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Browns announce sellout in home finale vs. Bengals

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/Article/Browns-sellout-home-finale-Bengals-126695121/

After a home game against the Carolina Panthers, quarterback Baker Mayfield called on the fans to show up and be loud for the home finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"We are becoming a team that is prideful of playing at home and protecting our territory. We would love to have more fan support. Today was cold, I get it, but having more people, especially at our last home game coming up, we would love to have more people in the stands cheering for us because we feed off of the energy. You can tell it is very obvious. I do not have to say it how our defense feeds off of the energy in the stadium, and being able to start fast and get that going and put teams in a bind and put pressure on them," Mayfield said.

“It is the last home game. Every year feels like a very, very long off-season like you are waiting for that first home game for a long time so I am expecting the fans to show up and show support. Last home game of the year and for us just to be able to finish out on a high, note that would just be great to have that support there."

The fans have responded positively. The franchise has reported a sell out.

In all likelihood, the team will not make a playoff appearance this season. There is still a lot for which fans can be thankful, however. The Browns have won four of their last five games and have a reasonable chance to finish with a 7-8-1 record, which would be the team's best since 2007. The most exciting aspect of this season has been the play of Mayfield.

Cleveland has the chance to sweep an opponent for the first time since 2007. It is a statistic that is starting to hit home with those in the locker room.

"I feel like until you hear and see and feel what has been felt by the people that's been in it, you don't really understand the magnitude of it. Now, being here, being a Cleveland Brown, playing inside of this division and understanding you guys' feelings and the city as well, you understand what this game means. I am happy to be a part of it now and appreciate it. I hope we can do that for you guys, for real," wide receiver Jarvis Landry said.

The growth and record improvement is a testament to a culture change being orchestrated within the confines of the team's headquarters in Berea.

“We emphasize [changing the culture] from the time we start every off-season program – April 14 this year. It is on our board. It is on our walls when they come into the room. It is something that they look at every single day. You have to do a good job at home. You have to do a good job in you division. You have to do a good job every week. The big emphasis is defending you home stadium, playing in your home stadium and doing that. Obviously, when you are doing that, your home field advantage becomes strong. I have been places where – I think that I have told you before – defensively when you are playing at home, the coach to middle linebacker communication is working fine, but they cannot hear me. There is no way. We have to do all kinds of other ways to get it in there because the home crowd is rocking and rolling and enjoying the games, too. Part of getting the excitement in the crowd and the excitement at home is you have to play well, and you have to keep on doing that," interim head coach Gregg Williams explained.

The coach expects a good crowd for this weekend's game.

"Hopefully, it is good. It has been really good since I have been here. That is one of the things that has been impressive that we talk about with our team. We talk about the responsibility, especially that we have defensively, on getting those guys behind us. They are supposed to be quiet when Baker is out there, but when the other team is out there, we are supposed to be rocking and rolling. That is how well you are playing on defense and how competitive you are in the game. Expect it to be good," he finished.

Cleveland has a 4-2-1 record in FirstEnergy Stadium this season. They compete this weekend against Cincinnati, whom they defeated in Week 12 - 35-20.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2018/12...ngals-game.html

Baker Mayfield thanks Browns fans for heeding his call and selling out the Bengals game

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Baker Mayfield has busted open beer coolers, pulled the Browns out of the doldrums, snapped streaks, set records and brought back lost fans.

Now, he’s even selling tickets.

After he called on Browns fans to come out in full force for Sunday’s home finale against the Bengals following the 26-20 victory over the Panthers, Browns fans have snatched up all 67,895 tickets and it’s a sellout.

“What’s up ya’ll, Baker Mayfield here,’’ Mayfield said in a Browns video. “So I just found this Sunday’s game is sold out. I appreciate you guys. I know I called you out. I thank you guys for buying all the tickets, being there for the support, I appreciate it a lot. So excited to see you on Sunday, but it’s not just about being there. You’ve got to be loud too. We want the energy to be there. We want it to be very exciting for this last home game, finishing off the season on the right note and I appreciate you guys. Thank you very much.’’

If the Browns win, they’ll be 5-2-1 at home this season, their best home record since 2007 when they went 7-1.

