Jets down the Browns with turnovers, timely scores

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and Chris Ivory ran for two scores, helping the New York Jets to a 31-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Gang Green had five takeaways, including an interception and two forced fumbles of Johnny Manziel, who came in late in the first quarter for an injured Josh McCown.

Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker snagged touchdown catches for the Jets in sending the Browns to their 11th straight opening-day loss.

Fitzpatrick finished the game 15 of 24 for 179 yards, with an an interception that ended up turning the tide for his own team.

After Cleveland took a one-touchdown lead, a Fitzpatrick throw to Marshall was picked off by Tashaun Gipson, before Marshall ripped the ball out of Gipson's hands and gave New York the ball at the Cleveland 9-yard line. Chris Ivory capped it off with a 10-yard TD run.

Manziel was 13 of 24 for 182 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown to Travis Benjamin. He led the Browns with 35 yards rushing on five rushes.

Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily

Fact Check: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets

Gang Green opens the 2015 season at MetLife Stadium, where the New York Jets host the Cleveland Browns.

Here's your Week 1 Fact Check for the AFC bout:

Head-to-Head -- Brown lead series, 12-9.

Head-to-Head Streak -- Jets have won three of the past five meetings.

Last Meeting
December 22, 2013: Jets win, 24-13. Jets quarterback Geno Smith rushed for a touchdown and threw for two more, tallying 214 yards through the air. Jets running back Chris Ivory gained 109 yards on the ground.

Browns Notes
QB JOSH MCCOWN has started 49 of 69 career games, passing for 11,033 yards and 61 TDs. He started 11 games last season with the Buccaneers and threw for 2,206 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has 978 career completions and needs 22 to reach 1,000.

RB ISAIAH CROWELL played in all 16 games with four starts in 2014 and ranked second among NFL rookies in rush TDs (8) and fifth in rush yards (607).

WR ANDREW HAWKINS led his team with career-highs in catches (63) and receiving yards (824), adding two TDs in 2014.

WR BRIAN HARTLINE makes his Browns debut. In six seasons with Dolphins (2009-14), he posted 298 catches for 4,243 yards and 12 touchdowns. He needs two catches to reach 300 for his career.

T JOE THOMAS is only offensive lineman in NFL history to reach the Pro Bowl in eight consecutive seasons to begin career. Has started 128 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest active streak among NFL offensive linemen.

CB TRAMON WILLIAMS makes his Browns debut. Since entering the NFL in 2007, he is only NFL cornerback with 20 or more interceptions (20) & four or more sacks (4.5).

S TASHAUN GIPSON led the AFC with a career-high six INTs in 2014.

Since entering the NFL in 2010, two-time Pro Bowl CB JOE HADEN leads league with 87 passes defensed.

Jets Notes
QB RYAN FITZPATRICK makes his Jets debut. He has started 89 of 97 career games for five teams (Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans and Texans), passing for 19,273 yards and 123 touchdowns. In 2014, he started 12 games for the Texans and passed for 2,483 yards and 17 TDs with career-best 95.3 rating.

RB CHRIS IVORY led his team with 821 rush yards on 198 attempts (4.1 avg.) and six scores.

WR BRANDON MARSHALL makes his Jets debut. He's one of three players in NFL history with five 100-catch seasons (ANDRE JOHNSON, WES WELKER). Marshall (9,771) needs 229 receiving yards to reach 10,000 in his career.

TE JEFF CUMBERLAND aims for his third consecutive game with a TD catch.

LB DAVID HARRIS led New York with 123 tackles in 2014. Since entering the NFL in 2007, he is one of three NFL players with 30 or more sacks (30) and 6 or more INTs (6) (JULIUS PEPPERS, SHAUN PHILLIPS).

Originally chosen by the Jets in Round 1 of the 2007 Draft, six-time Pro Bowl CB DARRELLE REVIS returns to New York after two seasons with the Bucs (2013) and Patriots (2014).

Referee
Jerome Boger

Broadcast info
Television: CBS (1:00 p.m. EST).
Radio: SIRIUS: 133 (Cle.), 133 (NYJ). XM: 230 (NYJ).

Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily

A plus for the Jets: The Browns really stink Week 1

If there's one thing the New York Jets definitely have going in their favor this week, it's that they're playing the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns absolutely stink at playing football during the first week of the NFL season.

This, per ESPN.com's Rich Cimini:

The Browns are the worst opening-day team in league history, having lost 10 straight Week 1 games. That's more than double the next-longest active streak (four), held by the New York Giants. Since the merger in 1970, the Browns are 14-28, a league-worst .333 winning percentage.

As Cimini points out, they haven't been much better through the rest of the season in the last dozen years, either.

