JOEL BITONIO

Five players, including dynamic pass catchers Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams, are unanimous choices for The Associated Press 2021 NFL All-Pro Team.

With a surge of COVID-19 cases threatening to disrupt the NFL season, the league discussed canceling three games last week for the first time since the pandemic began.

Daniel Carlson’s 48-yard field goal as time expired sent the Las Vegas Raiders to a 16-14 win over the COVID-19-depleted Cleveland Browns in a game pushed back two days by the NFL amid an uptick of virus cases across the league.

Tyrod Taylor spent just one season in Cleveland but made a lasting impact on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chad Henne celebrates after a run during the second half of an NFL divisional round football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Kansas City. – The Kansas City Chiefs had lost Patrick Mahomes to a concussion and were in danger of losing the game. With their star quarterback reduced to a spectator, the oft-forgotten bunch opposite Mahomes' high-powered offense forced the Browns to punt in the waning minutes. After the teams swapped field goals, with Butker breaking the Chiefs playoff record with a 50-yarder into the wind, the Browns marched for what could have been a momentum-swinging score heading into halftime. First, the Browns held the Chiefs when Mayfield threw an interception and Butker missed a field goal.

FILE - Cleveland Browns offensive guard Joel Bitonio (75) blocks in the third quarter an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland, in this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, file photo. Browns Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio will be activated from the COVID-19 list Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, after missing last weeks playoff win over Pittsburgh. The Pro Bowl left guard has was activated from the COVID-19 list Friday after missing last week’s wild-card win over Pittsburgh. It was a devastating development for Bitiono, who had endured so much losing with the Browns before this turnaround season. On Wednesday, coach Kevin Stefanski returned in person to the team after also missing last week's game with COVID-19.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks on from the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, in Pittsburgh. Positive COVID-19 tests have knocked Stefanski out of Cleveland's wild-card game at Pittsburgh on Sunday night the Browns' first playoff appearance since the 2002 season. (AP Photo/Justin Berl, File)CLEVELAND – Browns coach Kevin Stefanski doesn't plan a trip downstairs to his basement any time soon. Stefanski returned to the team's facility Thursday, 10 days after the first-year coach tested positive for COVID-19 and he was forced to miss Cleveland's playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Stefanski will make his playoff debut on the sideline this week when the Browns play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Also, Thursday night’s Southeastern Conference women’s basketball game featuring No. 12 Kentucky at Auburn has been postponed because of positive tests, contact tracing and quarantining within the Tigers’ program. ___Georgetown has canceled its men’s basketball game against DePaul on Wednesday night, citing a COVID-19-related issue with the program. Also, offensive line coach Bill Callahan returned to the team after being one of four assistants sidelined by the virus. He missed last week’s game as well with coronavirus, along with Ward, Johnson, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge and four assistant coaches.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) celebrates as he walks off the field following a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. The Cleveland Browns overcame all of it. The Browns dismantled the Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37 in the wild-card round Sunday night, picking up the franchise’s first postseason victory in more than a quarter-century and earning a trip to Kansas City next Sunday to face the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. The kick bounced into the end zone for a touchback and Mayfield calmly took Cleveland 80 yards in six plays. So much for the Browns being the Browns, a winking assessment Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster made about Cleveland in the middle of the week.

The first tripleheader of NFL wild-card games saw Tom Brady extend his postseason record for victories to 31 with a 31-23 win for Tampa Bay at Washington on Saturday. After a quarter-century, the Bills got one of those triumphs that Brady collects — and they even figured out how to stop a Hail Mary. The previous playoff win was over Miami on Dec. 30, 1995. And it came in the Bills’ first home playoff game in 24 years, with a limited number of fans in attendance (6,700) for the first time this season. The Ravens averaged an NFL-best 191.9 yards rushing per game and their 3,071 yards rushing were third highest in NFL history.

