Browns down Washington 34-20

CLEVELAND (AP) — For the first time in six years, the Cleveland Browns have a winning record.

They want to keep it that way. “We gotta start changing history and our legacies right now,” defensive end Myles Garrett said.

Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for two more, Garrett had a key sack and the Browns moved over .500 for the first time since 2014 with a 34-20 win Sunday over the Washington Football Team, which lost rookie defensive end Chase Young to a groin injury.

With their second straight win under first-year coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns are 2-1 for the first time since 2011. It’s also the first time they’ve had a winning record since Week 14 in 2014, when they were 7-6 before dropping their last three and costing Mike Pettine his job.

Cleveland had gone 90 consecutive weeks without a winning record. The Browns won just four games from 2015-17.

And while the start is notable, Stefanski downplayed its significance.

“We’re just trying to get to 1-0 every week,” he said.

Young, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, left in the second quarter with his injury. The former Ohio State Allamerican had an early pressure on Mayfield, but otherwise had little impact before he went out.

Led by Garrett, the Browns’ defense, which spent the week hearing about Young and Washington’s sack-hungry front, intercepted Dwayne Haskins three times and forced two fumbles.

Garrett’s strip sack and recovery midway through the fourth effectively sealed Cleveland’s win. He had a similar play last week in a win over Cincinnati.

“That is really what we expect from Myles,” Stefanski said. “I know he expects it of himself. We need him to play great, and when it turns into a pass-rush game, he is built for that. You get an honest day’s work out of Myles Garrett.”

Mayfield’s 3-yard TD pass to rookie tight end Harrison Bryant with 11:14 left helped the Browns shake off a horrid third quarter, when Washington (1-2) scored two TDS to take the lead.

Chubb then scored on a 20-yard run with 8:40 left to make it 31-20, the TD coming after linebacker B.J. Goodson intercepted Haskins.