READ MORE

Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily

Pettine: 'We're not going up there to have a pillow fight'

Mike Pettine and his Cleveland Browns are headed to Buffalo Monday to face the Bills, his former team, in joint practice sessions.

It won't be all fun and games.

"We're not going up there to have a pillow fight," Pettine told reporters in Cleveland this week, via The Buffalo News.

Added Browns Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas: "I'd be shocked if there weren't more than a few fights."

The teams will work together (or against one another) Monday and Tuesday at St. John Fisher College, where Pettine will be reunited with Rex Ryan. The two worked together for years with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.

READ MORE

Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily

Clay negotiations take turn as Cameron signs with 'Phins

With one tight end officially off the market, the divisional battle for another may finally be over.

News of Jordan Cameron's return to the Browns on a two-year, $15 million deal swept through the AFC East Thursday, only to be reversed hours later by reports he had instead inked a two-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

When the dust settled, it was Miami who officially came out of the tight-end merry-go-round with a contract, while negotiations for Charles Clay seem to be the Bills to lose.

"He is a young, proven Pro Bowl performer with play-making ability that will positively impact our team," Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey said of Cameron Thursday via Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post.

Reports had Cameron in South Florida Thursday to visit Hickey and the 'Phins, while Clay is reportedly set to meet with Cleveland following his trip to Buffalo. The Cameron signing seemingly quashes the two-team battle Miami and Buffalo had going over Clay, though Miami's plans with the 25-year-old, who is currently under the transition tag, remains unclear, as some reports indicate the team could make a run at landing both play makers.

Either way, the next step will likely be the Buffalo Bills offering up a deal for Clay. The Dolphins will have five days to match the offer; if they do, Clay will be a Dolphin. If they refuse, the 25-year-old is free to accept the Bills' deal.

With the departure/release of two tight ends from Buffalo this week, coupled with the big bucks Miami has already spent this offseason, it's safe to assume Buffalo will make a substantial offer for Clay in hopes of bullying their divisional opponent out of contention.

Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily

Bills jump four spots in AFC Wildcard race

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Heading into Sunday, the Buffalo Bills were on the outside of the outside looking in. By evening, they made their way through the first door and are all of a sudden knocking on the second.

The Bills were the 11th seed in the AFC playoff picture prior to their 26-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Now, Buffalo has moved all the way up to No. 7 and one spot out of the tournament with four games to go.

Bills' defense stalls Browns in must-have win

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Sunday, the Buffalo Bills showed ex-Bills-coordinator-turned-Cleveland-Browns-coach Mike Pettine that they didn't miss him all that much.

Buffalo's defense, now led by Jim Schwartz, wreaked havoc on Brian Hoyer and the Browns offense in a 26-10 win at home.

Defensive end Jerry Hughes forced a fumble and returned it for an 18-yard touchdown, safety Da'Norris Searcy snagged two interceptions, and defensive tackle Kyle Williams and linebacker Nigel Bradham tallied sacks in the victory, which kept the Bills' playoff hopes alive while poking a hole in the Browns' postseason ship.

Dareus exited for bout with 'good dude' Pettine

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Mike Pettine is back in Western New York. And he's back in enemy digs.

Pettine, who spent a year as the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator following a stint with the New York Jets, is now leading the upstart 7-4 Cleveland Browns as head coach.

The Browns come to the Ralph Sunday in a battle between playoff hopefuls, and Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus expects his former coach to try and exploit what he can.

Tough final stretch ahead for still-alive Bills

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Last week, the Buffalo Bills (6-5) took advantage of a matchup against a hapless New York Jets squad and kept their playoff hopes alive.

Now, the team is on to an extremely tough final stretch of the schedule. Buffalo's opponents for the remainder of the year combine for a .600 win percentage, the second highest of all teams in the playoff race, according to BuffaloBills.com.

And even that number doesn't really tell the whole story.

Mangini makes his way back into NFL coaching ranks

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Remember Eric Mangini? Sure you do.

The former New York Jets head man and ex-New England Patriots defensive coordinator, who has been out of coaching since leading the Cleveland Browns to consecutive 5-11 records in 2009-10, will be back on the sideline this year.

Mangini has taken over as the San Francisco 49ers' tight ends coach, according to Bill Williamson of ESPN.com.

Mike Pettine poaching a handful of Bills assistants

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Remember the Buffalo Bills assistant coach who had no idea why he was fired?

It's safe to say that he's no longer searching for an answer.

Former Bills defensive coordinator and now Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine hired former Bills linebackers coach Chuck Driesbach this week to assume the same position in Cleveland, and he's not the only 2013 Bills assistant to follow Pettine.

Browns must make decision on Bills' O'Neil today

BY NICK ST. DENIS

After just one season as the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine bolted for a head coaching gig with the Cleveland Browns.