“It’s the last home game,’’ Mayfield said on Wednesday. “Every year feels like a very, very long offseason like you’re waiting for that first home game for a long time so I’m expecting the fans to show up and show support. Last home game of the year and for us just to be able to finish out on a high, note that would just be great to have that support there.”


He notices the fans feeding his off his fiery personality.

“Yeah, a little bit,’’ he said. “It makes it fun. Not like a lot of that is playing into how the game goes, but that makes it all the more enjoyable. When you have that support, when you have people that have those shirts, those sayings and you wake up and you see those people wearing those shirts and say those things when you are on the streets, it makes it fun and it makes it feel like this is a whole team effort, which it is.”

After the Panthers game, he made it clear he didn’t love seeing the empty seats in the upper deck.

Mayfield calls on Browns fans to brave the cold and come out in full force the home finale against the Bengals

Mayfield wants to see more fans at the Browns home finale at FirstEnergy Stadium on Dec. 23rd against the Bengals.


“We would love to have more fan support,’’ he said. “Today was cold, I get it, but having more people, especially at our last home game coming up, we would love to have more people in the stands cheering for us because we feed off of the energy.

“You can tell it’s very obvious. I don’t have to say it how our defense feeds off of the energy in the stadium, and being able to start fast and get that going and put teams in a bind and put pressure on them.”

Bakers next contract... he's getting a % off the top of ticket sales. bank it.

Glad they sold out... hope it actually fills up.... I feel a lot of tickets at least in Houston are sold but unused...

The Baker and winning effect .. hope it's a good atmosphere

its the game before xmas eve. lot of people are off the next day that normally wouldn't go because of work. Lot of people getting tickets as a xmas present. Baker's comments, the team playing good. I would be shocked if this wasn't a sell out.

I don't really think Bakers comments has anything to do with it. The Browns are winning. Winning cures everything.

I think his comments might have helped... but "selling out" and "showing up" are two different things.. all those season ticket holders now need to show up. My fear is that a lot of them are out of town for the holidays.. hopefully they got their tickets to somebody who will use them.

By this point most seasons it seems like we would be on QB #3 or #4 by now.. some nobody we picked off another teams practice squad just to have a body on the field.. or rooting to see what the new QB kid could do to see if we needed to consider drafting another one.. and most of the rest of the team had already checked out mentally..

I hope we start fast, stay fast, and finish fast... I'd love to beat them by 20+.. give Tyrod the last 3 possessions.

And no, I don't think we have scored a defensive or a special teams TD all year.

Thats the key to me ... tickets sold .... pfffft .... how many butts in seats constitutes a sell out to me ....

yeah, let's see the stadium FULL

74,000 announced regularly, maybe the stadiums been renovated, since way back then.

I don't expect a route.

I just hope the Browns can stay competitive, play tough defense, and win the total of the running game, and pull out a victory because, being a division game it would mean so much.

If the Browns can play small ball, (a baseball analogy), and tuff defense throughout, perhaps a route could come,

most important thing is don't get run all over, and out gain them on the ground, that is demoralizing.

In the 1980's this game was bigger than Ravens Steelers was 5 years ago.

Baker Mayfield urges teammates to 'get out' if not willing to win final 2 games, and Gregg Williams loves it

https://www.cleveland.com/expo/sports/er...ncart_big-photo

P.S. I love it too!

Jabrill Peppers calls Bengals’ trash talk “most disrespectful thing” somebody’s said to Browns, driven to have 2nd straight big gameby Scott Petrak December 21, 2018

BEREA — Jabrill Peppers heard opponents rattle off insults about the Browns throughout the 0-16 season a year ago.

Pregame comments from the Bengals a month ago in Cincinnati topped them all.

“They said, ‘How you all talking, you play for the Browns?’” Peppers said after Cleveland’s 35-20 win.

“That was probably the most disrespectful thing somebody said to us,” the strong safety said Friday. “That’s why I think we’re going to come out here with the same type of tenacity.

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“Because stuff like that, that sticks with you. Like these guys really, really don’t respect us as an organization and as players. So that makes you want to go out there with that extra oomph.”

