It was a tale of two halves for the Browns on Thursday Night Football.
They had 34 points and 367 yards in the first half, but only three points, which came with 2:54 left in the game, and 61 yards in the second half.
The 37-20 victory over the Jets clinched a playoff berth for the Browns, who are still alive for the division title and the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Browns are 11-5, while the Jets fell to 6-10.
The Browns are the first team to make the postseason despite four quarterbacks each making multiple starts. Joe Flacco is the latest, coming off his couch Nov. 20 to sign with the Browns’ practice squad. He is now 4-1 in five starts.
Flacco, who threw for 296 yards in the first half, completed 19 of 29 passes for 309 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Running back Jerome Ford had touchdown receptions of 50 and 7 yards, and Elijah Moore caught an 8-yard touchdown before leaving with a concussion.
The Browns played without star receiver Amari Cooper, who was inactive with a heel injury a week after setting the franchise record for receiving yards in a game.
Flacco completed passes to seven receivers, with tight end David Njoku catching six for 134. Ford had 12 carries for 64 yards and two catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
Kareem Hunt had a 7-yard touchdown run and gained 31 yards on 10 carries.
Njoku lost a fumble, and Flacco’s interception was a pick-six by Jermaine Johnson for 37 yards.
The Browns got a defensive touchdown with safety Ronnie Hickman scoring on a 30-yard pick-six of Trevor Siemian, who was 32-of-45 for 261 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Garrett Wilson, who went over 1,000 yards for the season, caught five passes for 50 yards. Breece Hall had 13 carries for 84 yards and caught nine passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett had a sack, ending a five-game sackless streak.