Browns try to keep things 'normal' vs. Bengals despite resting players for NFL playoffs
CINCINNATI — It's been a normal regular-season game week for Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
It's been the usual meetings and the usual practices. The only difference is that it's for a most unusual kind of regular-season finale, at least for the Browns.
The Browns have their ticket to the playoffs locked up, having done so more than a week ago with their Week 17 win over the New York Jets. So they're using Sunday's finale at the Cincinnati Bengals as an opportunity.
It's an opportunity to rest several key players in advance of the following weekend's playoff opener. It's also an opportunity to get a look at some younger players who may have been hiding in the shadows of more experienced teammates.
Quarterback Joe Flacco, receiver Amari Cooper, defensive end Myles Garrett, cornerback Greg Newsome II, kicker Dustin Hopkins and safety Juan Thornhill all have already been ruled out for one reason or the other. That means seeing Jeff Driskel become fifth starting quarterback — tying a record for an NFL playoff team, joining the 1984 Chicago Bears — along with players such as receiver Cedric Tillman, defensive end Alex Wright, cornerback Cameron Mitchell and safety Ronnie Hickman much more.
Other than that, though, Stefanski has seen this week go by with a business-as-usual approach.
"I think you've noticed more reps for a lot of guys," Stefanski said Friday. "You're getting certain guys maybe go through a week and only get so many reps when the offense is up or when the defense is up. A lot of those reps are coming off a scout team, so you see more reps for guys getting all those opportunities, which I think is good. But in terms of the preparation, how guys are handling the week, it feels very normal."
This has not been a normal happening for the Browns (11-5). The previous two times they qualified for the playoffs since returning to the league in 1999 — in 2002 and in 2020 — they needed to win the regular-season finale in order to get into the postseason.
Then again, it's not been a normal season for the Browns, at least when you consider the number of significant injuries they've overcome and still earn a playoff spot. Part of that has been the Stefanski-led motto of "just going 1-0 this week."
Distilled down to its core, it's about staying the same no matter how different things are perception-wise in order to win that specific game. It's worked previously to deal with injuries, and it's something the Browns believe works in a preparing for a game where a large percentage of the players getting the primary snaps won't be normal starters.
"Of course, you're taking everything into account when you're putting a game plan together and when you're calling plays and that type of thing and trying to play to the strengths of your players," Stefanski said. "So in that regard, it changes. But in terms of the system, the scheme, things that we're doing doesn't change."
The Browns' opponent, the Bengals (8-8), have been in this position before. Against Cleveland, no less.
Cincinnati rested many of its starters in the 2021 regular-season finale in Cleveland after it had wrapped up the AFC North championship. The Browns, who also had backups such as quarterback Case Keenum and running back D'Ernest Johnson playing, won that game.
That's the same approach Bengals coach Zac Taylor has taken this week with his team eliminated from the playoffs. On multiple occasions while speaking to Cincinnati-area reporters this week, he's stressed trying to win the game, including playing key players such as receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd, running back Joe Mixon and defensive linemen Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard.
"We do our best to isolate ourselves to where we know what's important," Taylor told Cincinnati-area reporters this week. "We know how hard we work. I know how much I enjoy time with this staff and this team. We owe it to ourselves, we certainly owe it to our fans who supported us through thick and thin and been there every step of the way. That is obviously representing our franchise the right way. Making something that our fans are proud of is important, but also just as important is all the work we've put in together ending on the right note with a win. That matters a lot to us."
Individual matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns CB Martin Emerson Jr. vs. Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase
It's hard to say how much Emerson is actually going to play against Cincinnati. The reality is it's a numbers game, and the Browns have only so many cornerbacks on the roster beyond the starting three of Denzel Ward, Newsome and Emerson. Newsome and reserve Mike Ford Jr. are already out and it seems unlikely Ward plays much, especially after a shoulder injury slowed him down in late November and early December. That leaves, other than Emerson, Cameron Mitchell and Kahlef Hailassie available on the active roster, barring a practice-squad elevation such as A.J. Green. Chase is expected to play and wants to play. That makes for a motivated Bengals star potentially going against backups.
Position group matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns offensive line vs. Cincinnati Bengals defensive line
Get ready, potentially, for the seventh different starting offensive line group for the Browns. Even if players such as left guard Joel Bitonio, right guard Wyatt Teller and center Ethan Pocic do start, expect them to be on a pitch count considering the injuries all of them have dealt with this season. The tackles, Geron Christian and James Hudson III, are likely to play regardless, just because of a lack of depth behind them. Nick Harris at center, Michael Dunn at guard and who know who else at other spots is likely what will emerge by the game's end. That's going against a Bengals defensive line that still will have Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard.
Coaching matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski vs. Cincinnati Bengals Zac Taylor
Both coaches share the same, "we want to win the game" mindset. It's just that one coach is trying to balance it with a "we want to make a deep playoff run and maybe, finally, get to the Super Bowl" mindset. So it's really not even a matchup so much as a contrast in approaches. Stefanski wants to be on his way home from Cincinnati with a healthy and rested team ready for the playoffs by 5 p.m. Taylor only wants to be celebrating a ninth win, even if it didn't result in a third consecutive playoff appearance, by that time.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns balancing rest for NFL playoffs vs. strong finish at Bengals
