Cleveland can rejoice. Its Browns are headed to the playoffs for only the second time in 21 seasons.
The Browns delivered a 37-20 win over the New York Jets to clinch a postseason berth in front of their home crowd at Cleveland Browns Stadium on the Thursday Night Football national stage.
Joe Flacco, the Browns' fourth starting quarterback in this injury-riddled season, passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns, while David Njoku had six receptions for 134 yards on a night where Cleveland didn't have star wide receiver Amari Cooper (heel injury) and lost Elijah Moore in the second quarter due to a concussion. Running back Jerome Ford also produced two receiving TDs as the Browns (11-5) won their fourth straight game.
Cleveland did nearly all of its damage in the first half. The first quarter alone had Flacco connecting with tight end Njoku for four receptions toward 113 yards — 86 of those after the catch — as the 2017 first round pick more than stepped up in Cooper's absence.
By halftime, the Browns had roared out to a 34-17 lead behind Flacco's three TD passes — two of which were to Ford, the other to Moore. Kareem Hunt's 7-yard touchdown rush and Ronnie Hickman's 30-yard interception return for a touchdown also aided the Browns as they never looked back from that dominating first half, in which they simply imposed their will on the Jets.
Those 34 points during the first half — combined with the Jets' struggles on offense — were enough to ride out to the Browns' victory as each team managed a field goal in the fourth quarter as the only second half points.
While there's great concern over the Browns' receivers in Cooper and Moore, the Browns officially punching their playoff ticket was enough to celebrate amongst the Cleveland faithful tonight.
The Browns have clinched at least a Wild Card spot and still have an outside chance to win the AFC North and possibly the top overall seed in the conference with some help.
They'll visit the Cincinnati Bengals (8-7) to end their regular season next week.