Browns snap their 17-season playoff drought with 24-22 victory over Steelers to earn a rematch in the Wildcard in Heinz Field

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Factory of Sadness turned into the Factory of Gladness.

Long-suffering Browns fans and their team are going back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Browns, who finished the season at 11-5, made the playoffs for the first time in 18 years with a 24-22 victory over the Steelers on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

It was the longest active streak in the NFL.

Fans banged on the seats inside FirstEnergy Stadium and chanted “Pittsburgh Sucks.”

Baker Mayfield, who vowed that he could turn this team around if anyone could, cheered with the fans as he walked off the field.

Myles Garrett, who was captain for this game, ran over and patted Mason Rudolph after the game after their tortuous helmet incident from last year.

The Browns will now have a chance to do it all over against the Steelers (12-4) in the first round of the playoffs next weekend in Heinz Field. In that game, the Steelers will have have Ben Roethlisberger, T.J. Watt and other star players back.

“I am really proud of that football team. I am proud of the finish,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the win. “That is a team that battled some adversity through the week and through the game. Guys stepping up that did not know they were going to be playing, showing some resilience. I am really proud of those guys. I am really just happy for our fans. They deserve this. They have been waiting for, this and we are happy to deliver that to them. A lot of work left to be done, but I do want to make note of that.

“Also. want to make note that I gave a game ball out to Jimmy Haslam in there. Dee (Haslam) and Jimmy and the entire (Haslam and Johnson) family just have been so supportive of this group, and anything we needed in such a unique season, they have been right there. Really organizationally, just thinking about all of the people who have wanted this and wanted to taste this, I am really proud to be a part of this for them – people who have been with the organization for a long time, and they deserve this so I am happy for them.

“We achieved what we set out to do today – win and you are in – and we are in, but there is work left to be done. The goal was never just to make the playoffs. That is the message to the guys, and they understand that. I know we are going to play in this team again next week. We have a ton of respect for them, their coaches and their players. It is a first-class group that we are going to have to have a great week to get ready to play.”

Ahead 24-16 late in the fourth quarter, the Browns had a chance for some breathing room at the end, but they failed to get into field goal range. A fourth-down pass intended for Rashard Higgins fell incomplete, and the Steelers took over at their 35 with 3:37 remaining.

Mason Rudolph, who had already hit two passes of 41 yards in the game, found Diontae Johnson for 47 yards to the Browns 10. A few plays later, Rudolph threw a 2-yard TD pass to JuJu Smith-Smith Schuster to pull to within 24-22. But Rudolph’s two-point pass to Chase Claypool fell incomplete, and the 12,000 fans inside FirstEnergy Stadium roared like 68,000.

Browns tight end Stephen Carlson recovered the onside kick and the Browns put the game away when Mayfield converted a third-and-2 on a keeper.

Stefanski was asked if he could reflect on what the playoff berth means for him as a first-year coach and given all the challenges of the pandemic.

“I like this football team,” Stefanski said. “I like how this football team works, I like how they respond when their backs are against the wall. … We’ll save the reflection for much later.

“We’re in the dance but we have a lot of work to do this week, and we want to keep this thing going.”

Steelers pull to within 1, but the Browns wake up

Rudolph hit his second 41-yard pass of the game, this time to Claypool, to the Browns’ 36. It led to a 46-yard field goal that pulled the Steelers to within 10-9 with 8:29 left in the third quarter.

But then the tide turned for the Browns, and they remembered the playoffs were on the line.

Mayfield hit a wide-open Austin Hooper with a 2-yard TD pass on the left side of the end zone that increased their lead to 17-9 with 3:48 left in the half. Mayfield hit David Njoku with a huge 14-yard pass on third and 5 to keep the drive going, and then scrambled 28 yards up the left side to the 16.

KhaDarel Hodge caught a 10-yarder near the left pylon to set up the TD, and then the Steelers left Hooper wide open in the end zone.

M.J. Stewart’s big INT

On the Steelers’ next drive, cornerback M.J. Stewart picked off Rudolph on a third and 9 from his own 41 on a pass intended for Smith-Schuster. Browns rookie linebacker Jacob Phillips made the pick possible, crashing in on Rudolph to force the errant throw. It snapped a string of three straight games without a takeaway for the Browns. Stewart returned the INT 30 yards to the Steelers’ 20, and Jarvis Landry ran it in from the 3 on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 24-9. Hodge set up the TD with a 15-yard reception.

Olivier Vernon carted off with left ankle injury

Browns defensive end Olivier Vernon suffered what appeared to be a serious ankle injury with 10:18 left in the third quarter and was carted to the locker room. He suffered it on the Steelers’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive, and couldn’t put any weight on his left leg when he was helped off the field. He was the second Browns player lost for the game, including Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was checked for a concussion in the first half and didn’t return.

