CLEVELAND — At the end of September, the Cleveland Browns found themselves in first place in the AFC North Division, but a four-game losing streak dropped them to third in the standings and four games behind the front-running Baltimore Ravens.
At the midway point of the once-promising 2019 season, the Browns found themselves at 2-6, but they took a step in the right direction Sunday by fighting their way to a 19-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
“I think we showed that we can come out within a critical game when it is a tight situation and be able to make the plays we needed to,” Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said.
“We needed to have that. Moving forward, we know that we can do that. That goes a long way mentally for everybody in our locker room, but it is a singular focus. We are going to enjoy this win, but it is a short week. We are onto the Steelers.”
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Wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who had a game-high 97 yards on nine receptions, saw an increased “urgency and mindset” throughout the week of practice and saw it translate to the field, as the Browns had just one red-zone score over the final three quarters of play after scoring in a similar situation on their first drive.
“For me, I really just wanted to come in and do my part and make sure that every ball that was thrown my way, I caught,” Landry said. “Everything that I could do to help the team. I kind of flipped my mindset and I found energy from somewhere. I know that a lot of people feed off of that.”
The Browns had eight snaps inside the Bills’ two-yard line on their second drive of the game, but despite twice having the possession extended by pass interference penalties in the end zone on throws to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the offense could not push the ball across the goal line.
The Browns were stopped for no gain or lost yardage on five carries from running back Nick Chubb, had one incompletion, a ball that was batted out of the hands of Beckham Jr. in the end zone, and ended the drive with a turnover on downs.
“I know there were a lot of plays out there from every which way that we can go and look at the film, and this is just a starting point,” Beckham Jr. said. “Now, we can see how to correct those things or what it is that we needed to do.”
Although the Browns have a long way to go to get back into contention for the postseason, they are looking to use the win over the Bills as momentum, especially after breaking a three-game home losing streak and with two more games at FirstEnergy Stadium before their next road trip.
“Having a tight victory against a great team is something that we needed, especially at home,” Mayfield said. “Kind of getting the monkey off our back with that one. The first win at home in Game 9 isn’t something that usually happens, but it can get us going from here.”
Beckham Jr. added, “It’s just an amazing feeling. We needed that win bad and we needed that lifted off our back. It sucks to say -- we can enjoy right now, but it’s just one win. We play Thursday, and the next thing we know, we’ll be lining up against Pittsburgh.”