlson recovered the kick from the sidelines and the Browns conceded the game as Mayfield conceded a third and a second goalkeeper.
Steelers pull to within 1, but the Browns wake up
Rudolph passes his second pass of 41 yards from the game, this time to Claypool, to the Browns ’36. This led to a 46-goal field goal that overcame the Steelers within 10-9 with 8:29 left in the third quarter. .
But then the tide turned for the Browns, and they remembered that the playoffs were at stake.
Mayfield hit a wide open Austin Hooper with a 2-yard TD pass to the left of the end zone extending their lead to 17-9 by 3:48 at the half. Mayfield hit David Njoku with a big 14-yard pass on the third and fifth points to keep the ride going, then scrambled 28 yards on the left to the 16th.
KhaDarel Hodge caught a 10-yard line near the left pylon to set up the TD, and then left the Steelers Hooper wide open in the final zone.
MJ Stewart’s big INT
On the Steelers’ next ride, cornerback MJ Stewart selected Rudolph on a third and 9 of his own 41 on a pass intended for Smith-Schuster. Browns rookie linebacker Jacob Phillips made the choice and crashed down on Rudolph to force the wandering throw. It broke a series of three consecutive games without a takeaway for the Browns. Stewart gave the INT 30 yards back to the Steelers ’20, and Jarvis Landry ran it from the 3 in the first game of the fourth quarter to make it 24-9. Hodge set up the TD with a reception of 15 gardens.
Olivier Vernon left with a left ankle injury
The Browns’ defensive end, Olivier Vernon, suffered a serious ankle injury at 10:18 in the third quarter and was sent to the locker room. He suffered this during the fourth quarter of the Steelers, and could not place any weight on his left leg when he was helped off the field. He was the second Browns player to be lost, including Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was checked for concussion in the first half and did not return.
Steelers pull up to 24-16
After Vernon left the field, the Steelers drew 24-16 on a 28-yard TD pass from Rudolph to Claypool, which was thoroughly covered by Terrance Mitchell.
Highlights of the first half
The Browns led 10-6 after 47-yard Nick Chubb finishing and a 23-goal Cody Parkey field goal. The Steelers got a 29-yard field goal and a 46-goal kick from rugby player Matthew Wright.
Mayfield completed 7-of-15 attempts for 104 yards in the first half without touching and no interception for a score of 69.9. He was fired twice.
Rudolph competed 11-of-18 in the first half for 134 yards, with no TDs and no INTs for an 84.0 rating.
Peoples-Jones’ injury occurred on the final ride of the first half when he jumped over the middle for a high pass and was drilled into the back by safety Sean Davis. He remained on the field for a few minutes and was then escorted to the sidelines and to the dressing room, where he was diagnosed with concussion.
Nick Chubb’s 47 rejection
Chubb started the party early by pushing up the right sideline for a 47-yard TD at the Browns opening. Chubb missed Tyson Alualu early, and then safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left about 25 in the dust to find daylight.
Chubb ran more than a thousand yards on the run – he needed 41 – and was the first Browns rugby team to rush for 1,000 yards in the back-to-back seasons since Jamal Lewis in 2007-08. did. He achieved the feat despite missing four games earlier in the season with his sprained MCL.
Chubb started with an 11-meter volley during the first play.
Last season, Chubb finished second in the NFL for Derrick Henry of Tennessee with 1,494 yards.
Mayfield for 42 for Higgins
In the second quarter, Mayfield hit Higgins with a 42-yard pass down the right sideline, beating Justin Layne, a Cleveland native who started the game in Haden’s place. Unfortunately for the Browns, they only conceded a 23-goal field goal from the big game. Minkah Fitzpatrick breaks a pass to David Njoku on the first and goal from the 4, and then Mayfield throws him incompletely on the third.
Rudolph responds to Diontae Johnson on the right sideline with a big 41-year strike, where he is targeting Jackson, but the Steelers were forced with a 29-goal field goal to pull within 10-3 with 4:10 left in the half . after Adrian Clayborn put Rudolph under pressure to complete a third finish. They made it 10-6 on a 46-goal field goal with 1:07 left in the half.
The Steelers increased the pressure on their last two slides of the first half for the pockets for assassinations on each of the slides. The Browns took over at their 35 with 1:07 left in the half and a chance to increase their lead from 10-6, but blew it.
The first game was the high pass to Peoples-Jones over the remedy that caused his concussion, and the second was a 10-year sack by Alex Highsmith. They recorded two plays later.
The victory came after a turbulent and stressful week for the Browns.
Garrett was named captain of the game by coach Kevin Stefanski, but not because he faced Rudolph again. Garrett had hoped to captain the Cowboys on October 4 because he was born and raised there, but Stefanski chose Andrew Sendejo for that game instead.
When Stefanski announces the announcement the Friday before the Cowboys game, Garrett asks him about it, and Stefanski gives him the choice of the rest of the games. He chose this one, long before he knew it would be a must-win game for the Browns, and long before he knew it would be a rematch between him and Rudolph, who was in the helm incident last season in the FirstEnergy Stadium was involved.
In the languishing moments of the Browns’ 21-7 victory on November 14, Garrett ripped Rudolph’s helmet off and hit him over the head with it. Garrett later told ESPN Rudolph called him “a stupid N”, a charge that Rudolph vehemently denied.
The Browns had five players back for this game who missed the chance to help the Browns beat the Jets last week and score a playoff spot: receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge, and the linebacker Jacob Phillips.
They also had six players on the COVID-19 reserve list for this game in cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson, linebackers BJ Goodson and Malcolm Smith, free agent Andrew Sendejo and tighthead Harrison Bryant. Ward, Smith and Bryant tested positive on Thursday, and Johnson was placed on the list on Saturday.
Corner Jackson Robert Jackson, who only played in special teams this season, started his first career in place of Ward.
But the Steelers were also a watchdog of the team that beat the Browns 38-7 on October 18 in Pittsburgh. Pro Bowlers Ben Roethlisberger, TJ Watt, Cam Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey all rested so Mike Tomlin could ‘send them out in the playoffs.’ They did not even travel to Cleveland.
The Steelers were also without starting cornerback Joe Haden, tighthead Eric Ebron and linebacker Cassius Marsh, who were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on Saturday. Haden has tested positive for the virus and will probably also have to postpone the first round of the play-offs next week.
* Next
–
New Browns face masks for sale: Here you can buy Cleveland Browns-themed face masks for coronavirus protection for adults and teens, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99) All NFL proceeds go to CDC Foundation gift.
More brown coverage
Nick Chubb on Steelers: ‘This is what we’re been playing all our lives – moments like this’
Another kind of Browns-Steelers final and three more things to watch Sunday
Does Myles Garrett still have a chance at Defensive Player of the Year?
OL coach Bill Callahan, assistant dropped by the COVID-19 protocols; Joseph activated
Joe Haden tests positive for COVID, will miss Browns game and probably 1st playoff game
CB Kevin Johnson joins Denzel Ward and 4 Browns on the COVID list
Try talking to myself about Browns beating Pittsburgh: Pluto
Browns and the famous Sports Illustrated appeared January 4, 1965