The Last Dance
by Munster216 | 4 years ago | 5 Comments
Disclaimer: Long as hell and not meant to be taken super seriously. If you decide to read hope you enjoy
Following consecutive losses to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 and 2021 AFC Championship games, the Cleveland Browns'long awaited hopes for a Super Bowl title seemed to be something that would always be just out of reach. In 2020 the Browns held the lead with fourteen seconds left in the game after a commanding last-minute drive led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, but in the end it was Baltimore receiver Devin Duvernay who had the last laugh as he took the top off the secondary and sent the Ravens to the Super Bowl. Last season’s AFC Championship had a much different feel, as the Browns offense came out flat and was dominated by the Ravens defense. After such a disappointing showing in the biggest game of the season, many were astonished to see the Browns cut leading receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The Browns were faced with very tough decisions as starters Wyatt Teller, Bilal Nichols, and Ronnie Harrison were set to hit the open market considering the Browns limited salary cap. In the end, Beckham was released which allowed the Browns to retain three coveted starters. While Teller, Nichols, and Harrison may not be household names, Coach Hernandez valued and respected their contributions to the team enough to move on from his leading receiver.
“Everyone knows that this is a business at the end of the day… these are the tough decisions that have to be made”, said Coach Hernandez following the release of Odell Beckham Jr. “Obviously we would love to keep Odell here in Cleveland, but considering the circumstances that is no longer a reality… we wish him the best of luck wherever he goes”.
While retaining Teller, Nichols, and Harrison was key in keeping Cleveland a contender for the 2022 season, there was now a massive gap in the depth chart at wide receiver. The Browns were thin at even with Beckham in town, as future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald was a season long starter in his 18th season. Midway through the 2021 season, the Browns made an under the radar move when they moved star running back Kareem Hunt to Buffalo in exchange for their first-round selection. Buffalo finished 6-10, and their pick ended up becoming the 11th overall selection. Hernandez continued his busy offseason and made many calls to see what teams would be interested in potentially moving up in the draft. A call from the Detroit Lions came through on draft day offering second year receiver Rashod Bateman, who flashed his big play ability in his rookie season along with running back D’Andre Swift who had fallen behind Kerryon Johnson on the depth chart in exchange for the 11th overall selection. An agreement was made between Coach Hernandez and Coach Wilson “BloodBrother” and both sides moved forward very happy with what they were walking away with.
Bateman and Swift immediately blossomed in Cleveland as the Browns seem poised to have another crack at a Super Bowl run. Early season loses to Denver and division rival Ravens had some questioning whether or not the Browns could contend with top AFC competition in December and January. The Browns proved their resilience in the middle of the season as they knocked off the reigning NFC Champion Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers as time expired in the 4th quarter. Both of these gritty wins proved pivotal in the direction Cleveland was heading in as they enjoyed a six-game winning streak including a close victory over Baltimore in Week 15. This momentum all game to a halt in Week 16 as the Browns were stunned by the Pittsburg Steelers 27-15, as Baker Mayfield had his worst game of the season, throwing a shocking five interceptions. All of a sudden, Week 17 became win or go home for the Browns as a loss to Cincinnati would mean that the Kansas City Chiefs would move into the seven seed while the Bengals would slide up to the six spot. This was essentially the Browns first playoff game of the 2022 season and they more than answered the call, in route to a 48-17 victory over their hated rivals.
After clinching the number six seed, the Browns were set to travel to Denver for a Wild Card rematch from Week 1. The Browns were handled early in the season 35-24 as Denver’s big play offseason had its way with Cleveland’s defense. Stopping the big plays from the Broncos offense was something that Coach Hernandez stressed all week leading up to the game, and for the most part they were successful. The Browns controlled the clock throughout the game as Nick Chubb ran the ball 33 times for 190 yards and 2 scores. Leading 33-21 with 2 minutes left in the game, the Browns became vulnerable to Denver’s big play ability as tight end Noah Fant took the top of the secondary and cut the deficit to 5. An onside kick attempt followed, and a muffed recovery by starting corner Denzel Ward gave the Broncos a short field and a chance to steal the game. Ward looked poised to immediately redeem himself as Denver’s first pass attempt was thrown directly at him, but he unfortunately could not complete the interception. Heartbreak seemed yet again inevitable for the Browns, but the tides were turned as safety Ronnie Harrison made an incredible sideline interception on an over thrown corner route by quarterback Drew Lock. While this upset victory was far from clean, the Browns locker room began to embrace their underdog stigma.
“No one had us coming in here and winning this game!” said the game’s hero Ronnie Harrison, “They said we the same old Browns, that we can’t win the big game… mark my ******* words this the first of many”.
Harrison’s passionate words landed him a hefty fine from the SFL, but Coach Hernandez refused to allow him to pay a single dime of it.
“This one is on me… I love that kind of passion” Hernandez told SFL Network the following week, “More so than anything, the man was not lying”.
