CLEVELAND — With all three of the Browns’ AFC North rivals losing last week, Cleveland remains in the hunt for a division title with four weeks remaining. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Cleveland Browns defeated Baltimore 24-22 on Sunday to pull to one game behind the Ravens for first place in the AFC North

  • The Browns next face the Raiders, but will likely be without running Kareem Hunt and cornerback Troy Hill

  • The Browns have four games remaining in the 2021 season

  • The Browns’ offense is looking to be less conservative after nearly blowing a 24-6 lead against Baltimore

Getting to the top of the division’s mountain won’t be easy as the team will likely be without running back Kareem Hunt and cornerback Troy Hill for Saturday’s game against the Raiders, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. Stefanski told reporters on Monday that Hunt has a knee injury and Hill has an ankle injury.

He hinted that the short turnaround between games was a factor. 

Two other players, wide receiver Anthony Schwartz and cornerback Greg Newsome, are in concussion protocol, Stefanski said. 

A bit of good news for the Browns is that quarterback Baker Mayfield expressed that he is feeling his best since early in the season. The quarterback has been bothered by a lingering shoulder injury throughout the season. 

Mayfield said he is ready for the stretch run of the season after completing 69 percent of his passes for 190 yards on Sunday. 

“That is the goal is to make a run, but it is one week at a time,” he said. “We have to take care of business next week. We play on Saturday against the Raiders, an AFC opponent. Obviously, an extremely important game, but each one from here on out is extremely important so we have to handle it the same way.”

Both Stefanski and Mayfield agreed that the Browns offense got too conservative after Cleveland led at halftime 24-6. The Ravens had an opportunity to win the game late after grabbing an onside kick, but turned the ball over on downs. The Browns held on for a 24-22 victory Sunday.

“It is certainly something that we talk about internally where we can be better — offense, defense and special teams — to put those games away, and that is what we need to do,” Stefanski said. “The good news is we put it away, we got that win and now that has to be our focus moving forward in these games. They are all going to be close. A bunch of really good football teams. Starting with the Raiders, we have to make sure we are at our best.”

The Browns are now one game behind Baltimore atop the AFC North standings. Cleveland is tied with Cincinnati at 7-6 and a half game ahead of Pittsburgh. The Browns still have two more divisional matchups on the schedule — versus Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

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