CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have earned a spot in the playoffs.
On Thursday night, under the primetime lights, the Browns faced a win-and-in situation. With a 10-5 record entering the game against the Jets, Cleveland needed just one more victory to clinch their spot in the postseason. They did it with a 37-20 victory over New York.
It was a long road for the Browns to make it to this point of the season. With the brutal Week 2 loss of Nick Chubb after his season-ending knee injury and the loss of starting right tackle Jack Conklin in the season-opener, an unfortunate trend began for the Browns. Injuries continued to plague the team as the weeks went on. Tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and standout rookie Dawand Jones were lost for the year at different points this season.
A rocky start for quarterback Deshaun Watson also saw some question marks about what this team would be capable of. But Watson started to play well against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3—a game that saw him injure his shoulder, an injury that sidelined him for several weeks and play through in the win over the Cardinals before being placed on injured reserve for season-ending surgery.
With the injury to Watson, the Browns quarterback carousel began.
Backup P.J. Walker got some starts. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson did, too. But when Watson was officially ruled out for the season, the Browns decided to find a veteran presence. They called Joe Flacco, who was a free agent waiting for a team to pick up the phone. A workout later and Flacco was on the practice squad. He became the Browns' fourth quarterback to start this season after Thompson-Robinson sustained a concussion in Week 12.
The Browns defense has been its strength for most of the season. The disruptive force of defensive end Myles Garrett, paired with the additions of Za'Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst II and Ogbo Okoronkwo on the line this year, has shown the front that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had promised. The linebackers have been led this season by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. That's not to mention the strong play from the secondary, with lockdown outings from corners Greg Newsome II, Denzel Ward, and MJ Emerson and big-time plays from Grant Delpit.
But the defense had more than its share of injuries as well.
From Hurst, Ward and Delpit to Juan Thornhill and Rodney McLeod Jr., since the start of the year, defensive players have been out of the mix with injuries left and right.
Entering the Jets game, even special teams got hit by the injury bug. Kicker Dustin Hopkins was ruled out with a hamstring injury that has him considered "week-to-week" with Riley Patterson signed and started on the short week. Punter Corey Bojorquez was dealing with a quad issue, so the Browns signed and turned to Matthew Haack for the primetime game.
But despite all of the injuries and despite all of the adversity that came with them, the Browns continued to fight.
Kardiac Kids 2.0 of sorts, the 2023 Browns pulled through in down-to-the-wire games. Fans have found themselves on the edge of their seats, hoping for the Browns to get the defensive stop to seal the game, hit the walk-off field goal, or complete the final game-winning touchdown drive.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski has put his team in the position to win all season long—and the Browns have found ways to win all season long. Before Thursday's game, they'd done it 10 times. They entered the game with a 99.2% chance of making the playoffs.
It's been three years since the Browns broke the 18-year playoff drought. Three years of fans knowing the Browns had the potential to get back to the postseason. The Browns are playoff-bound once again. Now all there's left to do is make a run.
PHOTOS: Browns clinch playoffs with primetime 37-20 win over Jets
