Tag: Kevin Stefanski

Browns Twitter reacts to the brutal end of the 2023 season vs. Texans

It was a disappointing ending to a great season

What a ride the 2023 season was for the Cleveland Browns as they overcame every piece of adversity thrown at them in the regular season despite a loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round.

They lost their top three starting tackles, franchise quarterback, and the best running back in the league but found their way to 11 wins and a playoff birth.

Joe Flacco came off the couch and for a month in a half the offense was on a run we haven’t seen in years. But it all came to an end on Saturday as the home team Texans dominated the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

The turnover bug finally bit Flacco and the Browns as he threw two pick-sixes on back-to-back drives in the second half. The defense could not get pressure on CJ Stroud who stood back there and destroyed the Browns all game long. Let’s take a look at what Browns’ Twitter had to say after the brutal loss to end the season.

Browns could get safety Grant Delpit back for Saturday’s playoff game vs. Texans

The standout safety could return from injured reserve this week

Before being placed on injured reserve fourth-year safety Grant Delpit was having an impressive year for the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, right after signing a contract extension Delpit suffered an injury and missed the final four regular season games.

It was a tough blow for the dominant Browns defense as the versatile Delpit was impacting all over the field. With the minimum four missed games, the Browns could activate Delpit for the playoffs and head coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday that it was a possibility.

This is just coach speak and it doesn’t mean he will play but the fact that he didn’t shut it down means something. Though D’Anthony Bell and Ronnie Hickman Jr. have stepped up in his absence the team could still use Delpit back on the field. This will be something to monitor as the week goes on with a trip to the Texans looming Saturday.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 18’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys preview the final week of the regular season with tape and metrics.

It’s time for Week 18 of the 2023 NFL campaign — the final week of the regular season — and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games, playoff scenarios, and interesting matchups:

Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Chargers — Why the Chiefs wouldn’t even be a playoff team without Steve Spagnuolo, and how Kansas City’s defense got four sacks in five plays against the Bengals on Cincinnati’s final drive.

Philadelphia Eagles-New York Giants — The Eagles had best fix their leaky run defense before the playoffs, and the Giants could be a stern test in that regard.

Houston Texans- Indianapolis Colts — C.J. Stroud is back for the Texans, and he’ll face a Colts defense with a lot of underrated players. The winner takes the AFC South.

Los Angeles Rams-San Francisco 49ers — The 49ers have wrapped up the NFC’s one-seed, so they won’t play many of their starters, but it’s time to recognize a Rams defense defined by two rookies, and more underrated players.

Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins — Two up-and-down teams are fighting for control of the AFC East, and it could come down to which unit figures itself out: Buffalo’s offense, or Miami’s defense.

Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers — The Bears won’t make the playoffs, but they have a fascinating decision to make about Justin Fields’ future. Meanwhile, Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been as good as anyone at his position in the second half of the season.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Kevin Stefanski hits numerous Browns’ franchise milestones in playoff clinching win vs. Jets

After the Browns clinched a playoff berth against the Jets, Kevin Stefanski saw numerous feats hit for the first time in a long time.

The Cleveland Browns have their head coach of the future in Kevin Stefanski as he has his team in the playoffs again after a win against the New York Jets.

Not only is he now the favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year for the second time in four years, but he also matched multiple franchise milestones this season. With the Browns sitting at 11-5, they have at minimum clinched the fifth seed in the AFC as they still have a slim shot at the AFC North title.

It has been a while since a head coach has lasted three seasons in Cleveland, let alone four. While he may have come into the season with a question mark next to his name, there is no doubt about it. Stefanski is here to stay well beyond 2023.

Here is every milestone Stefanski hit Thursday night in Cleveland’s playoff-clinching win over the Jets.

WATCH: Kevin Stefanski delivers explosive locker room speech as Browns clinch a playoff spot

Kevin Stefanski was fired up in the locker room after the Browns clinched a spot in the postseason against the Jets

For the second time under Kevin Stefanski the Cleveland Browns have won 11 games and are headed to the playoffs. The team of course has a shot to grab a 12th win over the Bengals next week in Cincinnati. After the game, Stefanski addressed the team in the locker room and he was fired up and proud of what his team has accomplished.

One of the things that stood out the most in his speech was when he pointed out that they still have work to do. Stefanski and his staff have had their team buy into the simple go 1-0 philosophy without looking ahead and focusing on the task at hand each week.

For now, the Browns have a mini bye week to try and get healthy before the final game of the regular season and the post-season after that. This team feels special and when they play their brand of football they can beat anyone.

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The Cleveland Browns could win the AFC’s one-seed 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.

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.

If Kevin Stefanski doesn’t win Coach of the Year, there should be an immediate recount.

Week 17 playoff clinching scenarios: Browns can avoid the drama by simply burying the Jets

Simply beat the Jets. But if they cannot, here is every scenario of how Kevin Stefanski and the Browns can clinch a playoff spot this week.

The Cleveland Browns have an opportunity to do something for the first time in three years tonight. As Kevin Stefanski and the Browns take on the New York Jets, they can punch their ticket into the playoffs and secure the fifth seed in the AFC with a win.

The fifth seed would be just the minimum seed the Browns would secure as well, as the AFC North title and top seed in the AFC is still not out of reach just yet. They need help around the league, but there is still hope.

If the Browns cannot win tonight, however, there is still a large chance they will clinch their spot in the playoffs. This would mean the top wildcard spot would be in question though. Avoiding the drama, it would be much easier if the Browns just took home their fourth win in a row instead of leaving their fate in the hands of others.

Here is every clinching scenario for the Browns this week as they are a virtual lock to make the playoffs.

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How Joe Flacco brings out the best parts of Kevin Stefanski’s Browns offense

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:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

WATCH: Kevin Stefanski, Amari Cooper deliver fiery locker room speech after Browns’ win vs. Texans

The Browns believe they can beat anyone

The 2023 season has been a crazy and wild ride for Cleveland Browns fans. With all the injuries and the highs and lows, right now it is fun being a Cleveland fan. And head coach Kevin Stefanski and wide receiver Amari Cooper had some fun in the locker room after the win over the Houston Texans.

Joe Flacco is playing like he is in his prime despite being 38 years old and only having been with the team for about a little over a month. But this roster knows that when they play to the level they are capable of they can stand against anyone. After the decisive win in the locker room, Cooper said exactly that.

“When we play our brand of football, nobody can play with us.”

It has been fun to see Stefanski’s post-game locker room speeches as he has his team bought into what he and the other coaches are preaching. This team has their head coach long term and with every game and every win that becomes more and more apparent.

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Kevin Stefanski ties Bill Belichick’s mark for career wins as head coach of the Browns

Stefanski is moving up the team wins rankings

The NFL Coach of the Year campaign continued for head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns as they grabbed their tenth win of the 2023 season in a dominant win against the Houston Texans. With this week’s win that is 36 overall wins which ties him with the great Bill Belichick when he was in Cleveland.

They are almost a lock to make the playoffs and if they beat the Jets at home on Thursday they will be back in the playoffs again. This is just further proof that the Browns finally got it right and have their head coach for the foreseeable future already with the team. The offense he has built around Joe Flacco has started to consistently throw the ball for a ton of production and success.

Right now the Browns believe they can play with anyone in the league and there isn’t any reason to think they are wrong. Now the Browns return to Cleveland with a chance to punch their postseason ticket against the Jets on Thursday Night Football.

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