Week 17 instant reactions: Cleveland Browns end playoff drought
By Randy Gurzi
The Cleveland Browns end the drought with Week 17 win
This was the biggest game of the season for the Cleveland Browns as they hosted their biggest rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Week 17 with the playoffs on the line. And although they didn’t play a perfect game, they did what they needed to do in order to secure a win, and end the longest active playoff drought in the NFL.
Cleveland started out well, forcing a quick punt on the Steelers’ opening drive before getting to work on offense. They started that drive out with a run from Nick Chubb and finished with one from him as well. Chubb went for 11 yards on the first play from scrimmage and then finished the drive with a 47-yard touchdown to put the Browns up 7-0 early.
Cleveland then added three more in the second quarter as Cody Parkey knocked in a 23-yard field goal. That drive had another couple of good runs from Chubb but Rashard Higgins had the huge play as he caught a 42-yard pass to set the Browns up at the Pittsburgh 25.
It could have been more though as Baker Mayfield tried to force a ball to David Njoku even though Austin Hooper appeared to be wide open. He then tried to hit Njoku again on third down and while the big tight end did catch the pass, he was out of bounds by a couple of inches. Still, it was an impressive 10-play, 70-yard drive that put Cleveland up two scores.
Pittsburgh made it close after that, scoring nine unanswered to make Cleveland fans nervous. With very little going their way since the first quarter, the Browns offense finally found some rhythm. They scored with just under four minutes to go in the third quarter and then got a turnover on the ensuing drive for Pittsburgh. Cornerback M.J. Stewart picked off a pass from Mason Rudolph which led to a Jarvis Landry touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. That score made it 24-9 and put the Steelers away — barely.
As has been the case this season, the Browns defense allowed their opponent to get back into the game. Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns but came up short on the two-point conversion which left them trailing 24-22 to Cleveland. A scary onside recovery allowed the Browns to run the clock out and they got the huge, and nerve-racking, victory.
The win was huge as it means the Browns are not only going to finish 11-5 but will end their 17-year playoff drought. The excitement in Northeast Ohio will be through the roof all week but before we celebrate, let’s look back at some instant reactions from the Week 17 win.