Joe Flacco threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns to lead Cleveland with David Njoku catching six passes for 134 yards to lead the receivers.
The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Browns, who improved to 11-5 with the win and retained Cleveland's slim chance of winning the AFC North title.
Cleveland completes their regular season next Sunday in Cincinnati against the Bengals.
Brownie Bits
1) Amari Cooper was unavailable after suffering a heel injury in his record-setting game against Houston last Sunday. The Browns took another blow to their receiving corps when Elijah Moore left the game with a concussion late in the first half.
Moore had caught five passes for sixty-one before the concussion and his loss left the Browns very basic at wideout.
2) Joe Flacco was solid other than his double-pump pass that was tipped and turned into a pick-six by Jermaine Johnson.
Give Johnson the credit for making a tremendous play, as he leaped into the air, came back down, jumped again to tip the ball, and then caught it and ran for the score.
3) The Browns appear to have found themselves a potential gem in Ronnie Hickman, who had a pick-six of his own.
Hickman, who the Browns signed as a free agent after the draft, is playing in place of the injured Grant Delpit, and should he continue to improve, I could see a scenario in either of the next two off-seasons where the Browns could decide to save some cap space and use Hickman as a starting safety rather than Juan Thornhill or even Delpit.
4) David Njoku was the dominant offensive player of the first half but even then Njoku still fumbled on one play with the Jets recovering.
Njoku may be just one of those players you never receive consistency from and you simply have to accept the occasional mistake,
5) I am not a fan of the Thursday night games but the Browns playing in this one could give the team some clarity for the final week of the season.
If Baltimore defeats Miami, they would clinch the AFC North and the Browns could be locked in as the fifth seed should New England upset Buffalo.
6) If those results occur, the Browns could play it safe in Cincinnati and allow some injured players some time to recover.
I'm never in favor of those decisions usually but there is a difference between resting healthy players and giving injured ones an extra week to heal.
7) The player who has developed into an impact player over the last month has been Jeremiah Owosu-Koramoah.
JOK didn't have a sack or interception in this one but he is developing into a three-down linebacker with the ability to pass or track the quarterback or drop in coverage.
8) The Browns decided to protect the lead in the second half with so much at stake and so many receivers out of the lineup, running the ball and keeping the clock moving.
I understand that under the circumstances and think it was a good idea to try to avoid yet another injury to the receivers but it did allow the Jets to tee off on the running game.
9) The offensive line did its job yet again in giving Joe Flacco time to throw.
Flacco was sacked just once and took only one hit on the evening.
For a team with question marks at tackle, the line has done what they need to do in keeping the pocket clean.
10) Defensive Alex Wright collected one sack between his rookie season in 2022 and the first thirteen games of this season.
Wright has one sack in each of the last three games, so perhaps the former third-round draft choice has found something late in his second season.
11) Turnovers are still a problem for the Browns that will eventually bite them hard.
Three more against the Jets, two of those fumbles, and the Browns seem to be having a season that the football gods are tapping them on the head with the team succeeding despite the turnover problems.
12) The playoff-clinching win sends Cleveland to the postseason for the third time since the 1999 return of the Browns.
That's anemic but it will be the second in the last four seasons.
13) Not a fan of the all-white uniforms and white helmet.
The jersey reminded me of the terrible uniforms that Dee Haslam thought were wonderful and lasted for the minimum time allowed.
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