The Cleveland Browns clinched only their third playoff appearance since 1999 with a comfortable 37-20 win over the hapless New York Jets.
“Pretty special night for this organization,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Pretty special night for the fans out there.”
In a typically Jets move they held Cleveland to just 61-yards after half time, but by that point they already trailed 34-17 and had conceded 367 yards.
BROWNS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT
Browns QB Joe Flacco was savouring every moment of an experience he had thought was only in his past. “You don’t know how many of these moments you’re going to get,” Flacco said. “I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life. It was special. This is obviously a unique situation for me, so I’ve got a lot of different emotions running through my head.”
Flacco was the Jets backup QB last year and threw a TD to another ex-Jet in Garrett Wilson. “He told me at the end of last season, he wasn’t going to be a backup. He was going to play and he held to that. Joe’s a great guy. The type of teammate you want. He deserves everything”, Wilson said.
Much like the Browns the Jets have had issues at QB, but they decided not to sign Flacco when he was a free agent and their season was falling apart. The Jets QB situation has been like a millstone hanging around Jets head coach Robert Saleh since Aaron Rodgers went down on the third play of the season.
Serious questions have to be asked about the future of Saleh as he has bounced between QB’s and didn’t seemingly even consider Flacco who was a free agent just 6 weeks ago. Careers can hang on such small things, and there can be no doubt Saleh has handled the situation appallingly.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 17 | 20 |
| Passing 1st downs | 10 | 9 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 6 | 9 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 1 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 6-16 | 5-10 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| Total Plays | 68 | 58 |
| Total Yards | 360 | 428 |
| Total Drives | 13 | 12 |
| Yards per Play | 5.3 | 7.4 |
| Passing | 253 | 301 |
| Comp-Att | 32-45 | 19-29 |
| Yards per pass | 5.4 | 10.0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 2-8 | 1-8 |
| Rushing | 107 | 127 |
| Rushing Attempts | 21 | 28 |
| Yards per rush | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 0-1 | 3-5 |
| Penalties | 12-74 | 4-26 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 2 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 1 | 1 |
| Possession | 31:51 | 28:09 |
For more like this, you can visit our NFL section here. Also, follow us on Facebook for coverage of the NFL and much more.