Joe Flacco and Ronnie Hickman Jr. led the Browns to a win over the Jets. Who else stood out?
The Cleveland Browns secured a playoff berth in a 37-20 thrashing of the New York Jets. The game was a story of two halves. The team was laser-focused heading into the prime-time game.
The Browns dominated the Jets across the board in the first half. In the second half, the team tried to secure their lead and protect their players from future injuries ahead of the playoffs.
Overall, the Browns played some of their best football on Thursday night. The offense was [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]more explosive than ever, generating a lot of big plays for the unit. The defense continued its domination by shutting down the Jets for most of the game. The team is playing its best football of the season right before the playoffs.
The Browns need to carry this momentum into the playoffs. The teams that win Super Bowls aren’t always the most talented. Sometimes, they’re the teams that play their best at the end of the season. Hopefully, the Browns can find themselves in that latter group as injuries have decimated a talented roster, but haven’t robbed the team of their fighting spirit.
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Pass-Rush
TD
Lamar Jackson
321-35
5
Kyler Murray
232-24
3
Justin Fields
268-45
2
Joe Flacco
309-3
3
Jordan Love
256-2
4
Running Backs
Yards
TD
Kyren Williams
20-87
2-14
3
Isiah Pacheco
18-130
7-35
1
Breece Hall
13-84
9-42
1
James Conner
26-128
1-5
2
Jerome Ford
12-64
2-57
2
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
CeeDee Lamb
13-227
1
Davante Adams
13-126
2
D.J. Moore
9-159
1
Brandon Aiyuk
7-114
1
Jayden Reed
6-89
2
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Juwan Johnson
8-90
1
David Njoku
6-134
0
Isaiah Likely
2-42
2
Dallas Goedert
5-41
1
Sam LaPorta
7-84
0
Placekickers
XP
FG
Harrison Butker
1
6
Brandon McManus
2
4
Ka’imi Fairbairn
2
4
Cairo Santos
4
3
Chris Boswell
4
3
Defense
Sack – TO
TD
Houston
6-1
1
Jacksonville
6-1
0
Buffalo
3-4
1
NY Giants
6-1
1
Cleveland
2-2
1
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Will Levis – Foot
QB Tua Tagovailoa – Shoulder
RB Christian McCaffrey – Calf
RB Alvin Kamara – Ankle
RB AJ Dillon – Neck
WR Tee Higgins – Hamstring
WR Devonta Smith – Leg
WR Robert Woods – Hip
WR DeVante Parker – Ribs
WR Jayden Reed – Chest
TE Dawson Knox – Head
Chasing Ambulances
QB Will Levis – Injured his foot and was carted to the locker room. Test results will be known later in the week but the final game doesn’t matter much. Ryan Tannehill will replace him if needed.
QB Tua Tagovailoa – Left the blowout loss to the Ravens with an injury to his throwing shoulder. He was ruled out since the game was already out of hand but he said after the game that he was “good, just sore.”
RB Christian McCaffrey – Left early in the second half because of a calf injury and never returned. HC Kyle Shanahan said that he thought that McCaffrey would be “alright”, but he didn’t know if McCaffrey would be available next week. The 49ers have sewn up the No. 1 seed and will likely rest several players. McCaffrey is unlikely to be seen until the 49ers first game in the Divisional Round.
RB Alvin Kamara – He was already questionable to play with an illness, but Kamara was active and effective until he injured his ankle in the first quarter after ten rushes. It was not known if he had a high ankle sprain or not. The Saints are the current No. 9 seed and would need help to reach the playoffs next week.
WR Tee Higgins – Left the game with a hamstring injury but managed to return in the third quarter.
WR Devonta Smith – Was injured while blocking near the end of the game. He was on crutches with a walking boot after the game. The prognosis wasn’t released but there should be more information early in the week. The injury was serious enough for the boot and crutches which throws a shadow onto Week 18 when they finish up at the Giants.
WR Jayden Reed – He had already caught two touchdowns when he injured his chest during the second quarter in the win over the Vikings. He underwent CT scans after the game but his prognosis has not been disclosed. The Packers host the Bears next week and need all hands on deck since the Packers are currently the No. 7 seed.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
QB Jordan Love – He was likely on many benches if his fantasy owner even made the playoffs, but the Packers quarterback is looking better and erasing some of the early season fears. He threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns at the Vikings and rushed in a touchdown as well.
RB Kyren Williams – Taken as just running back depth in summer drafts, the Rams tailback has become an elite producer and fantasy team owners in large contests did very well in Week 17 when he ran for 87 yards, gained 14 yards on two catches and totaled three touchdowns.
RB James Conner – Playing at the Eagles meant lowering expectations against the No. 1 defense against running backs. Except Conner rushed for 128 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns as a visitor.
RB Justice Hill – The Ravens lost Keaton Mitchell, so they just switched back to Hill as the RB2. The third-down back ran for 48 yards on three carries and caught five passes for 64 yards and one score. Any back on that powerhouse team carries fantasy value.
WR Julio Jones – The Eagles receiver caught two passes for 34 yards in the loss to the Cardinals. But he scored on each and Philly may be without DeVonta Smith.
