Cleveland, OH

‘He’s playing chess’: Inside the Browns’ decision-making on final drive in win over Colts

Published

10 months ago

October 23, 2023

‘He’s playing chess’: Inside the Browns’ decision-making on final drive in win over Colts

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If it was up to Wyatt Teller, the Browns’ final drive in their thrilling 39-38 win over the Colts may have played out differently.

He’ll be the first to admit — it’s a good thing that wasn’t the case and the final call is made by head coach Kevin Stefanski.

“It was kind of one of those moments we were all like, what are we doing? Let’s run the ball,” Teller said on Monday. “And then all of a sudden we’re like, ‘Oh, okay. That’s why they’re paid the money and we’re not a player-coach.’ Because obviously he’s playing chess while we’re like, it’s just checkers.”

While Teller wanted to run, Stefanski was thinking the exact opposite: There was no way Cleveland was going to run the ball before fourth down, after improbably making its way to the Colts’ 1-yard line with just 33 seconds to play and trailing 38-33.

Colts safety Darrell Baker Jr. was called for an illegal contact a couple of plays earlier on the drive, a call that negated a strip-sack and recovery by Indianapolis on third-and-4 that would have ended the game. Instead, the Browns had a first down at the Colts 8. Then, another break, again courtesy of Baker. The very next play he was flagged again for pass interference against Donovan Peoples-Jones, moving the ball to the 1.

The Browns at this point had no timeouts left, a key point to remember

On first down, P.J. Walker threw a pass David Njoku in the back left corner of the end zone that hit him in the hands. but was knocked away — a play that probably should have been a catch. Near the sideline after that one several players were begging to run the ball. Right tackle Dawand Jones rose his arms to indicate how close they were to the goal line. Teller pleaded his case to Stefanski.

“I ran over there,” Teller said. “Even though he had the same mindset as me, he was like, ‘We’re going to run 13-blasto or whatever. Don’t worry, Wyatt, we’ll pull you, we’ll get you your hit. Don’t worry.’ But at the same time, it looks risky, but at the same time, P.J. was making smart throws.”

Stefanski, however, held firm — even though it was still a difficult call.

“Those four plays took years off my life,” Stefanski joked. “I’m sure (like) everybody else.”

There was a lot that went into Stefanski’s thought process. He wasn’t exactly set on only trying for a score on fourth down — but this is where that lack of timeouts really came into play. He told reporters after the game he didn’t want to run early on the drive and leave those valuable seconds on the clock ticking down and Browns players still trying to line up.

So instead, they went to Walker two more times first.

On second down, he and Njoku failed to connect again, this time on a shovel pass, and on third down, Walker threw incomplete to Elijah Moore.

Stefanski then got the fourth down call he was looking for.

“I knew our fourth-down call was going to score if we got to it, quite honestly,” Stefanski said. “But I just didn’t feel comfortable with the thought of a first-down, a second-down or a third-down play that was going to not get in and then chew off valuable time. So felt confident in the plays we called and ultimately executed that last one.”

On that final play of the drive, Kareem Hunt took the handoff from Walker, stayed firm on the ground, and pushed his way through the Colts’ defensive line just behind a key pulling block from Teller, who went from the right side of the line to the left to lead the way for the running back.

“I see Wyatt pulling around in there and I’m like, alright Wyatt, it’s me and you,” Hunt told reporters after the game. “I’m just going to put my head down and just try to find a way to fall for a yard.”

The gamble paid off.

The Browns took a 39-38 lead to cap the win, thanks to Stefanski’s decision-making on the sideline, and a key one by Hunt in that moment.

“We got into that goal line run and Kareem, who usually jumps, leaves his feet to jump across the goal line, stayed down, stayed low, and tried to plug himself for an extra yard,” Teller said. “So I appreciate that.”

The other thing Teller appreciated about the call? What it showed about the team’s perception of the offensive line.

“To run the ball on that fourth down, it shows that he had faith in the offensive line,” he said. “It was a little closer than I’d like, but if you execute those plays, those are the ones you remember.”

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Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

7 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…

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Cleveland, OH

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

Published

14 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – One man is dead after a shooting following reports of a large fight on the east side, according to Cleveland Police.

Police got reports of a large fight around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in the 1000 block of East 71st Street.

While officers were en route, they learned that two people were shot.

Police located a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who were both shot, according to a release.

Both of the men were taken to the hospital by EMS.

The 22-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The condition of the 24-year-old is unknown.

Cleveland Police homicide unit is investigating, according to police.

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Cleveland, OH

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Results: Winners And Grades On August 3, 2024

Published

22 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

WWE SummerSlam 2024 results

Credit: WWE.com

WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio advertised six championship matches. Among them was Solo Sikoa challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship, LA Knight challenging Logan Paul for the WWE United States Championship, Sami Zayn defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker and GUNTHER challenging Damian Priest for the WWE World Championship.

This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.412 million viewers on SyFy after being preempted by the Olympics.

WWE SummerSlam Results | August 3, 2024

Liv Morgan def. Rhea Ripley | WWE Women’s World Championship
Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn | WWE Intercontinental Championship
LA Knight def. Logan Paul | WWE United States Championship
Nia Jax def. Bayley | WWE Women’s Championship
Drew McIntyre def. CM Punk
GUNTHER def. Damian Priest | WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa | WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Ticket Sales

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Distributed: 55,858
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Available: 807

WWE Money In The Bank 2024 Winners And Grades

Liv Morgan Def. Rhea Ripley

Despite all the talk of The Judgment Day competing by themselves, Dominik Mysterio accompanied Rhea Ripley to the ring.

