Spencer German and Anthony Moeglin give their live reactions to the Brown's push into the playoffs against the New York Jets at home in the Dawg Pound.
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00:00 I'm going to give you a little bit of a recap.
00:12 >> What a night it was right here in Cleveland Browns stadium.
00:16 Behind me as the browns clinch a playoff berth for the second time in four years.
00:23 First time since 2020.
00:25 We had a full stadium with a chance to win and get in because we know 2020 the circumstances
00:33 surrounding that season.
00:35 Just completely unreal vibes around the stadium tonight.
00:40 Around downtown Cleveland tonight.
00:42 I'm half tempted when I get out of here just to stop at some of the bars just to see what
00:46 kind of is going on in downtown Cleveland tonight.
00:48 I'm sure it's a madhouse.
00:49 I'm sure it's a lot of fun.
00:51 The browns are going to the postseason and they're locked into at least being the five
00:55 seed when the playoffs start here in a couple of weeks.
00:58 >> Playoffs man.
00:59 There's going to be so much that you and I can talk about in terms of the game.
01:02 What happened on the field.
01:03 Joe Flacco, this defense.
01:06 David Njoku.
01:07 There's so many things.
01:08 But before we do that, I kind of want to just ask you, what was it like, man?
01:13 You were down there.
01:14 Obviously you're there right now.
01:15 It looks from where I was watching that it was out of control.
01:19 It looked like the perfect environment.
01:21 I was there in 2020 when there was 10,000 people in the stadium and it was a weird deal.
01:25 But this one was packed.
01:26 This one felt right.
01:27 >> So you were actually here in 2020.
01:29 >> I was.
01:30 >> You were one of the lucky few that got to experience it.
01:33 >> It was a Christmas and birthday gift.
01:36 All of my family were all born in the wintertime.
01:39 So my brother and sister and I all pitched in for my parents to do this birthday Christmas
01:44 gift and we were here.
01:46 And it was incredible.
01:47 It didn't hold a light to what you experienced tonight.
01:52 >> I mean, yeah, I think the crowd kind of said it all.
01:55 You had the Flacco chance, I think, from start to finish.
01:58 Even when things got a little interesting in a few spots, the Bronx had some turnovers.
02:04 They kept giving the ball up or going for it on four down and the Jets were kind of
02:07 hanging around.
02:09 There was that Jerome Ford fumble that wasn't a fault.
02:12 It was close and they reviewed it and said his knee was down.
02:15 It looked like it could have gone either way.
02:18 Even through all that, I don't think the stadium really lost a lot of their energy.
02:22 And I think honestly, that just speaks so much to this team being different than previous
02:28 Bronx teams.
02:30 I think this fan base in this city are so used to seeing, and there were so many moments
02:35 tonight where the game could have teetered and gone the opposite direction and the Bronx
02:38 could have crumbled.
02:39 I think the fan base has seen so many times over the last 20 plus years and they didn't.
02:45 And I think that also just speaks to the season as a whole, where you have a group of guys
02:48 who no matter what adversity they faced, all the turnovers they've had this season, all
02:52 the injuries they've had this season, they just keep on overcoming and they keep on finding
02:57 ways to win.
02:58 And in a game that they pretty much dominated, it could have been a lot different, but they
03:01 took care of business tonight and they're going to the playoffs.
03:04 I think it was a really cool atmosphere to see in person.
03:08 And obviously, it's the culmination of a lot of different things that have played out this
03:12 season and truly a testament to this team just being resilient as hell all season long.
03:18 Wasn't it funny, man, tonight was such a microcosm of the year, right?
03:21 You lose Amari Cooper in pregame, you don't have Cory Borges, you don't have Dustin Hopkins,
03:25 you don't have Anthony Walker, you don't have all these guys, and especially on the offensive
03:29 side.
03:30 And then Joe Flacco goes out and throws for 300 yards in the first half and you're like,
03:33 what on earth are we watching?
03:35 Holy cow, like this doesn't, there's no reason.
