CLEVELAND — Winning on the road had been a struggle for the Cleveland Browns in recent seasons, but like several other streaks, that was something this year’s team broke with a 35-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on November 25.
And that game taught the Browns an important lesson, one they continue to employee as players and coaches prepare for their Saturday night prime-time game against the Denver Broncos in Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
“You always have to do the little things right,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said during his weekly press conference. “We have seen it firsthand. It is very important to do that, especially on the road.
“If a team gets momentum, especially on a Saturday night game prime time, the crowd will be into it. Both teams are fighting for a last playoff hope. We have to win out. All of those factors play into it. You have to do the little things right. Every game is going to be close. It comes down to doing the details.”
Prior to the victory over the Bengals, the Browns (5-7-1) had not won on the road since October 11, 2015, and that streak of 25 straight losses away from home was the second-longest in NFL history.
Additionally, it was the first time since Weeks 8-10 of the 2014 season that the Browns had consecutive victories, as they entered the game on the heels of a 28-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday, November 11.
“Old ways are out -- all of that stuff about not winning a road game, not having the open mindset or positive mindset about that,” Mayfield said. “We are going to go take that game. Who we are playing or where we are playing, we expect to win. That is how we have to approach it. That is the new culture that we are trying to bring, and that is how it has to be.
“We don’t care about the past. We hit the reset button. We are trying to play for now. It is not about what has happened in the past.”
Whether or not the Browns are able to remain in the playoff hunt with a win over the Broncos, over the final three weeks of the regular season, they want to establish “consistency” and further learn “how to win” games.
“If we did not turn the ball over and we just used the momentum within the game, and jumped on them, we could have put that game to rest early on,” Mayfield said of the win over the Panthers.
“We are just learning how to win, learning how to complete games and play as a team. Consistency and details is what it comes down to. Especially playing a team like Denver on the road, we have to do that. We have to be able to do that and check those boxes when we play on the road.”
