CLEVELAND — In a different time, Browns fans would've viewed Thursday night's game against the New York Jets with either great trepidation or even dread, thinking to themselves, "How can they possibly screw it up this time?"
But there was no dread this evening on the shores of Lake Erie — no sorrow, no frustration, no bungling of the moment. Instead, Cleveland Browns Stadium hosted the ultimate party, and those in the Dawg Pound were rewarded for their persistence with a ticket to the NFL playoffs.
Needing only a win to wrap up just their third postseason berth since returning to the league in 1999, the Browns achieved that and so much more on "Thursday Night Football," demolishing the flightless Jets by a score of 37-20. The club's 11th win of the year came despite the looming cloud of not just past futility, but a barrage of injuries that would've sent most teams right into the gutter.
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Already without their starting quarterback, running back, offensive tackles, and a host of others, Cleveland was dealt a trio of new blows on Thursday when star receiver Amari Cooper was ruled out with a heel injury. Kicker Dustin Hopkins and punter Corey Bojorquez were also sidelined, adding to the bewildering nature of what has become the Injury Report from Hell.
And yet, that hasn't seemed to bother the Browns (11-5) all season, and it didn't again tonight, thanks largely to a former enemy now turned hero.
Making just his fifth start since literally being signed off the street in November, veteran QB Joe Flacco continued to dazzle the ear-splitting crowd of nearly 68,000, throwing for 309 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and a stellar passer rating of 121.2. The 38-year-old has won four in a row since arriving in Cleveland, eclipsing the 300-yard mark each time.
The emergence of Flacco with the Orange and Brown is quite ironic, seeing as he once dominated Cleveland and even won a Super Bowl as the starter for the rival Baltimore Ravens. Just one year ago, he even led these same Jets to a miraculous 13-point comeback at Browns Stadium, a devastating blow to Cleveland's 2022 season before it really had even began.
With more playmakers out, others had to step up, with the first being tight end David Njoku. The franchise stalwart had big catches on each of the first two drives to set up touchdowns by Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt, giving the Browns an early 13-7 lead.
The defense then got in on the act with a clutch moment from an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State. Late in the first quarter, Ronnie Hickman picked off Trevor Siemian's pass over the middle and took it to the house, establishing a double-digit advantage that would remain for the rest of the night.
Cleveland would later make it 27-7 on a Flacco pass to Elijah Moore before New York inched closer on a Jermaine Johnson pick-six. Adding to the adversity, Moore was forced from the game with a concussion, but it would merely be window dressing to what might have been the play of the year for this "Team of Destiny."
On first-and-10 from just outside midfield, Flacco eluded the Jets' pass rush before finding Ford for what appeared to be a first down. Only Ford kept on running, breaking multiple tackles in the red zone before finally landing over the goal line for his second touchdown of the game.
Ford finished the evening with 125 total yards, while Njoku had 134 on six catches. Moore tallied 61 yards on five grabs before getting hurt.
From there, the Jets (6-10) sort of hung around thanks to a trio of Browns turnovers, but never really appeared to be a threat, even getting a Greg Zuerlein field goal attempt blocked by Shelby Harris. Cleveland's No. 1-ranked defense bent, at times, but refused to break, and Myles Garrett even broke his five-game sackless streak while Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah added 11 tackles with two for a loss.
With the victory, the Browns have clinched no worse that the top wild-card spot in the AFC as the No. 5 seed, but are also still in contention for the AFC North championship as well as the top seed in the conference. Should Cleveland beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18 and the Ravens lose their remaining two games to the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, then the Browns would win the division at 12-5 based on tiebreakers. Should that all occur and the Dolphins also lose to the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, Cleveland would also snag the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
One more thing: The Browns have officially finished the regular season 8-1 at home, their best mark since going 6-0 way back in 1957 (Jim Brown's rookie year).