Victory Monday brings an extra dose of good news on the COVID-19 front for the Cleveland Browns.
#Browns will end 17-game losing streak at Heinz Field, win their first playoff game since the 1994 season and their first road playoff game since 1969.
All they had to do was beat COVID-19 and the #Steelers this week.
Remarkable.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) January 11, 2021
The day after the wildcard win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, all COVID-19 tests came back clear.
This means there are no new cases identified.
After playing and advancing last night, the #Browns got an “all clear” on their latest round of COVID-19 testing, source said. After a trying week, perhaps the worst is behind them as they move on in the playoffs.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2021
Extraordinary Measures
The Browns have worked hard to contain the outbreak.
In addition to following the NFL’s protocols which pretty much closed the facility for the past two weeks, the coaches took the extraordinary move of driving individually to Pittsburgh for the game.
They did not travel with the players as an added level of protection.
This was a prudent decision given how many coaches had tested positive.
Coach Stefanski
It goes without saying that the team wants Coach Stefanski on the sidelines in Kansas City.
Stefanski anticipates returning to the team facility on Thursday.
He was quarantined alone in his basement with his phone off watching his Browns do what many thought was the impossible.
When asked about it, he said he felt helpless.
It seems Stefanski has a renewed appreciation and affinity for the fans who routinely watch their team from afar.
Kevin Stefanski says, after watching on television without any control, “I have a newfound respect for our fans.”
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 11, 2021
A Magical Team
In a year that has been anything but magical, that is the best word to describe the Cleveland Browns.
So much adversity has been thrown at them; people have counted them out.
And they keep delivering the wins in critical clutch situations.
3 a.m. and our fans were there to welcome us home.
We have the best fans. 🧡#WeWantMore pic.twitter.com/cWLFklozlT
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 11, 2021
The fans have loved the Browns through thick and thin; it’s been a marriage of plenty of “for worse” times, but the better times are ahead.
No matter what happens on Sunday in Kansas City, the 2020 Cleveland Browns have served notice to the rest of the NFL that this is just the beginning.
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