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PITTSBURGH – Well JuJu, they’re not really the same old Browns anymore.
As if the Browns needed more motivation to walk into Heinz Field and beat the Steelers for the first time since 2003, Pittsburgh wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster disrespected them during the week, prompting them to play hair in fire and take away the ball. five times Sunday en route to a 48-37 victory over the Steelers.
In the end, they had knocked out Ben Roethlisberger – who threw for 501 yards – four times and won the turnover battle 5-0. He also threw four touchdowns.
The win – in their first playoff game since the 2002 season and their first playoff win since the 1994 season – saw them move to the divisional round next week to Kansas City against the defending Super Bowl champions Chiefs ( 14-2).
The game is Sunday at 3:05 p.m. on CBS.
The rash was carried out with their head coach Kevin Stefanski stuck in his basement with COVID-19 and having no sense of taste or smell, and special teams coach Mike Priefer, who was born in Cleveland and grew up a fan of the Browns, serving in the role of head coach. If all goes well, Stefanski will be back on the sidelines next Sunday in Kansas City.
“I really want to congratulate our fans. I’m one of them so I know what it means, ”said Priefer after the victory. “It was a great team victory. We played in all three phases, and it was a huge victory for our team and for our city.
How do we know Smith-Schuster’s words set the Browns on fire?
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett on Friday promised they would come out and prove him wrong.
Then about 4 and a half hours before the game, Baker Mayfield (3 TD, 0 INT) posted a message on Instagram, “Browns is the Browns,” an excerpt from the catcher’s inflammatory quote, in which he said, “They ‘Re still the same Browns that I have played every year. I think they are nameless gray faces. They have a few good players on their team. But at the end of the day… the Browns are the Browns. …. I’m just glad we’re playing them again.
“It wasn’t about that, in particular,” Mayfield said after the win. “It’s the same quote, yes, but we believe in the people in this room no matter what. … We knew that everyone counted us. We knew what a mentality we were going to have, and that was to free ourselves and give Him everything we had.
It doesn’t matter that the Browns are without four players – including starting left goalie Joel Bitonio and cornerback Denzel Ward – and four assistant coaches because of the virus.
They also lost right tackle Jack Conklin to a hamstring injury in the second quarter. And then Michael Dunn, Bitonio’s replacement who was raised from the practice squad on Saturday, was injured in the second half. He was replaced by Blake Hance, signed by the Browns last weekend from the Jets practice squad.
“Michael got injured and a guy named Blake I literally introduced myself to before the game got underway in the fourth quarter,” Mayfield said in a post-game interview with NBC.
The Browns, who had not won a playoff game since a 20-13 win over the Patriots in the wild card round after the 1994 season, entered the game with the “We want more” mantra and message. was loud and clear. that making the playoffs was not what they came for.
Garrett told the Steelers on Friday that “these guys are hungry, and we’re going to get it to them.”
And that’s exactly what they did, with Karl Joseph recovering center Maurkice Pouncey’s plane slam in the end zone in the game’s opening game to take it to 7-0 with just 14 seconds left. Take this, JuJu. Take that 17-game losing streak in Pittsburgh. Take this Big Ben, who was 23-2-1 against the Browns.
By the end of the first quarter, the Browns had scored an NFL playoff record of 28 points thanks to two more takeaways. One was an interception from MJ Stewart and a 30-yard return on their second practice that led to a catch and a 40-yard Jarvis Landry run for a TD; the other a Sheldrick Redwine pick on a tilted ball later in the quarter that led to an 8-yard Kareem Hunt that went 28-0.
But the Browns still had a takeaway in the first half, a Porter Gustin interception on a Vincent Taylor slap pass. The Browns, who had already lost Conklin by then, didn’t score any points on that third interception, but why go greedy, right?
The Steelers eventually arrived on the scoreboard with 1:44 left on a 1-yard run by James Conner, but Mayfield stormed back with a 7-yard TD pass to Austin Hooper to make it 35-7 before Chris Boswell only managed a 49-yard dash as time expired to reduce the deficit to 35-10.
The 35 points tied a Browns record for most points in any half of a playoff game.
Of course, no lead is ever secure in Pittsburgh or with Big Ben at the helm, and he threw two touchdowns in the third quarter, a 17-yard to Eric Ebron and a 5-yard to Smith-Schuster that reduced the deficit at 35-23 with 2:57 to play in the third, he could even have had Stefanski at the end of his sofa.
The Browns went three times on their next possession, but Mike Tomlin chose to clear a fourth and a 1 of his 46 in the opening game of the fourth quarter, a questionable decision. The Steelers were behind on the punt trying to get the Browns offside – and the Browns went for the jugular on the next drive.
Jarvis Landry caught two big passes, then Nick Chubb caught a short pass and scolded defenders for a 40-yard touchdown that went 42-23 with 12:32 left in the game.
But Roethlisberger pulled his way onto the field, completing a 25-yard pass to Smith-Schuster and a 29-yard TD pass to Chase Claypool at nearly 42-29 with 11:08 to go. The two-point pass failed.
Priefer pleaded with the Browns not to let the Steelers get back into the game in the second half, and they kept their foot on the accelerator until the very end. They threw a 24-yard field goal with 4:28 left to cap a 13-game practice and go 45-29.
Sione Takitaki knocked out Roethlisberger for the fourth time with 3:16 left, and the Browns went 48-29 before the Steelers came close to 11 with a late TD pass.
Stefanski set the tone for the week by reminding his players on Monday that “the 14 participating teams want to win a Super Bowl.” He had no idea he would test positive for COVID-19 the next day along with four other people and that he had to miss the game. But the Browns rallied around Priefer as interim head coach and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt as playtaker, and they brought him to the Steelers from the start.
Conklin made it clear that the Browns “want to win a Super Bowl and take it to Cleveland.”
Now they can keep trying to do just that.
Browns playoff shirts, hats for sale: Here’s where Cleveland Browns fans can order shirts and hats celebrating the team’s qualification for the 2020 NFL Playoffs.
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