I begin my praise of Browns coach Kevin Stefanski by going full Stefanski and blocking any ounce of personal spotlight or compliments the way Cleveland’s five different starting offensive tackles have taken on opposing rushers.
Is Stefanski doing a great job? Absolutely. Is he interested in discussing anything more than his team’s Wednesday morning walk-through and the details involved with trying to defeat the Houston Texans? Absolutely not.
No one inside the Browns’ training facility cares who wins the NFL’s Coach of the Year honor. Come Sunday, there are no bonus points awarded for any individual honor or celebration of past accomplishments. The 9-5 Browns are on the doorstep of the playoffs and are putting together what might be their best season in more than 15 years, but any loss of focus on this week’s game and the immediate task at hand could cause the Browns to lose momentum and the lead they hold on the rest of the AFC’s wild-card chasers
Still, Stefanski has been really good. As good as the Browns have seen or had in a long time, and as good as any of his peers across the league. He’s not interested in discussing a Coach of the Year candidacy, but his would start with this: Eight teams enter Week 16 with nine or more wins. Seven of those eight have had the same starting quarterback for all 14 games.
The Browns are the first team since 2015 and just the seventh in the Super Bowl era to win a game with four different starting quarterbacks in the same season. All four have led a last-minute drive that’s set up winning points.
Two of those four quarterbacks have started games while playing on practice squad elevations. Fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson has started three games. No other team called 16-year veteran Joe Flacco before the Browns added him to their practice squad on Nov. 19; Flacco has started the last three games, won the last two and threw for 212 yards in the fourth quarter alone on Sunday. That’s the most by any player in any fourth quarter this season.
