JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Browns were lucky that they weren’t the team to snap the Jaguars’ nine-game losing streak Sunday during a 27-25 victory that was way too close for comfort.
“We made it hard on ourselves there at the end,’' coach Kevin Stefanski said. “The guys fought, and we knew they were going to have to fight to get that one.’'
The Browns, who went in without Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Sione Takitataki and Porter Gustin and then lost Ronnie Harrison to a shoulder injury on the first play of the game, needed a few big plays at the end to improve to 8-3 and avoid losing to an injury-riddled team that fell to 1-10.
“We knew it was going to be tough,’' Stefanski said. “It wasn’t going to be easy, and that’s what we signed up for coming down here.’'
The Browns, winners of three straight, have their best record through 11 games since returning in 1999. It’s also their first 8-win season since 2007, and their third 8-win campaign in the new era. They also climbed to the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff race — the top spot for one of the three Wildcard playoff spots.
“We have some of our best football ahead of us,’' said Jarvis Landry, who had his first 100-yard game and first TD catch of the season with 8 receptions for 143 yards. “We took care of each other. The offense picked us up. The defense picked us up. Special teams did a hell of a job today.’'
It should never have been this much of a nailbiter against a team starting their third-string quarterback in Mike Glennon and one that was without some key starters, including their best defensive player in end Josh Allen, their two starting cornerbacks, their starting nickel corner and their leading receiver in D.J. Chark Jr.
In fact, things are so bad for the Jaguars — who have lost 16-of-19 — that they fired general manager Dave Caldwell shortly after the game.
But the Browns — who fell behind three times — found themselves clinging to a 27-25 lead with 2:14 remaining, and needing big plays by Andrew Sendejo and Nick Chubb to close it out. Sendejo snatched Glennon’s two-point pass in the back of the end zone to prevent a 27-27 tie after James Robinson’s 4-yard TD run, and then Chubb caught a 13-yard screen pass on third and 12 with 1:25 remaining to clinch it.
“Really happy for [Sendejo] to make that play, and that’s what we need,’' Stefanski said. “We need guys in the back end that will make plays on the ball.”
As for Chubb’s screen, Stefanski said, “he made sure we got the first and the clock was running. He’s a very smart player as everybody knows, just understanding the situation.’'
The Browns needed to salvage the end of the game after failing to convert on third- and fourth-and-inches from the Jacksonville 22 while up 27-19. Baker Mayfield — who also missed two throws into the end zone for the second straight week —threw behind Kareem Hunt on third down in the right flat, and then Hunt was stopped for no gain on fourth down to give Jacksonville the ball back at their 22 with 5:29 left.
“We need to be able to get that, bottom line,’' Stefanski said. “It’s inches. That’s disappointing. We have to have the mentality that if we’re going for it there, we have to get it.”
Stefanski considered kicking a field goal there, “but I just felt like the plays that we had would convert.’'
Instead, Glennon, who headed into his first start since 2017 ‘with nothing to lose,’ moved to the Browns’ 24 on the next drive, and the Olivier Vernon stormed in on fourth and 10 and drilled the QB in the helmet to earn a 12-yard personal foul to the Browns’ 12.
“Really disappointing that we can’t get off the field [there],’' Stefanski said.
It wouldn’t have been that close if Mayfield (19-of-29, 258 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 116.7 rating) had hit one of two clutch throws in the first half. For the second straight week, he missed a pair of throws into the end zone, this time a 5-yarder to a wide open Rashard Higgins in the second quarter and 6-yarder two plays later to single-covered Jarvis Landry at the left side. The Browns settled for a field goal for a 10-6 edge.
“We left a lot of points up on the board,’' Mayfield said. “There were a ton of missed opportunities just from my perspective, a lot of missed throws. I have to make those throws.”
Mayfield, who extended his streak without an interception to four games, explained that on the miss to Higgins, he looked high to Harrison Bryant before low to Higgins.
“I just need to put it on him earlier,’' he said. “The one to the left, the rollout there to Jarvis, just get it down. Plain and simple. I’ve made that throw 1,000 times. I’m always going to be critical of myself.”
Mayfield threw a 5-yard TD pass to Landry to make it 7-3 in the first, and a 9-yarder to Hooper to give the Browns a 17-13 lead with 1:10 left in the half. But their hopes for a double-dip — scoring at the end of the half and start of the third — fizzled when Joe Schobert forced Harrison Bryant to fumble on the first play of the second half. Glennon (20-of-35, 235 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) cashed in with a 2-yard TD pass to Tyler Eifert to make it 19-17 Jaguars early in the third.
“We knew they were not just going to roll over,’' said Chubb. “They’re a one-win team, but they’re a very talented team and very good. They were not going to have a wounded-dog mentality so we knew were going to get their best shot.’'
Stefanski compliment Mayfield’s game and defended the errant throws.
“I want him to make them all,’' Stefanski said. “Theres’ nobody that makes every throw. He does a great job of playing this game and makes an amazing play for us to win.’'
The game was a much-needed breakout for Landry, who’s been frustrated this with his lack of opportunities and has had some uncharacteristic drops this season.
“It’s definitely been a challenge for me,’' Landry said. “[I’ve had] that tough conversation when you’re winning and you still feel like you may not be getting the ball. I just made every play that I possibly could get my hands on.”
Chubb also came up big down the stretch, as usual. He ran for 104 of his 144 yards in the second half, and averaged 7.6 yards on his 19 totes. Hunt tacked on another 62 yards rushing and the Browns totaled 207.
“[Chubb] consistently makes plays when we need him to,’' Mayfield said. “He runs extremely hard. We lean on him, especially late in these games where we need these critical yards and these tough yards, to earn them.’'
The Browns also got a big game out of the embattled Sendejo, who made a big breakup in the end zone in the first quarter, and another on a deep ball on that final drive before catching the two-pointer. It was just what the Browns needed with Harrison out for the game.
“Dejo is a veteran,’' said Mayfield. “He’s a guy that blocks out whatever heat is on the outside because it truly does not matter. He comes and he leads. He is leading a young group of guys and continuing to show up for us.’'
The Browns, who hope to have Garrett and others back from the COVID-19 list next week, now have two huge games coming up against the 8-3 Titans and the 6-4 Ravens that will have huge playoff implications. The Titans rolled over the Colts (7-4) 45-26 on Sunday to help the Browns a favor in the playoff race, but they know they must play better in Tennessee on Sunday.
“As a team, we haven’t played a full-complete game yet,’' said Joel Bitonio. “We won some games and we’ve been in some battles and a lot of one-score games the last few weeks, but if we put it all together, I think it is going to be something special.”
Next
The Browns play in Tennessee next Sunday at 1 p.m.
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