TE Isaiah Likely – The replacement for Mark Anderson is becoming a factor in games thanks to playing in an offense that likes to throw to tight ends. Likely made a one-handed catch on a reception and while he only caught two passes for 42 yards, he caught two of the eight touchdowns by a tight end this week.
TE David Njoku – Since Joe Flacco showed up, Njoku was a scoring machine with a touchdown in four straight games. He failed to score this week, but led the position with 134 yards on six catches.
WR Bo Melton – The Packers wideout was called up from the practice squad to help cover for all the wideout injuries in Week 17. He responded by leading the Packers with nine targets for six catches and 105 yards with a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard performance by any Packer receiver this year.
RB Najee Harris – He lost his job as a receiver out of the backfield, and was listed below Jaylen Warren on the depth chart. He never had a 100-yard game and scored just once in the last month. So right when you need him the most and trust him the least, Harris turned in a season-best 122 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns.
Huddle player of the week
Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
CeeDee Lamb – He was already well represented on fantasy playoff teams and then helped to deliver the trophy for many when he caught 13 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. 41.7 fantasy points is a difference-maker.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
The tight end made sure to enjoy the win with fans
It has been a breakout season for David Njoku, who seems to have finally put it all together consistently and been a mismatch nightmare all year. His ability to create yards after the catch a turn dump-off passes into explosive plays has been pretty impressive to watch.
It continued on Thursday with an outstanding first quarter when he made big play after big play against a solid Jets defense. But after the game, Njoku turned into one of the fans with pure excitement and happiness that the Browns are heading back to the postseason.
First, he decided to jump into the stands and finish off a beer that a fan offered him. Later on in the night, he was seen outside the stadium taking a shot with some pumped-up fans. And now the Browns and their fans will root hard for the Dolphins to upset the Ravens and keep their division hopes alive.
The Browns are headed to the playoffs, and they went wild last night after the win.
The Cleveland Browns are headed back to the playoffs after a 37-20 win over the New York Jets. And the players, led by tight end David Njoku and cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. were leading the charge of the celebration in Cleveland Browns Stadium after the game.
The atmosphere off of the coast of Lake Erie was on fire as the Browns blew the doors off of the building from the opening kickoff. They scored 34 first half points, which was enough for them to sit back and play defense in the second half against one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Now with ten days until their Week 18 matchup, the Browns have a chance to make it 12 wins on the season as they travel to take on the Cincinnati Bengals.
Oh yeah, and the AFC North crown is not completely off the table yet either.
Here are the best reactions, both from the stadium and on social media, from the players after winning their 11th game and clinching their spot in the playoffs.
After their Thursday night win over the Jets, the Browns actually have a chance to become the AFC’s one-seed through the playoffs.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
After their 37-20 win over the New York Jets on Thursday night, the 11-5 Cleveland Browns not only clinched their second playoff berth since 2020 (the team had not made the playoffs before that since 2002), but they have an actual shot at the AFC’s one-seed.
Which means that the AFC playoffs might go through Cleveland.
Here’s how it needs to go.
This is WILD…The path to the #1 Seed for Cleveland doesn’t seem that crazy:
▫️The Browns need the Ravens to lose out & the Browns need to win out to win the AFC North
▫️If this happens & Dolphins lose in Week 18 vs BUF, Browns would finish as the #1 seed in the AFC.
So. If the Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, January 7, and the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Dolphins lose to the Buffalo Bills? Yeah. The Dawg Pound will be home base.
As Chase Daniel said, this is wild. The Browns currently have a league-high 26% of their salary cap on injured reserve, they’ve turned Joe Flacco into Kurt Warner, and the guys they were without due to injury against the Jets was… well, remarkable.
The #Browns have clinched a playoff berth with their win over the Jets. They now have 11 wins this year.
A reminder of all their significant injuries…
Offense: • QB Deshaun Watson • RB Nick Chubb • OT Jack Conklin • OT Jedrick Wills • OT Dawand Jones • WR/KR Jakeem… pic.twitter.com/wBDn2rddOD
Joe Flacco has maximized every part of Kevin Stefanski’s playbook, and he’s become the franchise quarterback the Browns have been seeking for years.
Who would have thought that the Cleveland Browns, a franchise that has been searching for a definitive franchise quarterback since *checks notes* Bernie Kosar in the early 1990s, would finally find that guy in the person of Joe Flacco, who will turn 39 on January 16, and was sitting on his couch without an NFL team less than two months ago? That’s exactly what’s happened, and Flacco has become one of the league’s more improbable and satisfying stories in the league this season.
Since Flacco became the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 13 — the fourth starting quarterback head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin Stefanski has had this season — he leads the league in passing attempts (175), he’s second in completions behind Jake Browning of the Cincinnati Bengals with 104, he leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,321, and some of the throws he made against the Houston Texans last week in a 36-22 win were just ridiculous for any quarterback of any stripe.
Let’s start with Flacco’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 12:16 left in the first half. Cooper set a franchise record in this game with 265 receiving yards, and this is where it all began. Cooper was the backside iso receiver, Houston’s defense went mostly with the passing strength to the right side, Cooper was one-on-one with cornerback D’Angelo Ross, and Flacco zinged the ball right where Cooper could come down with it.