Steelers pull to 24-16

After Vernon left the field, the Steelers pulled to 24-16 on a 28-yard TD pass from Rudolph to Claypool, who was tightly covered by Terrance Mitchell.

First-half highlights

The Browns led 10-6 after 47-yard Nick Chubb touchdown run and a 23-yard Cody Parkey field goal. The Steelers got a 29-yard field goal and a 46-yard field goal out of backup kicker Matthew Wright.

Mayfield completed 7-of-15 attempts for 104 yards in the first half with no touchdowns and no interceptions for a 69.9 rating. He was sacked twice.

Rudolph competed 11-of-18 in the first half for 134 yards, with no TDs and no INTs for an 84.0 rating.

Peoples-Jones’ injury happened on the final drive of the first half when he leaped for a high pass over the middle and was drilled in the back by safety Sean Davis. He remained down on the field for a few minutes and was then escorted to the sidelines and to the locker room, where he was diagnosed with the the concussion.

Nick Chubb’s 47-yard touchdown

Chubb got the party started early by rumbling up the right sideline for a 47-yard TD on the Browns opening drive. Chubb made Tyson Alualu miss early, and then left safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the dust at about the 25 to find daylight.

Chubb went over 1,000 yards on the run — he needed 41 — and became the first Browns back to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons since Jamal Lewis did it in 2007-08. He accomplished the feat despite missing four games earlier in the season with his sprained MCL.

Chubb got the drive started with an 11-yard burst on the first play .

Last season, Chubb finished second in the NFL to Tennessee’s Derrick Henry with1,494 yards.

Mayfield to Higgins for 42

In the second quarter, Mayfield hit Rashard Higgins with a 42-yard pass down the right sideline, where he beat Cleveland native Justin Layne, who started the game in place of Joe Haden, who has tested positive for COVID.

Unfortunately for the Browns, they only got a 23-yard field goal out of the big play. Minkah Fitzpatrick broke up a pass to David Njoku on first and goal from the 4 and then Mayfield threw incomplete to him on third down.

Rudolph answered with a huge 41-yard strike to Diontae Johnson down the right sideline, where he targeted Jackson.

But the Steelers were forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal to pull within 10-3 with 4:10 left in the half after Adrian Clayborn pressured Rudolph into a third-down incompletion. They made it 10-6 on a 46-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the half.

The Steelers dialed up the pressure on their final two drives of the first half for possession-killing sacks on each of the those drives. The Browns took over at their 35 with 1:07 left in the half and a chance to increase their 10-6 lead, but blew it.

The first play was the high pass to Peoples-Jones over the middle that resulted in his concussion, and the second was a 10-yard sack by Alex Highsmith. They punted two plays later.

The victory came after a tumultuous and stressful week for the Browns.

Garrett was named captain for the game by Stefanski, but not because he was facing Rudolph again. Garrett hoped to be captain for the victory over the Cowboys Oct. 4 because he was born and raised there, but Stefanski chose Andrew Sendejo for that game instead.

When Stefanski made the announcement the Friday before the Cowboys game, Garrett asked him about it, and Stefanski gave him his choice of the rest of the games. He chose this one, long before he knew it would be a must-win game for the Browns, and long before he knew it would mark a rematch between him and Rudolph, who were involved in the helmet incident at FirstEnergy Stadium last season.

In the waning moments of the Browns’ 21-7 victory on Nov. 14 last season, Garrett ripped off Rudolph’s helmet and hit him over the head with it. Garrett later told ESPN Rudolph called him “a stupid N,” a charge that Rudolph vehemently denied.

The Browns had five players back for this game who missed a chance to help the Browns beat the Jets last week and clinch a playoff spot: receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and KhaDarel Hodge, and linebacker Jacob Phillips.

But they also had six players on the COVID-19 reserve list for this game in cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson, linebackers B.J. Goodson and Malcolm Smith, free safety Andrew Sendejo and tight end Harrison Bryant. Ward, Smith and Bryant tested positive on Thursday, and Johnson was placed on the list on Saturday.

Cornerback Robert Jackson, who played only on special teams this season, made his first career start in place of Ward.

But the Steelers were also a shell of the team that beat the Browns 38-7 on Oct. 18 in Pittsburgh. Pro Bowlers Ben Roethlisberger, T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, and Maurkice Pouncey all rested so that Mike Tomlin could “airmail them into the playoffs.’’ They didn’t even make the trip to Cleveland.

The Steelers were also without starting cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Eric Ebron and linebacker Cassius Marsh, who were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on Saturday. Haden tested positive for the virus, and will also likely have to sit out the first round of the playoffs next week.

Next

The Browns play at Pittsburgh next weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, at a time to be announced.

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Browns playoffs shirts, hats for sale: Here’s where Cleveland Browns fans can order shirts and hats celebrating the team qualifying for the 2020 NFL playoffs.

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