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CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns went 376 days without a victory - but who's counting? The Browns outlasted the San Diego Chargers, 20-17, on Saturday to win for the first time since beating the San Francisco 49ers, 24-10, at home on Dec. 13, 2015. Cleveland's overall losing skid hit 21 games - three at the end of last season, four preseason games in 2016 and the first 14 games this season.
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"You don't want to say it was our Super Bowl, but it really was," said left tackle Joe Thomas, who is in his 10th season with the Browns. "Certainly, the emotion and the joy and the happiness after the game in the locker room felt really good. I kept telling myself, 'I shouldn't be this happy. This is not that big of a deal. We just won a game and it doesn't even matter.' It definitely felt like it was more than just a win."
Coach Hue Jackson announced every player, every coach and every person in the front office would get a game ball. Jackson refused to take any credit for the victory. Instead, he gave it all to his players - not just for beating the Chargers but for playing hard in the 14 games leading up to the one that finally ended up in the win column.
"I'm happy for the guys," Jackson said. "They deserve it. They've worked hard all year. This is the first opportunity they have to taste victory. It was a grind for us, but that's the kind of game I knew it would be. Our players kept fighting, and we were able to get it done.
"I'm going to give all the credit to our veteran leadership players from Joe Thomas to (tight end Gary) Barnidge to (cornerback) Joe Haden to so many guys over there, (wide receiver) Andrew Hawkins ... I can go on and on and on because this is for them. This is not for me. This is about them."
The Chargers outgained the Browns in total yards, 356-251, but Cleveland made key defensive stops when it had to and kept San Diego out of the end zone on its last five possessions.
Browns defensive end Jamie Meder blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt with 3:49 to play. Cleveland scored rushing touchdowns on each of its first two possessions.
"It was no doubt a team win today," Thomas said. "Offensively, in the second half, we wish we would have done more because we really didn't do much, but the defense played their butts off. They did an amazing job of stopping them when they had to.
"Special teams with the block and then the forced miss at the end of the game, a lot of times people just want to say, 'The kicker missed,' but you force him into those misses with the pressure that you've brought before that with the block."
Beating the Chargers was essential to avoid a winless season. The Browns conclude their 2016 schedule on Jan. 1 in Pittsburgh.
