CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Talk about a tall task.
The Browns have lost back-to-back regular-season games for the first time under head coach Kevin Stefanski. They are 3-3, in third place in the AFC North and two full games behind the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens.
Their quarterback showed up to his postgame press conference with his left arm in a sling. The defense has given up 84 points the last two weeks and, on a day when Nick Chubb missed the game with a calf injury, Kareem Hunt was carted to the locker room with a calf injury of his own late in the game.
Oh, and the Browns host the Broncos on Thursday Night Football.
“It is a huge challenge with the short week,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “Obviously, you mentioned it, we have a lot of guys banged up right now, but it is an AFC opponent coming in, and we have to be able to bounce back and respond.”
Football, by its nature, creates an outsized sense of urgency. There are only 17 regular-season games, and the week between each game only makes each one feel even more important.
Add in the expectations for this Browns team this season and it makes a game like Sunday, where the offense sputtered and the defense was gashed, add to a “sky is falling” feeling.
“We are 3-3,” Mayfield said. “That is not where we wanted to be right now, but the pure genius of the NFL, we have 11 more games instead of 10 now. We have 11 more games to go show who we are, play for each other and get better as each week goes on because nobody makes the playoffs right now.”
Perspective. Mayfield pointed out it’s important for this team to peak at the right time, which certainly isn’t the middle of October. Of course, it’s also important to keep pace with a team like the Ravens so the division is still within striking distance when the playoff race truly begins.
“We are a 3-3 football team, which means we are average across the board,” Stefanski said, “so we all have to get better.”
This week represents a quick turnaround and little time for the Browns to prepare. They’ll hold a walkthrough on Monday before their only real practice of the week on Tuesday. They’ll walk through again on Wednesday before facing a 3-3 Broncos team on a three-game losing streak with wins over the Jaguars, Giants and Jets, three teams with three combined wins among them.
“These Thursday night games, everybody is in the same boat,” Stefanski said. “The guys have to fight, scratch and claw to get to Thursday night. It is hard, but the bottom line is we have a game, and we are going to meet tomorrow and start on the Broncos first thing in the morning.”
Still, even with the perspective of 11 more games, there is a little bit of a feeling of a team fighting to stay above water with injuries mounting and complementary football tough to come by.
Mayfield believes his team will handle this week and the looming adversity correctly.
“We will do that, and I know that because of the guys we have in the locker room,” he said. “We will get better. That is just a fact.”
If anything, this gives the Browns an opportunity to test their mettle.
“We are going to see what we are made of,” Mayfield said. “Our backs are up against the wall right now, and I like our chances.”
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