The Browns (6-7-1) have the chance to sweep the Bengals (6-8) for the first time since 2002 and have been subdued in the trash-talk department.

“Because they understand about being focused and getting ready for this game,” interim coach Gregg Williams said.

The Browns were ready before the November game, but free safety Damarious Randall expressed it in a much different way. The Browns were 3-6-1 and still searching for their swagger. Randall provided it by saying the Bengals would get their “a– beat” if receiver A.J. Green didn’t play.

The comment had the Bengals yapping on the field before the game, causing a dust-up with Randall and Peppers. The Bengals hadn’t seen this version of the Browns. The one that’s won four of five to give itself a chance at the first winning record since 2007.

“Last year we heard it all. They wouldn’t stop talking,” Peppers said. “But this year, when we talk, nobody wants to talk to us. Nobody wants to now that we kinda got this thing rolling. It’s kinda dope to see.”

Notes: Jarvis Landry says sweep inside division would end “little brother” status

Peppers didn’t practice Thursday with a stiff neck but was back Friday and said he’ll play Sunday.

“Come on now, we’ve got something to accomplish,” he said.

He’s not about to miss this battle, especially coming off his best game since being drafted with the No. 25 pick in 2017. He intercepted a pass in the end zone in the first half and clinched the 17-16 win over the Broncos with his first career sack.

“Pep is smart, he’s athletic, he studies,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “He’s a beast in practice so it was definitely well-deserved.”

Peppers’ range was on full display on the interception, as he went from deep center field to the right sideline. His intelligence showed on the sack as he recognized Denver’s formation and came through clean.

“Jabrill Peppers made a tremendous adjustment to the play call because of what he knew they were going to do,” Williams said.

“Just listening to the offense playing the game and then just finding little nuances that help you win,” Peppers said.



He added six solo tackles to the splash plays but wasn’t satisfied.

“I left a lot of plays out there,” he said. “Everybody thinks it’s good but I feel like that’s stuff I should’ve been doing. I still left a sack out there, still let a guy catch a pass on me, could’ve made a play on the ball later on in the game so it’s all about putting it all together and not missing any of the plays that come your way.

“I missed two but made the rest last week. This week try and make them all, make all my tackles and follow that game with another good one.”

Peppers has started all 14 games, totaling 66 tackles, the sack, the pick, five passes defensed and two fumble recoveries. The numbers aren’t what he’d like, but he’s seen a huge improvement after the struggles of his rookie year when he was forced to play out of position at free safety, 25 yards off the line.

“I can still be playing a lot better but, in terms of compared to last year, it’s night and day,” he said. “I learned a lot last year, my first year playing free safety, mistakes are going to happen, it’s just those mistakes are magnified when you’re back there. But I took it on the chin and I applied my lessons to this year and it definitely helped.”

Special teams coordinator Amos Jones has called Peppers the hardest-working player he’s coached.

“He comes to work every day with a demeanor and an attitude to get better,” Williams said. “He never takes a day off, and that is fun to be around those kinds of people.”

The Browns are 2-1-1 in the AFC North and can guarantee their first winning record since the division was formed in 2002 with a win over the Bengals. Peppers was asked if they’ve established themselves among their rivals.

“It’s just about respect,” he said. “We don’t want to say we’re a force or anything like that, but you’re going to respect us and if you don’t you still gotta put the ball down and play us.

“And if you don’t respect us and we beat you, then don’t say anything for how we talk. I’m not going to go out on a limb and say we’re this, we’re that but you’re gonna respect us just like we respect everybody. So that’s how I feel.”


https://www.brownszone.com/2018/12/21/ja...aight-big-game/

Feel the same way... I've been to several texans games that were sell It's with maybe 3/4th the stadium full...

It's Christmas break.. lots of college kids back home.. go see the Browns beatdown bungles.. what better way to party?

Can't lie, this does make me miss giving up my season tickets.

Should be a great time, and well I've had a great time going to a few gmaes this year. Browns 3 for 3 in games I've been to this year makes me really miss it.

Very happy for the fans of Cleveland though, especially the younger generation. They really need to experience some W's. Glad for them most of all.