Break out those Dawg Bone chains from 1986 and hang them around the necks of the bronze statues of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton outside the Cuyahoga County Courthouse again.
Songs! We need songs created by clever fans to commemorate what the Browns have done this season and what they have potential to do in the weeks ahead.
The Browns, with a national audience tuned in for Thursday Night Football, outlasted the New York Jets, 37-20, on Dec. 28 at Cleveland Browns Stadium to clinch a playoff spot in the AFC for the first time since 2020. They can finish no lower than the fifth seed and can still win the AFC North if they beat the Bengals (Jan 6 or 7) and the Ravens lose their last two games.
Tailgaters in all sorts of Browns adornment on themselves and their vehicles took over the muni lot before noon, and then the party really kicked into high gear when the Browns took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards for a touchdown. Joe Flacco finished it off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Ford after hooking up on pass plays of 36 and 28 yards to David Njoku earlier in the drive.
Fans in Cleveland Browns Stadium chanted “Flacco! Flacco! Flacco!” Joe Flacco won’t pretend like he didn’t hear it. pic.twitter.com/pzKgmJX4ze
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) December 29, 2023
“Last time we (clinched in 2020) there weren’t many (fans) out there (because of COVID),” Coach Kevin Stefanski said. “This is a special city. They love their Brownies, as I’m reminded often. For them be able to savor and enjoy this I think is a big deal.”
Kevin Stefanski breaks down the #Browns 34-point first half Thursday night. The Browns beat the Jets, 37-20, to clinch a playoff spot. pic.twitter.com/NxvQmXn2v1
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) December 29, 2023
The mood in Browns Nation is reminiscent of 1986 and 1987 when Bernie Kosar took his team to back-to-back AFC championship games. Those teams were easy to love.
Fair or unfair, it was difficult for some fans nationally and even locally to like the Browns when Deshaun Watson was the quarterback.
Watson was accused by more than two dozen massage therapists of sexual misconduct in 2021 and early 2022 when he played for Houston. The Browns traded six draft picks to the Texans anyway, concluding talent trumps reputation, and then agreed to pay Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million five-year contract after he initially rejected a trade to Cleveland.
Watson is out of the picture for now because he is recovering from surgery to repair a fractured shoulder when he was injured leading a fourth-quarter comeback over the Ravens on Nov. 12.
Flacco has started five straight games since being signed to the practice squad on Nov. 20 and now the Browns have won four straight to improve to 11-5. He has thrown 13 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He has passed for 300-plus yards in four straight games. Fans in the packed stadium chanted “Flacco! Flacco!” numerous times. It’s as though he has been part of Browns success for years — not mere weeks.
“I heard ’em,” Flacco said with a sheepish smile. “It’s cool. Just put yourself in that position. You can’t deny it.
“I said it from the very beginning — the city has been unbelievable. My teammates have been unbelievable in terms of embracing me onto this football team. It’s all been great. It makes it all that more special to come in here and play good football.”
The Browns are likable, even loveable again — not just because of how Flacco has taken command in such a short time but because they have been decimated by injury all season and never flinched.
• Nick Chubb has been out since suffering a knee injury in the second game of the season. Ford took over and played well. He caught two touchdown passes from Flacco against the Jets, one of them for 50 yards when he rambled and twisted his way into the end zone with 1:25 left in the first half.
• Safety Grant Delpit is on injured reserve with a groin injury. Undrafted rookie Ronnie Hickman from Ohio State started in Delpit’s spot, intercepted a pass from Jets quarterback Trevor Siemian and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown with 2:01 left in the first quarter to expand the Browns’ lead to 20-7.
• Njoku certainly isn’t a backup, but about an hour before kickoff the Browns declared Amari Cooper inactive because of a heel injury. The Jets knew Njoku would be Flacco’s primary target and they still couldn’t stop him. Njoku caught six passes for 134 yards.
• The Browns are down to their third string right tackle and second string right tackle. Defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo has missed three straight games with a pec injury.
The injuries have made the Browns a tight group. They are the 53 Musketeers — all for one and one for all.
The Browns were far from perfect in beating the Jets. They had difficulty corralling Jets running back Breece Hall. They stopped Siemian short of the line to gain in the fourth quarter, but they were caught with 12 men on the field. The gift first down led to a Jets field goal that cut the Browns lead to 34-20 with 8:50 to play.
The offense was stagnant for most of the second half, but finished their last drive with a 33-yard field goal by Riley Patterson.
The fun is just beginning.
