In a week where some baseball bad news hit Cleveland, Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry leaned on the summer sport to offer hope and encouragement for the football team that cannot stop getting bad news of its own.
Landry crossed his sports metaphors appropriately. His Browns have been dealt several wild pitches and knuckleballs since beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 to advance to the team’s first postseason game in nearly 20 years. Major injuries. Positive COVID-19 tests gone wild. Even two players cited for drag racing.
The veteran wide receiver, who missed the Week 16 game after being a close contact to a positive test, won’t make excuses. Life is throwing curveballs at the Browns, but Landry knows they can’t just wait for their preferred pitch.
“We’ve got to hit the curveball,” Landry said on Thursday in his media session. “We’ve been thrown another one the last couple weeks. It’s been tough for us, but you have to roll with it and hit the curveball.”
It will be the first playoff game in Landry’s NFL career, which goes back to 2014. His attitude is undaunted by the numerous curveballs being thrown at his team.
“It’s gonna take everybody to win these types of games,” Landry said. “The mission is still the same. We’re still excited about making the playoffs.”
Landry and what’s left of the team around him face the Steelers on Sunday night.