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1) Adam Gase is achieving a similar finish to Eric Mangini for the 2020 season. His previously winless Jets have now needed two games in a row to improve to 2-13, and can proudly beat their chests after playing soccer again. inspired against a team competing in the playoffs. Sam Darnold completed 50% of his passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, a timed trick play produced a touchdown for New York and the Jets combined to rush for 131 yards. There isn’t much information to gather about the Jets other than that they are certainly not falling apart (anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional in this league) and they still have a lot to do even if they do. He is likely to play for a new coach in 2021.
2) The Browns (10-5) became the latest team to take a major hit from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and it showed on Sunday. On Saturday, the Browns lost all four of their top receivers to close contacts from a positive COVID-19 test, as well as two starting linebackers. Left tackle Jedrick Wills was ruled out due to illness, and Cleveland was forced to start rookie Nick Harris at right guard in place of the injured Wyatt Teller. The team’s flight to Newark was delayed more than four hours due to the late positive COVID-19 test and follow-up contact that followed, and the team was forced to deploy a lineup that included the player from the practice team. Ja’Marcus Bradley and the recent addition of Marvin. Hall as his two main receivers. Unsurprisingly, the Browns offense struggled mightily, delivering the ball twice and a third time on attempts with the game on the line. Cleveland made just 6 of 15 third-down attempts, threw the ball 53 times and ran for a total of 45 yards on 18 attempts. Some will criticize Kevin Stefanski’s choice to throw the ball 53 times and at the same time have one of the best backfield tandems in the NFL, but when the Browns ran the ball, they didn’t do much. The absence of Teller and Wills undermined Cleveland’s running game ambitions, and when they faced a multi-touchdown deficit, they had no choice but to air it, and it just fell short. Fans may cry over Cleveland’s COVID-19-related roster losses, but they are not a victim in this case. The league spent a lot of time crafting, implementing and updating a strict COVID-19 protocol to give it the best possible chance of completing a season amid the pandemic, and teams are expected to follow those guidelines. Some have not done so and have been punished accordingly, either through fines or loss of draft picks. The Browns took their initial losses by leaving the players at home isolated, a situation that could have been avoided entirely if they had followed protocol correctly. They are not finished in 2020 yet, but if the playoffs are missed due to this loss, they will only be to blame.
3) The what-if game is the only thing left to comfort Browns fans, who will spend the next week enduring the pain of a terrible loss in a crucial situation. Cleveland can still make the playoffs by beating Pittsburgh in Week 17, but that won’t be an easy task even after the Steelers clinched the AFC North title. The twice-a-year meeting between the two teams has turned into an energetic one since Cleveland rose from the basement of the division, and the Steelers may come into Week 17 proud of their division crown and their win over the Browns earlier. of this season. It will be interesting to see how Mike Tomlin approaches the week, because he is presented with one of two options: resting his starters before a playoff game at home, or sending the Browns packing in the most disappointing way to finish their best. season in 13 years. . One thing is for sure: Many eyes will be on FirstEnergy Stadium next week, and the life of the Browns in the playoffs depends on it.
