The Cleveland Browns, behind 263 passing yards and three touchdowns from Baker Mayfield, hammered the rival Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37 on Sunday night, winning a postseason road game for the first time since 1969. The win was the first in the postseason for the franchise since a New Year’s Day 1995 victory over the Patriots at old Municipal Stadium.
The Browns opened the first-round game at Pittsburgh with four straight touchdowns in the first quarter, as a 28-0 edge represented the biggest first half lead for a road team in NFL playoff history. The second half, with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 501 yards on 47 receptions, did get a tad scary for Cleveland, but the Browns were able to score enough to hold off the Steeler surge.
Cleveland, shorthanded for the game as head coach Kevin Stefanski, Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio, and cornerback Denzel Ward remaining in northeast Ohio due to COVID-19 protocols, improved to 12-5 on the season, advancing to the second round, and a Sunday afternoon test in Kansas City to play the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
In other first-round NFL playoff action from Sunday, Lamar Jackson ran for 136 yards, with a 48-yard touchdown scamper, part of a 20-13 road win for the Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee, ending the Titans season at 11-6.
Drew Brees completed 28 of 39 passes for 265 yards in New Orleans’ victory over the Chicago Bears, 21-9. Alvin Kamara rushed for 99 yards with a 3-yard score or the 13-4 Saints. The Bears end their season with a mark of 8-9, facing an offseason where the question of the future of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in the Windy City will be front and center.
On Saturday, the Bills won in the postseason since the first time since Jim Kelly’s 1995 team, downing the Indianapolis Colts 27-24. Buffalo will host Baltimore in a second-round game this coming Saturday, January 16th.
The Los Angeles Rams traveled to NFC West rival Seattle and ended the Seahawks season by a score of 30-20. LA will head to Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Saturday afternoon to play Aaron Rodgers and the NFC’s top-seeded Packers.
Tampa Bay beat Washington on Saturday night 31-23, pushing Tom Brady’s Buccaneers to New Orleans for a third-meeting with the Saints, coming up on Sunday. New Orleans won both regular season games between the NFC South rivals.Â