03:38 I wrote it, I wrote it right after the game.
03:39 There's no reason this team's above 500.
03:42 There's no reason that this team has 11 wins right now.
03:44 There's no reason that they clinched a playoff spot, but this team is exactly what Coach
03:49 Stefanski said in his post-game speech to the team.
03:53 This group gives a crap about each guy that stands next to them.
03:58 And you can tell it, it's evident out there.
04:00 They care about their brothers and they put it all on the line out there.
04:03 And when you have that, it doesn't matter what happens.
04:05 Any adversity doesn't mean anything.
04:07 You can get a win in any circumstance.
04:09 I also think too, this is a game that in the past, maybe fans would go into being like,
04:13 oh yeah, when you're in, we feel great about it.
04:15 But then when you're at the game, something goes awry and you're kind of expecting the
04:19 worst.
04:20 I thought they came out firing first drive of the game, which by the way, since Joe Flacco
04:25 has been the starting quarterback on this team, the Browns have scored an opening drive
04:29 touchdown in four of the five games that he started.
04:32 And I thought they made a statement.
04:33 Now the Jets went down and answered, but then the Browns going right back down the other
04:37 direction and answering again, I think sort of told the story of how this game was going
04:40 to go.
04:41 Yeah, they kept a minute.
04:42 They gave him some freebies and some chances, but I also felt in a year where turnovers
04:47 have been a problem and we can talk more about that because I do worry about that come playoff
04:51 time.
04:52 These better teams are going to take advantage of those things and you're not going to be
04:54 able to dig yourself out of those holes.
04:56 So that's probably something they need to address and fix when we get closer, once we
05:01 get into the playoffs.
05:02 But overall, like they, they turned it over on downs early in the first quarter and they
05:09 end up getting the interception for a touchdown immediately after that from Ronnie Hickman.
05:14 They fumbled it.
05:15 Jets go three and out in the second quarter.
05:17 They got, they threw a pick six.
05:19 So again, directly contributing to points, which we already have talked a lot about this
05:23 team giving up a lot of points off of turnovers this year.
05:27 And then they fumbled, they held the jets to a field goal.
05:28 So they also blocked a field goal coming out of the half.
05:33 So I just think like even in the spots where those moments did occur, it just seemed like
05:37 again, Testament to the whole season, they found a way to limit the damage or respond
05:43 in a resilient way, whether it was offensively or defensively getting a stop.
05:47 And again, it's, it's been these little stories in each of these games along the way that
05:52 have kind of told the big story of how this season has played out.
05:55 Yeah.
05:56 And, and to like within all of those storylines and all of those different drives and all
06:00 those different plays, it was different guys, each drive, right?
06:04 You know, David and joke who comes out early has 113 receiving yards in the first quarter
06:08 almost sets a new NFL record.
06:10 That'd been nuts to see, but then you get Jerome Ford catching the touchdown on that
06:14 drive Ronnie Hickman.
06:15 There's not enough good things to say about that young man, Ronnie Hickman, man, first
06:19 year guy, undrafted free agent.
06:21 They must breed them well down at Ohio state because he's come in and been just an absolute
06:25 force in the backend and, and it's, it's proving that he should be a guy, one of these guys
06:30 moving forward and just, there's different guys at every level, you know, making big
06:34 plays.
06:35 And it keeps going back to that team thing, man, this guy, this group just goes and plays
06:41 for each other and new guys step up each week, new guys step up each drive.
06:46 And it's just so special to watch.
06:48 Yeah.
06:49 I mean, David and Joe got a big game.
06:50 He was six for 134 yards.
06:53 I thought he was for sure going to score a touchdown.
06:55 So then I brought up pregame was that the jets have allowed the second most touchdowns
07:00 to tight ends this year.
07:02 So I kind of felt like that was a match that they could exploit and they did.
07:05 Joe Flacco was superb.
07:07 Again, Elijah Moore had a great game before the injury that kind of forced him out of
07:12 the game.
