The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Back from bye, with eyes on playoffs
Walker: ‘We still have a shot’
The Browns, refreshed and energized after finally getting to enjoy their bye in the 13th week of the NFL season, are saying the same things they said after losing back-to-back games to the Chargers and Cardinals to slip to 3-3.
“We have to play better. We have to coach better,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said Dec. 6 on Zoom. “We have an opportunity and a big challenge right in front of us in Baltimore. The expectations for all of us are high, and that’s where they should be.”
The Browns, who host the Ravens at 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at FirstEnergy Stadium, were a .500 team after losing, 37-14, to Arizona and they are still a .500 team at 6-6. The difference is, instead of having 11 games to get things right, only five remain. But because the AFC is like a traffic jam when construction takes away two lanes of a three-lane highway, the Browns are still alive in the conference playoff race. In fact, they are in better shape today than they were before Dec. 5 games were played.
“We just have to focus on ourselves,” running back Kareem Hunt said on his Zoom call. “We still have to win. It doesn’t matter what the other teams are doing if we don’t come out and win.”
The Ravens lead the AFC North at 8-4. The Browns are two games behind Baltimore, one game behind Cincinnati (7-5) and a half game behind Pittsburgh (6-5-1) in the division. The Steelers beat the Ravens and the Chargers beat the Bengals on Dec. 5 to make the division race and wild-card race so tight that the Browns, currently 11th in the conference, are only a game behind the Bengals and Chargers, presently the holders of the sixth and seventh seeds in wild-card spots.
“We still have a shot,” linebacker Anthony Walker said. “We haven’t played our best ball, yet. We all know that. We’re still in the mix. It makes coming to practice a little more worth it. We understand that all of the goals that we had to start the season are still out in front of us. We just have to take care of business.”
The Browns host the Las Vegas Raiders six days after playing the Ravens, play in Green Bay on Christmas Day, play in Pittsburgh on Jan. 2 and host the Bengals Jan. 9. Each opponent has a winning record with the exception of Las Vegas, and the Raiders are 6-6.
General manager Andrew Berry was on a Zoom call last week and said he expects Baker Mayfield to play his best football in the last five weeks. Stefanski would not go down that road, but instead went the big picture route.
“I know you always want to make it specific to one player, but I just feel like for all of us, this is a big opportunity,” Stefanski said. “I think that (the Browns playing their best) is the expectation for all of us — coaches and players — of where we are in our season. We all understand what’s at stake and those types of things. We’re all looking forward to the challenge that we have in each one of these weeks starting this week versus Baltimore.”
Stefanski said he and the coaching staff spent the bye dissecting what worked and what didn’t work through the first 12 weeks. He again answered questions about using Hunt and Nick Chubb together, but he has had two years to pair the star running backs and it has happened very infrequently. So don’t expect any drastic changes now.
“Those are all things we talk about,” Stefanski said. “We want to make sure whatever we do is sound in thinking, sound schematically and those types of things. We just want to be mindful and intentional about why we’re doing it and what we’re doing. If you do something like that, you want to have a good reason to do it and put those guys in position to succeed.”
The Browns might have to go 4-1 or even 5-0 to make the playoffs for the second time in two years. That would be a tall order; they haven’t won backto-back games since they were 3-1 after the first four games.
Notes
The Browns designated linebacker Jacob Phillips to return from injured reserve. Phillips has been out since suffering a torn biceps practicing with the Giants in training camp. … Right tackle Jack Conklin underwent surgery to repair his torn patella tendon. Stefanski hinted Blake Hance might be out as Conklin’s replacement.
“Jack’s a great player,” Stefanski said. He’s an AllPro. A great person. We’re looking forward to getting our eyes on him when he gets back. He had his surgery, but that’s our job as coaches and players. It’s the next-man-up mentality, and then we have to make sure that we design a game plan with all of our players in mind. That’s what we are working hard on right now.”
Rookie James Hudson III is a candidate to play right tackle. Alex Taylor is a tackle on the practice squad.
• Long snapper Charley Hughlett is on the reserve/ COVID-19 list. Linebacker Mack Wilson would be the long snapper if Hughlett isn’t cleared to play, Stefanski said.