Kevin Stefanski summed up perfectly what lies ahead for the Browns about 15 minutes after the backups were dominated by the Bengals, 31-14, on Jan. 7 in the regular season finale.
“Our focus goes onto that second season,” Stefanski told reporters outside the visitor’s locker room at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. “We’ll bring the players in tomorrow. We have to really get back to work.”
The day began with the Browns locked into the fifth playoff seed, but their opponent in the wild-card round was not determined until the Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 28-20, as the Bengals were simultaneously beating the Browns. The Jacksonville loss means the Browns will play the Texans in Houston on either Jan. 13 or 14 in a first-round game.
The Browns beat Houston, 36-22, on Dec. 24, but Texans rookie quarterback sensation C.J. Stroud missed the game with a concussion. Stroud on Jan. 6 threw his 22nd and 23rd touchdown passes of the season to lead the Texans past the Colts, 23-19, and put them in position to win the AFC South.
“We’ll have plenty of time to talk about (the Texans) this week,” Stefanski said. “Obviously I have a ton of respect for their team and their coaches. They do a great job, but we’ll talk about them this week.”
Which team the Browns would match up better against had they been given a choice of playing the Jaguars or Texans is difficult to measure, but certain it is that playing in the AFC North has steeled them for a playoff run, despite losing to the Bengals with most of the Cleveland starters on the sideline.
All four AFC North teams finished above .500. The Ravens are 13-4, the Browns 11-6, the Steelers 10-7 and the Bengals 9-8. None of the other seven divisions had all four teams finish above sea level. It’s the first time since 1935 that all teams in a division finished above .500.
The Ravens are the top seed in the AFC. The Browns and Steelers are both wild-card playoff teams. The Browns clinched their playoff spot when they beat the Jets on Dec. 28. The Jacksonville loss put Pittsburgh into the playoffs, but only after the Steelers beat the Baltimore backups on Jan. 6.
The Browns beat each of their division opponents once and lost to each of them once. They also beat the 49ers, who own the top seed in the NFC. They beat Baltimore with Lamar Jackson as the Ravens quarterback and they beat San Francisco with Brock Purdy as the 49ers quarterback. They should be able to beat the Texans even with Stroud starting for Houston.
Stefanski’s decision to rest his starters against the Bengals made it difficult to get engaged in the game, though it was obviously the correct one and a decision most coaches in his position would make. One thing was encouraging, though; Corey Bojorquez punted seven times for a 44-yard average. Four of his punts landed inside the 20 and two of those were inside the five. Bojorquez missed the Dec. 28 game with a left quad injury.
Jeff Driskel started for the Browns, and for much of the game he played like a quarterback who 10 days earlier was on the Cardinals’ practice squad. He had the added challenge of being protected by backup offensive linemen and not having Amari Cooper nor David Njoku as targets because they were being rested.
Driskel threw two touchdown passes to David Bell in the fourth quarter. His final stat line shows he completed 13 of 26 passes for 166 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He was sacked three times and ran the ball seven times for 33 yards.
“I thought he operated well,” Stefanski said. “In every game for every quarterback there are things I know he would like to get back, but all things considered, I thought he operated well.”
So who will be Joe Flacco’s backup in Houston — Driskel or P.J. Walker?
“We’ll handle that next week,” Stefanski said.
The need to still be making decisions in the 19th week of the season is a good sign.
BROWNS AT TEXANS
When: TBA
Where: NRG Stadium, Houson
Records: Browns 11-6, Texans 10-7
TV: TBA; Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKNR-AM 850
