CLEVELAND – Defensive end Myles Garrett limped around, to the point he could only play on third downs.
Wideout Jarvis Landry lay down for several seconds in the end zone after taking another shot to his ribs.
And tight end Austin Hooper and running back Nick Chubb weren’t active again as they continued to recover.
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the ailing Cleveland Browns, who, at 5-3, firmly remain in the playoff hunt despite Sunday’s 16-6 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders, but also need to get healthy for the stretch run.
“It’s pretty good timing to be honest with you,” said quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has been playing through a cracked rib these last three-and-a-half games. “I think everybody needs it. Obviously, we would have loved to have gone into this bye 6-2, if not better, but we are where we are. We can only deal with that, move forward and continue to get better.”
The Browns will be kicking themselves about the loss Sunday.
Weather, which included winds up to 40 miles per hour along with sleet, rain and snow, made every drive seem especially precious.
Cleveland moved the ball down the field on its opening possession, only for it to end on tight end Harrison Bryant’s fumble.
The Browns also had five drops -- their most in a game since 2018 -- which repeatedly proved to be drive-killers.
In the second half, Landry couldn’t hang on to what would’ve been a 20-yard touchdown down the sidelines, as officials overturned the catch after replay showed Landry bobbling the pass as he went down.
And the Browns' defense couldn’t get off the field, as Las Vegas methodically converted 10 of its 16 attempts on third or fourth down, while holding onto to the ball for 16 more minutes than the Browns had it.
“Very disappointing,” Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said of the time of possession discrepancy. “Offensively, you have to possess it by sustaining drives, making first downs on the third down or finding ways to just get first downs. Obviously, we did not do that on offense. Defensively...they were much better than us on third down and the sustained drives.”
Despite the disappointment, the Browns remain in solid shape to finally snap the NFL’s longest playoff drought of 18 years. They still hold a 53.4% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN FPI.
They also have the second-easiest remaining schedule, including road trips to Jacksonville (1-6), the Giants (1-6) and Jets (0-8). The two games out of the bye are tougher, but still, are at home against 1-6 Houston and 3-4-1 Philadelphia.
In the meantime, the Browns could use some help from Tuesday’s trade deadline. The defense has forced only one punt over the last two weeks. Safety and linebacker remain problem spots, as the Browns rank just 17th in defensive efficiency, even with Garrett playing as well as any defender in the league and cornerback Denzel Ward performing at a Pro Bowl level again. Cleveland has cap space to spare, and general manager Andrew Berry figures to be active over the next day.
The Browns will also be hoping for good news on Garrett, who injured his knee Sunday and will be getting an MRI on it Monday morning. Garrett was able to play on the knee, if only sparingly, against the Raiders and Stefanski seemed optimistic afterward.
The bye will give Garrett added time to recover, along with several other key players. The Browns are hopeful that both Chubb (knee) and Hooper (appendix) will be back after the bye, as well, in time to play against the Texans. Right guard Wyatt Teller too will now have an extra week to return from his calf strain.
“Anytime you have guys that are injured, they are working very, very hard to get back on the field,” Stefanski said, when asked if the bye comes at an opportune time for his team. “We’ll find out if those guys can help us next week.”
Sunday’s result wasn’t how the Browns wanted to go into the bye. But coming out of it, help should be on the way. Potentially from the trade deadline. But especially, from an extra week of healing.