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And what about Rashard Higgins’ fumble-touchback in end zone right before halftime? That was a 10-point swing. Wasn’t that targeting? Shouldn’t that be reviewable? The touchback rule is stupid, anywa —
Stop.
That’s not how the Browns operate anymore. Excuses are for losers. And though the Browns wore that label Sunday, they shed it this season.
So no more what-ifs and should’ve-beens. Only “we’ll be better.”
“It is the easy finger-pointing answer, but there are so many other plays we could have done,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said, referring to Higgins’ fumble. “Obviously, I did the cardinal sin and threw across my body in the middle of the field on the first drive coming out in the second half. We hurt ourselves in the first half, and they capitalized. That is what the good teams do, so they were better than us.”
“Just in talking to the team, it stings. We came here to win, and we did not get it done. There is a finality to that. We are going to be one of 31 teams that did not get it done. There is only one that does each season. That is where we are going to measure ourselves. Ultimately, that is what our charge is. We want to be the last team standing, and we were not. To say where we are in that whole group, I do not know. I know we did not get our job done today.”
“I am proud of this team. We have a bunch of fighters. We knew that we were going to have to weather the storm and we knew it was going to be close. In that close moment, we had to go take it, and we did not get it done. Again, we will share in that defeat, and it hurts. I feel for our guys because they battled. They fought, and I am not surprised because they have done it all season long.”
How did CBS do with its Cleveland Browns-Kansas City Chiefs playoff coverage? | Cleveland.com
Would have like to have heard / seen
Attendance. It’s getting rare to hear on a national telecast what the attendance is at games. Covid restrictions vary by state, and I’d to know what Missouri’s attendance limit is.
There has got to be an explainer at times of the sport’s nomenclature for the casual fan. Analysts routinely dropped in terminology like Romo did with “hot route” (when a QB changes up a running back’s route based on reading a defensive scheme) and “go route” (same as a fly route, where a receiver heads straight up field, no fakes or zig-zags).
Tweet of the game
I like the new chiefs uniform #CLEvsKC pic.twitter.com/f2PRFNu2XB
— don (@john_smith8) January 17, 2021
(It should be noted Kansas City was called for seven penalties vs. Cleveland’s three.)
Around the NFL
Tom Brady, defense propel Buccaneers past Saints for first NFC title game berth since 2002 season | NFL.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, New Orleans Saints 20
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Tom Brady to finally make a deep postseason run. That plan came to fruition Sunday as TB12 will play in his ninth championship game in the past 10 seasons. Brady is always the headliner, but credit for the Divisional Round win goes to Todd Bowles’ defense. The Bucs stuffed the run, bullied Saints receivers, and forced turnover after turnover after turnover. Tampa took advantage of Drew Brees’ inability to stretch the field, playing press on the outside to disrupt the quick-pass attack. When the D had a chance at a ball, it didn’t miss. Tampa picked off Brees three times and forced a fumble. The turnovers led to 21 points — all of Tampa’s TDs.
Chargers hiring Rams DC Brandon Staley as new head coach | NFL.com
The Los Angeles Chargers have decided on their next head coach — and they didn’t even have to leave their home stadium to find him.
The Chargers are hiring Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley as their head coach, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. The team later announced both sides have agreed to terms on a deal.
“It’s not just that Brandon possesses a tremendous football mind that makes him the ideal head coach to lead our team forward,” general manager Tom Telesco said in a statement. “It’s that he excels in the ability to effectively tailor, apply and communicate his concepts to players. It’s clear that Brandon will not be out-worked, he’s the football equivalent of a gym rat, and that has earned him the universal respect of the players he has coached throughout his journey.”
Marquise Brown: Ravens must ‘find a way to balance our game’ | NFL.com
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown called for some offensive harmony following the team’s Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“Whenever you’re the No. 1 rushing [offense] and the 30-something passing, that’s not right,” Brown told reporters on Sunday, less than 24 hours after his team’s season-ending loss. “That’s not balance. We have to find a way to balance our game. Even with our great rushing attack, we’ve got to be able to throw the ball and move it through the air.”
The Ravens posted a season-low point total in the 17-3 defeat, Baltimore’s second straight exit in the Divisional Round. In four playoff games the past three seasons, the Ravens have averaged 13 points per game while compiling a 1-3 record.
Bills’ Josh Allen: ‘Defensive game plan was executed to perfection’ vs. Ravens | NFL.com
The Bills were out of sorts offensively in the first half, so much so that they did not call a run play until roughly three minutes remained in the second quarter. They had only six yards on three carries in the half, two of the rushes belonging to Allen. They found greater balance over the final two quarters, with Allen finishing 23 of 37 for 206 yards with one score and no turnovers. Diggs repeatedly came up big with eight receptions for 106 yards and the game’s only offensive touchdown.
But Buffalo could get away with those struggles because the defense was on point. It gave up yards and allowed the Ravens to control time of possession in the opening half by a 2:1 margin, but it would not allow Baltimore across the goal line. In fact, the interception of Jackson, who finished 14 of 24 for 162 yards passing and gained 34 yards on nine carries, marked the first time the 2019 league MVP had been intercepted in the red zone in his career.
“The defensive game plan was executed to perfection,” Allen said in appreciation.
The same execution could be applauded of general manager Brandon Beane and McDermott, who were hired in 2017. They had a plan when seeking to rebuild a club that posted only one winning record in the 12 seasons before they arrived. The two did such a good job that some in the organization privately admitted last season that the team was a year ahead of schedule by making the playoffs. It showed in the form of the Bills blowing a 16-point lead in an overtime loss to the Texans in the first round.
In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs-Browns rapid reaction: A sequence to remember forever
From that lack of meaningful play, Henne entered a game on the complete opposite end of the spectrum — and he did enough to secure the victory. Henne’s 13-yard scramble set up a fourth-and-1 as the Browns had no timeouts under two minutes.
As daring as an NFL head coach could possibly be, Andy Reid sent Henne and the offense back out in a shotgun look — one that would lead you to believe the Chiefs would try to make the Browns jump offsides before calling a timeout. Instead, Henne snapped the ball with five seconds on the play clock — and Tyreek Hill caught a 5-yard pass and slid down in bounds as the 16,000 at Arrowhead erupted.
The win comes with an immediate question — will Patrick Mahomes be back in time for the conference title matchup with the Buffalo Bills? That will no doubt be the discussion point all week.
But for tonight — and forever — we have Henne and Reid and the wherewithal they possessed to go take the game... rather than having it taken from them.
A tweet to make you think
FACTOID OF THE EVENING:
— Peter King (@peter_king) January 18, 2021
The two quarterbacks who played the last division game of the weekend are older than all of the four head coaches in New York and LA.
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