Michael Cole noted the last time Rhea Ripley lost a singles match was 26 months ago. To Liv Morgan.

This match started as a cat-and-mouse as Liv ran away from Ripley. Fans became frustrated and booed Liv loudly.

Rhea dominated this match until Liv Morgan dodged a charging Ripley and followed up by throwing her, shoulder-first, into the turnbuckle. Ripley could be heard (kayfabe) saying “it’s out, it’s out!”

Fans were split as they made dueling chants of “let’s go Rhea/let’s go Liv!”

Liv Morgan (kayfabe) popped her shoulder back into place by running herself into the announce table and fans went crazy.

Ripley hit the riptide, but did not pin Morgan. Instead, she grabbed a steel chair that Morgan brought into the ring. Mysterio grabbed the chair from her, which was the wise decision because she would have gotten herself disqualified. This led to an Oblivion for a nearfall and “holy s—t” chants.

Dom distracted the ref, leading to an Oblivion on the steel chair for the win. After the match, Dominik Mysterio kissed Liv Morgan and they left together.

Backstage, Damian Priest was furious with Dominik Mysterio for his actions. Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day vowed to go find him. I don’t trust them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan Grade: A-

Bron Breakker Def. Sami Zayn

Bron Breakker hit his always impressive Breakkensteiner early on, then he proceeded to scream “quit!” at Sami Zayn.

Bron Breakker cut Sami Zayn off with a Spear, then he hit ayn with another Spear for the win. This wasn’t necessarily a squash match, but it was definitely a dominant win for Breakker.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn Grade: B

LA Knight Def. Logan Paul

Logan Paul wore a Cleveland-inspired American Flag vest and greeted two security guards on his way to the ring. One of hte security guards turned out to be Cleveland’s own MGK.

LA Knight shattered the glass on Logan Paul’s Prime vehicle before making his way to the ring.

Paul cleared the table, but LA Knight got the better of him with a modified TKO, though the table didn’t break.

Paul won these people over with a springboard moonsault on LA Knight. Though they cheered the spot, they eventually came to their senses and chanted “you still suck!”

After jumping up on the top rope, LA Knight hit a scary looking superplex. Fans chanted “this is awesome” after a nearfall.

Logan Paul borrowed brass knuckles from MGK. After a shot to LA Knight, Knight countered with a BFT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight Grade: A-

Nia Jax Def. Bayley

Bayley relentlessly knocked Nia Jax off her feet early in the match.

Nia Jax took control of the match, to the point where she hit the Annihilator, but Bayley kicked out.

Jax called herself “reckless” and “clumsy” while trash-talking Bayley on offense.

Bayley hit an awesome power bomb on Nia Jax from the top rope. The fans were fervently into a match that struggled to follow Logan Paul vs. LA Knight.

A Tiffany Stratton cash-in was thwarted by Bayley, but the distraction led to two power bombs and two Annihilators for the win.

Nia Jax vs. Bayley Grade: A-

Drew McIntyre Def. CM Punk

Seth Rollins walked out in a long cloak, and what was under the jacket was certain to be even wilder.

WWE used ref cameras on the referee’s ear, and there were never more ref cam shots than during Seth Rollins’ entrance.

Rollins’ referee outfit were baggy, bedazzled pants and a cutoff shirt similar to Shawn Michaels.

Fans chanted “CM Punk” to start the match as punk donned pink gear in homage to Bret Hart.

Rollins did a great job working the fans into a frenzy before ringing the bell. When the bell rang, Punk and McIntyre brawled like crazy.

Instead of counting to 10 while Punk and McIntyre were outside of the ring, Rollins instead chose to tie his shoes. Rollins also took immense pleasure in seeing Punk and Rollins beat the hell out of one another.

During an Anaconda Vice on McIntyre, Punk secured his friendship bracelet and the entire stadium celebrated.

Punk stopped his GTS on McIntyre dead in its tracks and confronted Rollins about wearing his bracelet, which Rollins picked up off the ground did wear, but out of no malice.

After a ref bump and a nearfall (followed by a second visual pinfall), Punk and Rollins got into a heated argument. Punk hit a Go To Sleep on Rollins and took his bracelet back, but it cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Grade: B+

GUNTHER Def. Damian Priest

Finn Balor wished Damian Priest luck before the match. Famous last words.

GUNTHER already had chop marks on his chest before the match even started.

GUNTHER and Priest chopped the hell out of one another to the point where GUNTHER was bleeding from the chest.

Finn Balor hit the ring, presumably to save Priest, but he ended up costing Priest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by putting GUNTHER’s leg on the bottom rope.

After this match, Jelly Roll, The Miz and R-Truth took out A-Town Down Under.

GUNTHER vs. Damian Priest Grade: B+

Cody Rhodes Def. Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes ran into Arn Anderson backstage, and Anderson said he called in a few favors to a few allies of Cody Rhodes. Some of whom he knows, some he doesn’t.

For a full recap of Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in Bloodline Rules, click here.

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