The New York Jets faced the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 28, 2023, in Week 17 of the 2023 NFL season. Here are takeaways and highlights from the game.
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Final Score: Browns 37, Jets 20
Almost all of this game’s scoring was done within the first 30 minutes of play. The Browns raced out to a 34-17 lead by halftime and never looked back as they downed the Jets to return to the postseason for the first time since 2020. The Browns improve to 11-5 while the Jets fall back to another 10-loss season, their fourth consecutive season of accumulating that many losses.
Amari Cooper was a very late scratch for Cleveland with a heel injury, and Cleveland endured another injury when Elijah Moore went down in the second quarter. Despite these injuries, Cleveland engaged the Jets in a high-scoring first half.
Jerome Ford opened the scoring on a seven-yard pitch and catch from Flacco, during which Ford fought past two Jets defenders to find the end zone. The Jets swiftly responded with their own running back touchdown as Trevor Siemian found Breece Hall to tie the game at 7-7. The Browns delivered again with a Kareem Hunt run from seven yards out, then Ronnie Hickman came away with the pick-six to send the Browns to the second quarter up 20-7.
The high-scoring half continued in earnest with a Moore catch, followed by a Jermaine Johnson pick-six, taking the ball back 37 yards to bring the Jets back within two scores. Jerome Ford effectively ended any hopes for the Jets by converting his second receiving touchdown of the night, this time a 50-yard catch and run from Flacco. The teams entered the half with Cleveland up 34-17, but the defenses prevailed in the second half as the teams delivered just a pair of field goals in the fourth and final frame. Cleveland walked away from this game with a playoff spot in hand and remains alive for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Joe Flacco leads the #DawgPound to a playoff berth on TNF!#NFL #NFLTwitter #Browns pic.twitter.com/skERAChDQU
— Prime Time Sports Talk (@TalkPrimeTime) December 29, 2023
Highlights
Ford pushes past the plane and Flacco's fired up! 🔥#NYJvsCLE on @NFLonPrime, @WEWS & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/Hf0c23mRTa
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 29, 2023
Ronnie Pick-man 🚀#NYJvsCLE on @NFLonPrime, @WEWS & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/wzwM53D9aj
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 29, 2023
.@ii_jermaine's athleticism is SPECIAL.
What a pick-six!#NYJvsCLE on PRIME pic.twitter.com/x2chvnSAwh
— New York Jets (@nyjets) December 29, 2023
Looking Forward
Cleveland now turns to the results of Sunday’s contests to see if they will enter Week 18 with an opportunity to play for both their first AFC North championship ever (the Browns’ last division title was when the division was called the AFC Central in 1989) and the chance to claim home-field advantage in the AFC. Should Baltimore win and deny Cleveland, the Browns will be locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC and a likely date with the AFC South champion in two weeks.
For the Jets, a season of hypotheticals reaches its final chapter ahead of their final game against New England. As of this writing, Jets owner Woody Johnson has already confirmed both head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas will return next season, and Saleh also expects to have his entire staff retained. It remains to be seen what changes will be implemented for the Jets to finally turn the corner and return to the postseason, snapping a playoff-less streak of 14 seasons (and counting).
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