(AP Photo/David Richard)CLEVELAND – The Browns can finally practice for the playoffs. The Browns have been kept off the field and limited to virtual meetings in advance of Sunday night's wild-card game in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, quarterback Baker Mayfield said he hadn't thrown a football since last weekend, when the Browns clinched the AFC's No. The league maintains the game will be played as scheduled despite the Browns being without Stefanski and other players due to the virus. The Browns have seven players and six coaches, including Stefanski, who are unable to be around the team due to COVID-19 protocols.

While the Chiefs get another week’s rest, the six other AFC playoff teams get going this weekend. For just the second time since the 1970 league merger, every team in the AFC playoffs has at least 11 wins. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 54, 31-20 over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2, 2020, at Miami. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 43, 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Feb. 1, 2009, at Tampa, Florida. Their pass rush is nearly nonexistent with 19 sacks, the fewest by a playoff team since Denver had 19 in 1979.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield looks to throw during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Cleveland. However, a league spokesman said Thursday there “is no change to the status of the game” at Heinz Field. As his first postseason appearance draws near, Mayfield said he's been doing all he can at home to get ready. For special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, Sunday's game is a scenario he knew was possible due to the pandemic. “Make no mistake, this is Kevin’s team,” said Priefer, a Cleveland native.

(AP Photo/Justin Berl, File)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The women’s Big Ten basketball game on Sunday between Rutgers and Ohio State in Columbus has been postponed due to an increase in positive COVID-19 tests within the Rutgers program. The Creighton women have paused team activities and postponed three games because of a recent positive COVID-19 test result. ___The Tulsa-Central Florida men’s basketball game scheduled for Saturday at Tulsa has been postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests and subsequent contact tracing among UCF athletes. ___The Georgia State women’s basketball team has postposed two more Sun Belt Conference games after additional positive tests for COVID-19. 5 South Carolina has paused team activities and postponed its women’s basketball game with Georgia on Thursday night.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks on from the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, in Pittsburgh. Positive COVID-19 tests have knocked Stefanski out of Cleveland's wild-card game at Pittsburgh on Sunday night the Browns' first playoff appearance since the 2002 season. Beating the Pittsburgh Steelers is all that matters. Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, who previously worked with Stefanski in Minnesota, will serve as Cleveland's acting head coach. “So, ton of confidence in Coach Priefer, he knows this team very, very well from a roster standpoint, also based on how we play.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks on during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Cleveland. Stefanski, who in his first year returned the Browns to respectability, can only coach virtually from home this week. I feel for all the guys that won’t be able to play for the first playoff game. The Browns are the second team to be without its coach during the pandemic. Detroit interim coach Darrell Bevell sat out the Lions’ Dec. 26 game at Tampa Bay because of COVID-19 protocols.

Young and Jefferson made the Pro Bowl, and surely more rookies would have joined them as alternates at the league’s now-canceled all-star game. “It’s crazy unusual for a rookie, I think, to have the type of leadership that Chase has, genuine leadership,” Washington quarterback Alex Smith said. “I think a lot of young guys, especially high picks, I think you feel pressure to do it some way or somehow. “Talk about a rookie coming in, starting every game and just being focused,” Browns Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio said of Wills. “We’re growing and we’re starting to get a hang of the game,” said Dolphins right tackle Robert Hunt, a second-round pick and one of six Miami rookies starting on offense.

I think theres a lot of teams in the league right now that are dealing with all kinds of injuries.He's right. Teams all over the league were sent scrambling during camp. Certainly not during training camp when players are going hard to make the roster as the start of the regular season rolls closer. It's the soft tissue injuries and those things that you are trying to prevent with the ramp-up period," Bitonio said. That will certainly be something to monitor as the regular season begins and teams deal with injuries and potential replacements.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)BEREA, Ohio Baker Mayfield knew he needed to drop some weight, and maybe a little of the attitude. If there was anything the Browns' self-assured quarterback learned during a chaotic, losing 2019 season in Cleveland it was that he had to change. I would say I lost myself not having that success, not finding out what was working, he said. For Mayfield, this past offseason provided the chance for a restart, and the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and 2018 No. Mayfield said he got out of shape last season partly because injuries prevented him from working out the way he would have liked.