CLEVELAND — 5:45 p.m./ET-Browns looking for second straight win
The Cleveland Browns did not have much time to recover and prepare for a key AFC North Division battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium on “Thursday Night Football” this week.
Following a hard-fought 19-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills at home Sunday, the coaching staff immediately went to work on film study of the Steelers and formulated a game plan, which the players had just three days to absorb ahead of the Steelers game.
“It is obviously a quick turnaround,” linebacker Joe Schobert said. “I think a lot depends on how your body comes out the week before. Mentally, everybody has to get a quick jumpstart on the next week and it is a huge crunch, kind of like studying and planning finals in college.
“You just have to get after it and make sure you are taking care of your body — cold tub and getting every recovery aspect that you can, both here and when you are at home.”
The Browns have one of the easiest second-half schedules in the National Football League this season, but they did themselves no favors over the first eight games, as the AFC North Division upstarts began the year with a 2-6 record.
However, the Browns kicked off the second half of the season with a hard-fought victory over the Bills, and are looking to continue building in a positive direction, and remain undefeated in AFC North Division play when they host the Steelers.
“Everything’s at stake, man, everything’s at stake,” defensive back T.J. Carrie said. “When you’re playing on this stage, every game is critical.
“It’s been a minute, and so, from that standpoint, it’s going to be huge for us to continue to put another one, lay another brick in the foundation. We can’t be a team, at this point now, to win one, lose one, win one, lose one. We have to try to put a stretch together, and I think that’s the main focus, continuing to stay 1-0 this week.”