‘Us against the world’ mantra is motivation

No matter how the playoff game between the Browns and Steelers on Jan. 10 ends, one thing is certain: Despite everything they’ve gone through the last two weeks, the Browns are not going to curl into a fetal position and let the Steelers kick them around.

Kevin Stefanski won’t be involved in gameday coaching because he tested positive for COVID-19. Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio will be back home and not at Heinz Field because he tested positive.

The team couldn’t practice normally Jan. 6 or 7 because the training complex was closed while the NFL conducted contact tracing to determine the source of COVID among Browns personnel.

Defensive end Olivier Vernon is out with a torn Achilles. Chris Hubbard and Nick Harris, who would be behind Bitonio at guard, are injured.

The Browns might not know until game day whether cornerback Denzel Ward can be activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Safety Ronnie Harrison tested positive for COVID on Jan. 7.

Offensive line coach Bill Callahan and assistant offensive line coach Scott Peters tested positive for COVID-19 and are unlikely to be in Pittsburgh.

Everything is working against the Browns but their attitude.

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods believes not having Stefanski on the sideline will galvanize the team — not paralyze it.

It is ironic, Stefanski has done such an excellent job of changing the culture and focus of the team in one season that now they feel confident they can succeed without him being present.

“I think it will,” Woods said on Zoom. “He’s been so steady. His message to the team has been consistent. It’s always about not making excuses. The guys understand that. It’s been preached all year. It’s just the next thing that we have to deal with.

“He’s preparing us well. Coach Priefer (acting head coach Mike Priefer) will take over and do a nice job, and I think the players will go out and just really believe in the message that he’s been sending and play as hard as they can to see if we can get a win.”

The Steelers beat the Browns, 38-7, in October. The Browns beat Pittsburgh, 24-22, on Jan. 3 to clinch a playoff spot, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin rested quarterback Ben Roethlsberger, center Maurkice Pouncey, edge rusher T.J. Watt and defensive tackle Cam Heyward in that game so they could be fresh for the playoff game.

Even dismissing the obstacles facing the Browns because of COVID, beating the Steelers is Pittsburgh is daunting. The Browns haven’t won in Heinz Field since Tim Couch authored a 33-13 “Sunday Night Football” miracle in 2003.

Pro athletes are fierce competitors to begin with. It sounds corny, but the good ones truly embrace the “us against the world” challenge.

Anyone who thinks Nick Chubb isn’t going to fight for every inch of grass, or Landry won’t fight for every ball thrown his way, that Myles Garrett won’t do everything he can to take down Roethlisberger or that Baker Mayfield doesn’t want the last laugh doesn’t know what these Browns are made of.

After being 0-16 three years ago, to finish 11-5 this season and have to win the last game to make the playoffs — now is not the time to step off the mountain no matter how steep it has become.

“Nobody expected us to make the playoffs,” Jarvis Landry said. “Nobody expected us to win 11 games. Nobody expected for things to be turned around here in Cleveland — no one. I say that to say, yeah, I guess in a sense it is some added motivation, but I think that’s something that we’ve all internalized and kind of always kind of felt.”

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will call plays in the playoff game. Stefanski, who has kept the team focused throughout, joked Van Pelt will call a better game than he does.

“I put my finger on a chart, and I read,” Stefanski said Jan. 6 on Zoom. “That’s not very hard. AVP can definitely do that much better than I can. AVP has been a huge part of our offense’s success. He’s a huge part of play calling. I may be the one sending it in there, but there’s a ton of dialogue occurring between me, AVP and the rest of the offensive staff.

“He knows the things that we believe in. He knows how we play. He spends every waking moment with the quarterback, which is important when you are talking about trying to get him in a rhythm, comfort level and those types of things. I have a ton of confidence in AVP’s ability to get the job done.”

The Browns on Dec. 27 lost to the Jets, 1-13 at the time, because they were not prepared for what smacked them in the facemask the day before the game. Wide receivers Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge were added to the reserve/COVID-19 list 24 hours before kickoff.

The Browns have grown since that loss to the Jets. We are going to learn soon enough how well they handle adversity against a much better opponent in a much bigger game.

From the outside looking in, the Browns are poised and ready.