07:13 And he was, he actually had his second best game as a Brown, 61 yards receiving and the
07:19 touchdown that he had.
07:21 His previous best was that game against the Rams.
07:24 It kind of felt like they were trying to really force the ball his way.
07:27 I understand Amari Cooper was out.
07:29 So that was probably part of the course, but it looked like they were trying to get him
07:32 a touchdown and they did before he obviously got injured.
07:35 And I think that was certainly a nice sort of energy boost for him to score against the
07:40 team that I want to say they threw him in the trash, but that didn't think that he was
07:44 an important piece of their future.
07:45 Yeah.
07:46 What a cool moment for them.
07:47 And it really felt like he was, he was starting to get going.
07:50 You know, he was having a couple of nice catches, making a big play on third down, had a great
07:53 touchdown catch.
07:54 Then he suffered that ugly, ugly concussion and you hope that he's okay and will be available
08:00 moving forward.
08:01 But you know, that was ugly.
08:02 But one of the things that's been kind of a staple of these Flacco led offenses these
08:07 past five weeks, as we've continued to get used to them, is that the defense determined
08:12 where the ball is going to go.
08:14 And again, that was the same story tonight.
08:15 Seven different Browns had a catch in this evening's game.
08:19 And you know, obviously we can get stuck on guys, you know, getting a bunch of targets,
08:23 but David and Joku, six catches on eight targets, Elijah Moore, five catches on six targets.
08:28 Like they led the team in targets, both of those guys.
08:30 So the ball was getting spread around the field, going to the right guy at the right
08:34 time.
08:35 And that's what Joe Flacco does.
08:36 You know, he drops back and he's going to let the defense tell him where to throw the
08:38 football and he's going to get it there.
08:40 And when you do that, you know, guys are going to catch the ball in open space, ready to
08:44 make big plays.
08:45 Yeah.
08:46 I mentioned Flacco.
08:47 He's got 13 to 29, three hundred nine yards, three touchdowns, just one interception tonight.
08:50 A couple of stats here.
08:52 He has the most passing yards for a quarterback in their first five games with a new team.
08:58 I saw that was a stat that was put out.
09:01 Also, this one's honestly fascinating.
09:03 13 touchdown passes, which is more, which is as many or more than five teams have passing
09:11 touchdowns this entire season.
09:14 The entire season, he has as many as five teams or more.
09:18 I mean, that is insane.
09:20 And the Flacco fever, the Flacco magic, whatever the hell you want to call it, has continued.
09:25 And I think it has Browns fans feeling like as long as he's healthy and under center,
09:31 the sky's the limit with this team going into the postseason.
09:33 I have one more to add to that, to that touchdown stat.
09:37 And I know this isn't Steelers Digest, but in the five weeks that Flacco's played his
09:41 13 touchdowns ties Kenny Pickett's career 13 touchdowns, which is just a crazy.
09:46 Rob Saw in the wounds.
09:49 Rob Saw in the wounds, thanks.
09:51 They should extend him.
09:52 I think that they should.
09:53 Anyway, anyway, I digress.
09:54 Hey, by the way, speaking of the Steelers, first time this win, yes, it locks up the
10:01 playoffs, gives you hope that the Ravens lose on Sunday that you can still get the one seed.
10:07 But also, guys, this win guarantees that you'll finish ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers,
10:12 the Browns will for the first time since 1989.
10:16 Just so many different things we can rattle off that were impressive about this game,
10:19 this team and what they accomplished by making the playoffs at 11 and five.
10:24 And what I want to do is flip it over to the other side of the football, man.
10:26 This defense again, this wasn't their best performance and Bruce Hall was kind of getting
10:31 getting going a little bit.
10:32 And Trevor Simien actually looked pretty solid.
10:34 Garrett Wilson had a couple of really nice catches.
10:36 But this is a this is a group that, again, you give up 20 points to the Jets here, but
10:41 you take a pick six off the board, so you give up 13 points.
