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RECAP: Confidence growing as Cleveland Browns find ways to win games

The Cleveland Browns began their preparations for the Los Angeles Chargers at team headquarters in Berea.
Credit: Matt Florjancic, WKYC Digital Sports
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield winds up to throw a pass during Monday's practice at team headquarters in Berea.

4:25 p.m.-Baker Mayfield: Cleveland Browns were not bad since second I stepped into franchise

BEREA, Ohio -- The phrase “Same Old Browns” may not apply to the 2018 Cleveland Browns, especially not with the way they have played in front of the fans at FirstEnergy Stadium.

But long before the Browns took the field for the 2018 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield knew this team was different than the organization that went 1-31 over the previous two years.

“I have known that the Browns were not bad since the second I stepped foot into this franchise,” Mayfield said prior to Wednesday’s practice.

“We had a special team from the get go. Whoever we are playing has nothing to do with this team. We believe in this team that we have. Management has put together a great group of guys. It is on us to learn and move forward.”

Credit: Ken Blaze
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

And Mayfield is far from the only player with that mindset.

“I definitely had that same kind of feeling,” rookie cornerback Denzel Ward said. “They changed this organization around, bringing new guys in, bringing guys like Baker in, who’s obviously, a great quarterback like everybody’s seen, so we definitely plan on changing the program around and winning games.”

Credit: Ken Blaze
Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) blocks the field goal attempt of Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

The Browns snapped a pair of streaks with last week’s 12-9 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium.

It was the Browns’ first win within the AFC North Division in they defeated the Ravens on October 11, 2015, as well as their first victory on a Sunday since the 2015 season.

Entering last Sunday’s game against the Ravens, the Browns had an NFL-record streak of 36 consecutive Sunday losses, and their 5-51-1 mark in the last 57 outings was among the worst in the league in the last five years.

“I said it back at the combine when everybody said I was a short quarterback that could not do much, I said if anybody is going to do it, I believed in myself to do that,” Mayfield said. “That is something that I carry with me, and I hope our guys believed in themselves as well.”

Credit: Derick E. Hingle
Cleveland Browns cornerback Damarious Randall (23) celebrates after a fumble recovery against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Although the Browns are in the thick of the AFC North Division race with a 2-2-1 record, they know the best thing to do is take things “one week at a time,” starting with Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“We have moved on from the first four games of the season,” Mayfield said. “Now, we are onto the second quarter. We are looking at a chance to go 2-0. If you win each quarter, you are looking at a great possibility of going to the playoffs. We just have to take care of business one game at a time. Obviously, the end goal, yes, is to win the division and make the playoffs, but you do not do that unless you take it one week at a time.”

Randall added, “We feel like we’re a contender. We feel like we’re one of the best teams in the league, so week in and week out, we’ve just got to do our job, each and every one of us, and really, just cut down upon the mental errors and some of these games might not be as close.”

2:41 p.m.-Cleveland Browns working to maintain true home-field advantage at FirstEnergy Stadium

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson told the team they are “becoming something special” after their 12-9 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday, and the players feel there is something special brewing in the city that is being created on game days.

The Browns fed off of the emotions of the fans in each of the last two home games, both of which were wins, and they are 2-0-1 at FirstEnergy Stadium this season, where they have not won multiple games in one year since 2015.

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “I touched on it a little bit after the game. We feed off the crowd’s energy, and our defense does as well. I think we need to continue that, and this needs to be a place that people fear coming to play.

“It needs to be so loud, they can’t communicate, and it needs to be a harsh place for an offense to come in. It needs to be exciting when our offense goes out there to keep the crowd in it. Keep building momentum. Keep stacking wins.”

The Cleveland Browns are working hard to create a true home-field advantage at FirstEnergy Stadium this season.

Heading into the 2018 season, the Browns lost 21 of their previous 24 games at FirstEnergy Stadium, and because of that, even the newest players on the roster know how special the home-field advantage has been through the first three home contests this year.

“We have to protect our house at any cost,” running back Carlos Hyde said on a conference call earlier this week. “We are doing a good job so far, and we’ve just got to keep building on it. We have to protect our house at any cost.

“The fans have been a big help. They have been really loud when the other team has the ball. When it is crucial time, they get really loud. I kind of had a feeling about how Ohio fans can really be at football games from Ohio State.

“There, they get really loud, and the defense can feed off of that and everybody in the building can feed off of that except for the other teams. They do not want it to be like that. The fans have been doing a hell of a job during home games.”

Credit: Matt Florjancic, WKYC Digital Sports
The Cleveland Browns are working hard to create a true home-field advantage at FirstEnergy Stadium this season.

Undefeated at home at this point in the season for the first time since they had three straight wins at FirstEnergy Stadium in 2004, the Browns are anxious to keep the good times rolling, starting with Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, and two more games in Cleveland ahead of the mid-November bye week.

“It’s been pretty cool,” offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler said. “The stadium has definitely been loud this year, and there’s definitely been more people this time of the year. We want those fans to be as loud and as crazy as possible. We want to make FirstEnergy a very tough place to play.

“As the season gets later, that’s going to be all the difference. Any advantage we can get, we’re going to need it, so that’ll be big.”

Rookie cornerback Denzel Ward added, “It’s exciting. The fans, they’re lively there. I enjoy playing in front of those fans, so we’ve just got to go out there and keep trying to win, win games and get the crowd involved.”

11:15 a.m.-BROWNS BEGIN PREP FOR CHARGERS

BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns begin their preparations for the Los Angeles Chargers at team headquarters in Berea on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Browns will look to build off of last week's victory over the Baltimore Ravens, which was their first Sunday win and first successful outing within the AFC North Division since October 11, 2015.

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