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The postseason doesn’t officially start until next week. But when it comes to the Cleveland Browns, you better start now.
The Browns can guarantee a playoff spot for the first time in 18 years with a Sunday victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. They can also finish at home for the 18th consecutive year if they lose and other results are adverse as well.
For Baker Mayfield and the Browns, it is simpler to treat only the last week of the regular season as the first week of the playoffs.
“The mentality here is that we are in the playoffs, just a week before. It’s winning or going home, “said Mayfield, through Nate Ulrich of Akron Beacon Journal. “This is the mentality of our boys. We have the talent. We have the scheme. We just have to go out there and do it and do our job. And when we were successful this year, it happened.
“Everyone knows what it’s like to win or go home. There is no need to emphasize more. There is no need to add pressure. It’s just about us going and doing our job. “
The Browns would have won a playoff spot if they had beaten the New York Jets on Sunday. Along with the Steelers’ return victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the Browns would have secured a playoff spot. However, a handful of missing players – including four wide receivers – due to COVID-19 served as a major setback in the 23-16 loss to the Jets.
This defeat made the postseason far from a guaranteed thing for Cleveland.
COVID-19 problems forced the team’s facilities to close for a while on Wednesday, before the team could train at night. In its favor is the fact that the Steelers will start Mason Rudolph and play some backups to give some important players a break before the heats.
Regardless of the circumstances, Mayfield says he is ready for the challenge he faces: getting the Browns into the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
“I’ve had my back against the wall many times in my life,” said Mayfield. “I think I handle this kind of thing correctly.
“These are the moments you ask for. When you are little, you dream of playing the games where it comes down to having the ball in your hands and wanting to take care of business. “