After knocking off the AFC West Champion Denver Broncos, the Browns were set to travel to Jacksonville to take on the top seeded Jaguars. Hernandez had never played the Jaguars in his time with Cleveland prior to this matchup, so it was a bit difficult to devise a strategy of attack. In the regular season, the Jaguars defeated both the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos, so it was clear that the Browns were facing a worthy opponent. The Jaguars speed on offense was unlike any other team in the league, so Hernandez’s approach on defense was similar to that of his against the Broncos… to stop the big play. On offense, it was no secret that Chubb would be fed and indeed he was. Chubb again handled 30 carries, this time for 160 yards and 3 scores, while the defense did its job keeping the Jacksonville offense relatively in check. Defensive end Myles Garrett was the star of the game, sacking quarterback Matthew Stafford an astounding seven times.
On the other side of the AFC bracket, the defending Super Bowl Champions were taking care of business, handily knocking off the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets. Yet again it was Coach Byrd and Coach Hernandez left standing, this being the third consecutive year the two met in the Conference Championship (4th consecutive year dating back to their NFC days). These two longtime friends have also been longtime rivals on the gridiron, with many stories battles in their past. Coach Byrd had gotten the best of Coach Hernandez in their prior two AFC title games, and many doubted whether or not Hernandez and the Browns could ever get past their greatest hurdle, the Baltimore Ravens. The third matchup in this trilogy got off to a rather unusual and slow start, as the Ravens first possession ended in a safety. At halftime, the Ravens lead 9-8, but things began to take off as both teams traded touchdowns out of the locker room, bringing the game to a 16-16 tie. At this point, Nick Chubb and the defense simply took the game over and put all doubt aside that the Browns were not capable of preforming on this stage. Chubb ran the rock 26 times for 222 yards and four scores, while the defense terrorizes quarterback Lamar Jackson, in tune of 9 sacks and 6 interceptions. Coach Hernandez met up with Fox’s Erin Andrews after the game to share his thoughts.
“First off I want to say we here in Cleveland have nothing but respect for Coach Byrd and the Baltimore Ravens” Hernandez told Andrews, “They have a great organization and it’s no surprise to me considering the man they have running things at the top... there is no hiding our nature as competitors and being knocked down at this point our previous two go arounds sucked. A lot of people in this position would have went in the other direction and given up but not us, not this group of guys. I am so ******* proud of this organization and the men we have here. While we are feeling great right now, we know the job is not done… see you in Arizona Erin”.
On the NFC side of things, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to defend their NFC Title, defeating the Detroit Lions in dramatic fashion in the Conference Championship. The Browns and Bucs met earlier in the season, so the two teams had some familiarity with each other. The Browns knew they had their hands full with Tampa Bay and their star-studded lineup from top to bottom. The game began similar to the AFC title game, at a rather slow pace while the two teams exchanged field goals on their opening drives. Quarterback Baker Mayfield led the Browns down the field on their second possession connecting on big passes with Austin Hooper, before Nick Chubb punched in his first touchdown. The Browns stood by their notorious risk-taking antics by attempting a two-point conversion, but linebacker Devin White picked off Mayfield’s pass attempt. Tampa Bay answered with two field goals, and the game was tied 9-9 at halftime. The Browns forced an early three and out after halftime, and Nick Chubb got the offense rolling with consecutive touchdown scores on back-to-back drives. The Browns appeared locked in and set to close out the game, but the Bucs caught fire late behind remarkable catches by star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and cut the deficit to seven. Midway through the 4th quarter, the Browns had an opportunity to close of the game as they crossed midfield and were just outside of field goal range, but Baker Mayfield made a terrible mistake in reading coverage and threw an interception to Devin White. Quarterback Matt Corral then lead the Buccanneers down the field with under two minutes and tied the game at 23-23 with a 4th down touchdown pass to Mike Evans. With 90 seconds to work with, the Browns just needed a field goal to take the lead. A conservative start to the drive with a short pass and run generated a first down, but it almost appeared that the Browns were going to play for overtime considering they neglected the use of their two timeouts. With 1:10 left on the clock from their own 36 yard line, the Browns handed the ball to the heart and soul of their team, Nick Chubb, who threw a valiant tackle attempt by Devin White to the side, picked up key blocks by Rashod Bateman, and ran the ball 64 yards to the house. The Browns defense sealed the deal with a interception by defensive back Greedy Williams, and the Browns were crowned SFL champions for the first time ever. On the podium while holding the Lombardi trophy, Coach Hernandez grabbed a mic and spoke to the world.
“I want to beigin by saying to anyone out there dealing with any kind of adversity, never give up on your dreams, never stop fighting. If no one believes in you thats fine, believe in yourself and keep working. These men who stand here before you as champions have been knocked down and turned away time and time again, but they believed in each other and they believed in themselves and here we are. We here in Cleveland have nothing but respect for Coach Goon and what he’s done in Tampa Bay, they’re going to be great for a long long time. To everyone back home in Cleveland, live it the **** up, we are your champions and this ones for you!”
While the Browns currently sit upon the league’s mountain top, they have their hands full moving forward with regards to roster decisions. Nine starters are set to hit the open market, including starting lineman Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin, J.C Tretter, fullback Andy Janovich, and the man who sealed the Browns title with an interception, Greedy Williams. Coach Hernandez labeled this season “The Last Dance” as it was clear that many of the team’s veterans would not be able to be brought back following the season. On the first day of training camp, he handed everyone on the team a dark visor to symbolize blocking out all outside noise and staying focused on the task at hand, bringing a title to Cleveland. The mission was a success and the Browns journey and perseverance reads perfect with a storybook ending.