10:45 That's 13 points that they've given up in the last two games besides that besides that
10:50 stretch of backups that kind of faltered.
10:53 So this group has been just totally spectacular.
10:56 And you hear the news afterwards about what Miles Garrett's been dealing with this week,
11:00 which is so sad, just a great reminder to hug your people, hug your loved ones and give
11:05 them a kiss because you never know.
11:07 But just amazing, you know, the heavy heart that he's dealing with and he was able to
11:11 perform and Zedarius Smith gets a TFL or a sack, potentially, however, they're going
11:15 to grade that out.
11:16 JOK, again, awesome.
11:17 We talked Ronnie Hickman.
11:20 We haven't even talked about the lockdown on the lake, which is Denzel Ward, MJ Emerson
11:24 and Greg Newsome, who, again, were incredible tonight.
11:28 Just that defense.
11:29 I don't know what you do.
11:30 You know that.
11:31 And that's the reason why this team has 11 wins.
11:34 It starts on that side of the football.
11:35 We have four different quarterbacks, so much turnover on offense.
11:38 But that side of the ball has been the driver of this defense from week one all the way
11:42 to tonight, which is week 17.
11:44 It's been so awesome.
11:45 Yeah.
11:46 You mentioned Miles Garrett, too.
11:47 And then, you know, the heavy sort of information he dropped on us in the press conference room
11:52 tonight just about his the loss of the family.
11:56 And he mentioned like he didn't think he played his best game tonight.
11:59 He did break his sack drought.
12:01 He did have one sack tonight, made some other plays as well, had four quarterback hits.
12:07 So and he also get this.
12:10 He had a flag thrown against the he drew a holding penalty.
12:14 I'm going to say he drew a holding penalty in this economy.
12:18 He made it happen.
12:19 So, yeah, I think even with all that on his mind, I think he obviously played like generally
12:26 the miles Garrett that we're used to, even if he thought it wasn't the best.
12:28 And I'm sure from a defensive standpoint, they'd like to do some things better.
12:31 That's for sure.
12:33 You talk about Brice on the Jets run game.
12:35 Browns run game also was great tonight for the first time in a while.
12:38 127 yards, most since that Baltimore game in week 10.
12:42 So yeah, I thought there was a lot a lot to like on that side of the ball and the defense
12:47 side of the ball, even though they gave up the 20 points.
12:49 I know what was a pick six, like you mentioned, but just an all around solid, solid game.
12:55 And again, that has obviously a lot of meaning and impact.
12:57 I want to leave kind of with this question makes to get us out of here.
13:01 What is this when you think mean for both this team internally in the franchise and
13:06 just a statement of the direction that they're heading?
13:09 Because listen, let's face it like, yeah, there's all the stuff with covid in 2020 and
13:13 you didn't do it in front of the hometown fans and all this.
13:16 But also this was a night where you are the game on display, like the Browns are on full
13:21 display for the world to watch on Thursday, a football only game in town, if you will.
13:27 And you basically you made a statement to everybody like, hey, this Browns team were
13:30 for real.
13:31 We took care of business.
13:32 So what does it mean for the franchise from that standpoint and what to see and the way
13:36 the season is gone?
13:37 But also, what do you think it just means in terms of the fan base and how much it means
13:42 to them to see them get this win, see them walk on a playoff birth and see this team
13:46 go to the playoffs for the second time in four years?
13:48 Yeah, I think you hit it right on the head.
13:50 This was their opportunity and you couldn't have honestly couldn't have scripted any better.
13:54 This was their opportunity to show the world what we as fans kind of knew.
13:58 Right.
13:59 We knew that this Flacco thing wasn't fluky.
14:01 Right.
14:02 First couple of weeks you're like, is this going to end?
14:03 Is this just Cinderella?
14:04 And then you're seeing it.
14:05 We've been seeing it.
14:06 We're watching it every week.
14:07 And we know this isn't a fluky thing.
14:09 And we know that this defense isn't just good because they're playing bad quarterbacks.