Flacco’s 21-yard pass to Cooper with 1:37 left in the third quarter from a similar concept. This time, the Browns motioned to four-strong to the right, putting more emphasis on that side, and it was Cooper against cornerback Stephen Nelson for the win.
But the Flacco throw of the day was his 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Njoku. The Texans were in 2-Man to one side of the field and Quarters to the other, and Flacco had two defenders converging on his target when he made the throw. But Flacco also knew that he had Njoku on linebacker Denzel Perryman as the primary defender, and the middle of the field was open, and Flacco would have no problem making that throw.
Let’s go back a week to this 51-yard touchdown pass to Cooper against the Chicago Bears with 3:18 left in the game. This was a similarly preposterous throw — you don’t see many quarterbacks threading it deep into three defenders like this, and coming out with a positive result. Cooper ran a deep crosser between two verts in a reduced split, and Flacco somehow got it in there in a way that was more than medium rare.
“Yeah, that’s what he can do, and that’s a tough coverage to beat in that scheme for us,” offensive coordinator Bradley Van Pelt said. “There’s a Cover-2 corner on the backside [Terell Smith] that almost got underneath of that. In the quarterback room, we’ve always referred to that as the steak dinner throw. So if you throw an interception to that corner, you owe the whole room a steak dinner at the Marble Room. So I’m glad it didn’t happen for us, but that’s tough coverage, and his arm strength got that ball there.”
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into what Flacco brings to the Browns’ offense, and how he’s able to maximize every part of Stefanski’s playbook. A tough go for the New York Jets on Thursday night. For all of Gang Green’s defensive excellence, they struggle against deep passes out of play-action, which has been Flacco’s game. This season, the Jets have allowed four deep completions on 10 attempts of 20 or more air yards for 160 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 127.1 – sixth-worst in the league.
You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring tape and advanced metric analysis of all Week 17’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:
The Cleveland Browns are having themselves a very merry Christmas as quarterback Joe Flacco is playing out of his mind against the Houston Texans. After already hitting wide receiver Amari Cooper for a touchdown, Flacco has now threaded the needle to tight end David Njoku for another touchdown. He is playing unconscious football right now in Houston.
Flacco now sits with 223 yards and two touchdowns through the air in the first half against the Texans. He is well on his way to his third straight 300-yard game through the air. Njoku continues his breakout campaign, sitting with 31 yards and a touchdown on three catches thus far.
With kicker Dustin Hopkins sidelined with an injury, the Browns went for a two-point conversion. Rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson came onto the field and ran the ball in to convert.
Flacco has, however, just thrown an interception in the two-minute drill as the Browns were looking for more points.
Cleveland is looking to hit double digit wins in Houston
The Cleveland Browns, led by quarterback Joe Flacco and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett, have a chance to get their tenth win of the year and hit double-digit wins for the second time in four years under Kevin Stefanski. It would be the 36th win under Stefanski for reference the Browns won 37 games total from 2011-2019 before hiring Stefanski. They will head to Houston to take on the Texans who may be without both of their talented first-round rookies.
Jim Schwartz’s defense has struggled on the road recently and after two back-to-back great games at home, they have to show up on Sunday. If C.J. Stroud can’t go it will be old friend Case Keenum who found a way to do just enough for the Texans to win last week.
Beating the Texans would give Cleveland more room in the Wild Card as it will help them in the tiebreaker areas moving forward. The Browns will be almost guaranteed a spot if they get this win on Sunday, they can even punch their ticket in time for Christmas.
As the Browns look for their tenth win on the season against the Texans, here are 5 things to watch for.
We are now just over 48 hours from kickoff as the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans battle for a playoff spot. Cleveland, led by Joe Flacco and tight end David Njoku over the past few weeks, has an opportunity to clinch their spot in the playoffs this weekend, but that starts with a win.
Both teams will enter the matchup at far less than 100 percent as well, as the Texans will be starting backup Case Keenum for the second straight week with Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud still in the concussion protocol. The Browns have still been without starting guard Joel Bitonio and safety Juan Thornhill this week as they prepare to travel to Houston.
Seeking their tenth win of the season and their third in a row (for the second time this year!), here are five things to watch when the Browns kickoff against the Texans on Sunday afternoon.
One fan made the most out of his 15 minutes of fame
During pregame warmups before their victory over the Chicago Bears, one Cleveland Browns fan got to talk with tight end David Njoku. He was also shirtless and had written “Angry Runs” on his body and took photos with the tight end. After the game, the video had been sent to Kyle Brandt who took to social media to ask Browns fans to connect him with the young man.
Thanks to Browns fans and some help from Njoku, the fan was identified and joined Brandt on Good Morning Football on Tuesday. The 18-year-old fan was pumped up to join the show and ripped his shirt off to show he still had angry runs written on his body. He also performed a wrestling move mid-video to a friend of his that was must-watch TV.
Browns fans are having a blast with this season as they pull off improbable win after improbable win as they fight for a playoff spot in a wild NFL season.