Now, the Bills are are waiting to see if Pettine plans on poaching some of his old staff, and the Bills are complying -- to a point.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Buffalo has given the Browns until Monday (today) to decide whether they want to bring in Bills linebackers coach Jim O'Neil to interview for its vacant defensive coordinator position.

Browns' dragged-out process almost deterred Pettine

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Cleveland Browns announced former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine as their new head coach late Thursday afternoon.

If they waited any longer, they may have been introducing someone else.

Pettine told WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia that the Browns' dragged-out process in hiring a head coach -- which included two interviews with Pettine after Cleveland had already been without a coach for more than two weeks -- was "starting to wear on me."

Bills were bridge that got Pettine from Point A to B

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Mike Pettine's stay with the Buffalo Bills was short but sweet. That's probably how it was intended.

Coming from the rival New York Jets last offseason, Pettine took over defensive coordinator duties for the Bills and successfully turned around the defense in one season. He was able to shed Rex Ryan's shadow and prove he could make it on his own.

And with that, he scored a head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns.

Bills' Pettine next up on Browns' to-interview list

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

After a very successful four-year stint with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills coordinator Mike Pettine led his team to its best defensive performance in nearly a decade in 2013.

The Cleveland Browns noticed.

Now the final team in search of a new head coach, Cleveland will bring in the 47-year-old Pettine Thursday to interview for the position, as first reported by Jay Glazer Wednesday. Pettine is one of many that Cleveland has shown interest in for the gig but is the first defensive coach named as a potential candidate.

Pats players: 'Easy to buy in' to 'brilliant' McDaniels

BY SEAN DONOVAN

As the annual NFL coaching carousel starts spinning faster and faster, the superlative work of the New England Patriots coaching staff this season is sure to attract attention from coach-needy franchises.

One of the first coaches mentioned is Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, whose name has been connected particularly with the Cleveland Browns vacancy. He will reportedly meet with Browns officials on Saturday, according to ESPN.

McDaniels, who was a hot, young prospect when he was hired as coach of the Denver Broncos in 2009, was abruptly fired 13 games into his second season. He now seems destined to coach again, and the reason why is evident in how his current players speak about him.

Week 16 picks: Browns at Jets

Publisher Nick St. Denis, associate editor Dan Begnoche and senior contributor Sean Donovan pick the New York Jets' AFC bout with the Cleveland Browns.

Nick's take:

The Jets no longer have anything to play for from a playoff perspective, but if there's one thing Rex Ryan is good for, it's motivation. New York, as usual, will have no problem shutting down the run but will be very wary of the dangerous receiver Josh Gordon. Only two teams are giving up more passing plays of 40 yards or more than the Jets, and Gordon is averaging nearly 20 yards a reception with nine touchdowns to boot. Antonio Cromartie will have his hands full, but the Jets out-will the Browns.

Prediction: Jets 20, Browns 17

Four Point Stance: Browns at Jets

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns are now jockeying for higher draft positions. They're also jockeying for jobs.

Officially out of playoff contention, both teams are looking to earn respect from their bosses when they square off at the Meadowlands Sunday. Cleveland (4-10) has lost its last five games, while New York (6-8) has mustered just a single win in as many weeks.

Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith and fifth-year coach Rex Ryan have two dress rehearsals to sway the higher-ups one way or the other. Both have earned staunch support from the locker room through thick and thin, but how that translates to the front office is yet to be determined.

Pats manufacture wild comeback 'one play at a time'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The New England Patriots have a thing for comeback wins.

They've manage a few improbable come-from-behind victories prior to Week 14 -- most notably a 24-point eraser against the Denver Broncos two weeks ago -- but Sunday's finish may be the leader in the clubhouse.

The Patriots scored two touchdowns and recovered an onside kick in a 30-second span in the final minute to oust the Cleveland Browns, 27-26, in what was an otherwise sloppy game from the No. 1 seed contenders.

Week 14 picks: Browns at Patriots

Associate editor Dan Begnoche and senior contributor Sean Donovan pick the New England Patriots' AFC battle with the Cleveland Browns.

Dan's take:
Going on the road to face the Patriots’ 10th-ranked pass defense is already a task in itself; having a concussed Jason Campbell at the helm only makes matters worse. Look for New England to blanket Josh Gordon and throw some big blitzes at the ailing quarterback, who will need big games from his running game to keep things moving. Expect Tom Brady to stick to his bread and butter of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski as primary options with Aaron Dobson out, and look for Stevan Ridley to have a bounce-back performance free of fumbles. New England does its part to wrap up the division against a team in desperate need of some leadership under center.
Prediction: Patriots 32, Browns 17