CLEVELAND, Ohio – Kareem Hunt was dismayed by the Browns’ mediocre performance in Sunday’s 23-16 loss to the Jets, and wants the team to step up on Sunday against 12-3 Steelers.
If the Browns win, they are in the playoffs. If they lose, they have to wait for the Colts to lose to Jaguars 1-14 or for some other scenarios to unfold.
“Now let’s go to the Steelers,” said Hunt. “We have to come ready to play as if it were a playoff game. It is that time when everyone is important from now on. “
Hunt, who ran for only 11 yards on four loads, indicated that the Browns are determined to leave the poor performance against the Jets behind and do whatever it takes to reach postseason for the first time in 18 years. The Browns, who dominated third place in the fast attack, with 152.6 yards per game, ran for a total of 45, including 4 in the first half.
Nick Chubb managed only 28 yards on 11 loads with a long win of 16. The two backs ran for a TD in the second half, but the exit was certainly not what the two Pro Bowlers expected of themselves, even with the Browns losing the left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and right guard Wyatt Teller in that game.
“We are not happy,” said Hunt. “We are never happy after losing a football game. We will learn from this and come together as a team. Let’s go to the next game. Improve.”
On a day when the Browns had their top four receivers on the COVID-19 list as close-by high-risk contacts from linebacker BJ Goodson, Hunt only touched the ball seven times, hitting 3 of 5 targets in 41 yards in addition to his 11-yard run. .
If coach Kevin Stefanski had chosen to use Hunt more as a receiver with Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge from the outside, he would have given everything in favor.
“Definitely,” Hunt said. “Whatever it takes to win the football game. I feel like an ace when I put the ball in my hands, so whatever the cost ”.
With the Browns averaging just 0.4 yards in the first half on nine shipments and falling back 13-3, they went further into the air, with Baker Mayfield playing a career record 53 times. But he completed only 28 of those attempts (52.8%). This included just 12 of the 26 targets combined for tight end Austin Hooper (7 out of 15 targets for 71 yards) and receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley (5 out of 11 targets for 60 yards), who was called up from the practice squad on Saturday.
Stefanski, who counted seven takedowns in the game, probably would have done better getting more touches from Hunt and throwing the ball more at David Njoku (4 out of 4 to 26 yards) – two players with whom Mayfield is familiar – on a day when his Favorite targets were at home on the couch.
But contact tracking ended so late on Saturday – and the flight to New Jersey didn’t take off until 7:00 pm – it was too late to draw up a brand new game plan, with no time or place to install it. An inspection in the hotel garage at 8:15 am on Sunday would not solve it.
“Regarding those guys (Chubb and Hunt) on the pitch together, that was not something we could change at the wholesale end of the game,” said Stefanski. “There are times when we put them together on the pitch and we will always explore these opportunities because they are two very good football players. We’ll see how the game plan will work out today, but it just didn’t seem fair to put Kareem in a bunch of short-term drills. “
Stefanski acknowledged that a little more time to adjust the game plan would have helped, “but I want to reiterate that that’s not why we lost yesterday. We were defeated. I was defeated. We have to be better. We had the players we needed to win that game, but we couldn’t. “
Stefanski noted that the plan was certainly not to have Mayfield shoot 53 times without his first four recipients in the game. But they had some success with a fast-paced game in the second half and rolled with it, to the sound of 13 consecutive points.
“In the second half, that’s where the game was while we were moving the ball, and we reached two minutes at the end of the first half,” he said. “We feel confident in the plan and confident in tight ends and running backs. Wide receivers did very well. We just didn’t make enough moves. You go into it with a plan and then you have to be ready to spin and adapt based on what they are giving you. “
Hunt acknowledged that the loss of the first four receivers and Wills may have shaken the offense.
“I could, but things are different now,” he said. “We have to find a way to win football games with whoever we have. I would say that I’m not sure. “
He also believes that Mayfield will recover from his three fumbles, two in strip-sacks and one in a quarter and a sneak with 1:18 left on Jets 16 that made him say “I failed this team” after the game.
“Baker is my brother,” said Hunt. “It’s definitely not all about him. There are many things that many people could have done better. There are some things that put us in that situation. Honestly, he’ll protect me, no matter what, so I’ll have his too. I believe in him to recover. I believe that we will all do it because it is not just him; is in the whole team. It’s in everyone. “
Hunt, one of the few Browns who played in a playoff game, knows how intense Sunday will be if the Steelers – who won AFC North on Sunday – don’t rest their holders. As a rookie, Hunt ran for 42 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 22-21 defeat as a wild card for the Titans, after they led 21-3 at halftime.
“We have to start fast and be ready to play, ” he said. “It is a good football team. We know that. We have a lot of respect for these guys. They come ready to play. I just need to go out there and play our football. “
Hunt believes the Browns are a much better team than the one that was crushed, 38-7, by the Steelers in Week 6.
“We had a lot of time to start solidifying as a team, ” he said. “We won some great football games. I believe that we can compete with anyone. “
He acknowledged that getting the receivers back this week will be huge.
“We are looking forward to it for sure, ” he said. “These guys are great game creators for us. I never liked getting into a game without faces like that. We will be delighted to welcome you back next week. Still, let’s get back together as a team and find a way to win. “
He’s also looking forward to putting Teller, the NFL’s # 1 guard according to profootballfocus.com, back this week, if his ankle sprain allows.
“We really missed him,” said Hunt. “Wyatt is a great offensive striker, a tough guy and he brings that. We could definitely use everyone. “
In addition, Hunt, who had hoped to run 1,000 yards this season but has only 804, plans to “go into a playoff mentality as if we are going into the playoffs and every game is about winning or going home”.
“My emotions are to get back on track and get a victory. It would mean a lot to this city, to this program and to everyone. That is the goal, and after that, find a way to get another one. “
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