EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ –Baker Mayfield, playing without all his initial receiving body because of COVID-19 and two of his attackers, fumbled three times against the Jets and the Browns lost 23-16 on Sunday to fall to 10-5 and miss a chance to secure a playoff spot.
The Colts lost to the Steelers, which would give the Browns a chance to secure their first playoff spot in 18 years.
But it was not so.
Mayfield fumbled for the third time in the game with 1:18 remaining and a chance to tie the score or win the game. He was trying to win the first loss in a quarter and a sneak quarterback when he absorbed a backstroke and fumbled. Kareem Hunt recovered and made the first down, but, as a rule, in the last two minutes of the fourth period, only an offensive player with difficulty can advance the ball. The referees located the short ball and handed it to the Jets.
The Steelers also cliched on AFC North, so that too is out of the question, and the Browns’ playoff chances have decreased dramatically. They can enter with a victory over Pittsburgh next Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Mayfield was fired for the second time in the game with 3:14 remaining and the Browns losing 20-16. Facing a crucial third to 6 in his 15, Mayfield fumbled as he looked out over the field and the Jets recovered in the Browns 17.
The Browns’ defensive side, Myles Garrett, took great advantage in a crucial third downhill, facing Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and forcing him to an incomplete pass.
The Jets kicked a 34-yard field goal to increase their lead to 23-16, and the Jets started off the field to start the Browns in their 40s. They marched all the way to the Jets’ 16, but Mayfield’s fumble in the goalkeeper ended Cleveland’s hopes.
The Jets returned in 16 seconds with 40 seconds remaining.
The Browns entered the game without six players who made it onto the reserve list for COVID-19 on Saturday and one on the left holder Jedrick Wills Jr., who was dropped for the game on Sunday because of an illness. Wills, who was deactivated on Saturday by the COVID-19 reserve list as a close contact, flew separately to the game on Saturday night as a precaution. He tested negative again for COVID-19 on Sunday morning.
Players added to the COVID-19 reserve list on Saturday were recipients Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge; and linebackers BJ Goodson and Jacob Phillips. Goodson tested positive for the virus, and the other five players were identified as close contacts at high risk.
Goodson will also have to be absent from next week’s regular season final against the Steelers, but the Browns hope to have the other players back in the building on Thursday.
The Browns were forced to cancel their inspection on Saturday, when Goodson tested positive and they closed their premises.
Jets reach 20-3, but browns approach 20-16
The Jets scored on their first stroke of the second half in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Jamison Crowder for a 20-3 command with 10:26 remaining in the third quarter. The move was hampered by coverage by the Browns, who left Crowder open on the right. Crowder also picked up another 25-yard on the 75-yard road.
But Sheldon Richardson blocked a 50 yard field goal with 5:41 remaining in the third to keep the score at 20-3. Before, he blocked an extra point.
Mayfield then passed his way on the field to close to 20-10 in a 1-yard run through Chubb with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter. The trip included 15-yard passes for Chubb, 22 for Ja’Marcus Bradley and 9 for Hunt. Mayfield also converted a third and one with a 4-yard run.
The defense forced a 3-and-out and Mayfield returned to the field and placed another touchdown on the board, this a Hunt 4-yard run that made the 20-16 with 12:38 remaining in the game.
Unfortunately for the Browns, Cody Parkey hit the right on the right on the extra point, his second extra point missed in a few weeks. Parkey also missed a 48-yard field goal last week in a 20-6 victory over the Giants.
First half highlights
The Browns were down 13-3 at halftime, after punter Jamie Gillan missed his chance to score a 61-yard field goal when time was up.
The Browns ran a total of 4 yards in the first half on nine shipments, including six from Chubb. It was the smallest number of yards in the first half since 2015. The Browns also managed only 103 yards in the first half.
The Browns opened the scoring in a 44-yard Parkey field goal with 9:26 remaining in the first quarter. The Browns were forced to settle for the field goal after a failure of communication between Mayfield and Harrison Bryant on a third pass to 14.
Borrowing a page from the Landry package, the Jets climbed 7-3 with 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 43-yard pass from Jamison Crowder to Braxton Berrios. It’s the kind of play that Landry performed beautifully for the Browns this season.
In the first play of the second quarter, Mayfield was fired in his own territory and the Jets recovered and returned the ball 8 yards to the Browns’ 30. Four moves later, Darnold fired an 11-yard laser at Chris Herndon to increase the Jets’ lead to 13-3 with 13:33 remaining in the middle.
The Browns showed a pulse in their next race and marched to Jets ’31 – partly because of a tough passer call against Folorunso Fatukasi – but Mayfield was fired for the second of three times at halftime to prevent the race.
The Browns thought Garrett forced Darnold to fumble in the second half when he hit the arm, but was considered incomplete. The Browns, who recovered from the possible disaster, challenged and lost.
Next
The Browns host the Steelers on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
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