14:13 They're a legit group and legit at stopping teams.
14:17 And also what you're seeing too, and what we knew is that the stadium you're in, the
14:22 place you're at, there's a legit home field advantage there.
14:25 And like you said, this was an opportunity to show the world you're going to hear a totally
14:29 different tune around this team tomorrow when it comes to the national landscape.
14:33 I mean, people are talking Super Bowl.
14:35 People are talking this and that.
14:37 But what we knew of this group is that they're resilient.
14:40 It doesn't matter who plays.
14:42 They care about each other and they play so darn hard.
14:46 And when you do that, I said this the other day, this is a group and this is a team that
14:51 sets up a franchise for a long while.
14:54 We talk about these Steelers teams and Flacco talks about the Ravens, how just well of an
14:58 organization that they are.
15:01 This is a team right here who went through a ton of adversity and came out, potentially
15:05 is going to have 12 wins.
15:06 All right?
15:07 You're going to have 11 or 12 wins in a season where you could arguably should have five.
15:11 You've been playing rookie and backup quarterbacks for forever.
15:15 So it just showed that this group is all about it.
15:19 This is a team that's legit.
15:20 They can run with anybody.
15:22 And mind you, from an X's and O's standpoint, the Jets had the number three defense in the
15:27 entire NFL.
15:28 We threw for 300 yards in the first half without our number one wide receiver and half of that
15:32 without our number two wide receiver.
15:34 So this offense can go.
15:36 We just showed the world that.
15:37 And you're going to hear some stuff tomorrow.
15:39 The narrative around this group is going to be a lot different come the morning.
15:42 I think they definitely made a statement.
15:44 I think they definitely showed the NFL.
15:46 This is not a team that you want to play necessarily in the playoffs because all the stuff they've
15:50 been through, it's, it's, it's callous.
15:52 Then they're a very callous team and that can be dangerous.
15:56 I know there's a lot of people talking about, you don't want to see the bills in the playoffs.
15:58 I think that's fair.
15:59 I also don't think you want to see this bronze team in the playoffs in the playoffs either.
16:03 So we'll get you out of here with this.
16:04 Just some final notes on the playoffs and the seed and how it all works from here.
16:08 The Browns are locked into at least the five seed in the AFC.
16:12 They cannot drop out of that.
16:14 They cannot, they can move up depending on some things that could happen this weekend.
16:17 So those scenarios, if the Ravens lose to the dolphins, there's still a life that the
16:24 Browns could become the number one seed in the AFC.
16:26 I know that sounds crazy to say and crazy to think, but they could be the number one
16:29 seed in the AFC.
16:30 If the Ravens lose this weekend to the dolphins and they lose next week to the Steelers, the
16:34 Browns would also have to beat the Bengals next week.
16:36 So that'd be an interesting conversation just about whether or not you want to rest guys,
16:40 not rest guys, depending on what happens in that Ravens dolphins game on Sunday.
16:44 But certainly some things that we'll have to talk about in the weeks ahead as we determine
16:48 what the branch may be doing, what the sort of playoff situation looks like.
16:51 But the Browns are one of three teams that do still have a chance to be the top seed
16:56 in the AFC, which is pretty remarkable things considered.
16:58 Well, that's going to do it for this first video.
17:01 We have plenty more coming your way.
17:02 We're going to talk about that rest question of whether or not Kevin Stefanski should give
17:07 some veterans a week off next week, even if they do have a shot at the one seed.
17:12 We're going to talk more about just this organization and Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski and the
17:16 team that they've built here in Cleveland and some other things as well.
17:19 You can find those over at the Browns Digest YouTube page.
17:23 But in the meantime, enjoy the win Cleveland.
17:27 Browns take it 37-20.
17:29 And as we said, they're on to the postseason.
17:32 Also finishing ahead of the Steelers for the first time since 1989 is a nice little feather
17:36 in the cap for you guys as well.
17:38 Enjoy the win.
17:39 Keep following along with all things Browns over at BrownsDigest.com.
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