This is what Jarvis Landry expects to be doing every January.
It just so happens to be the first time it came to be, as the Browns are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and, of course, the first time since Landry joined the team in 2018. The veteran wide receiver has high expectations for every season, and 2020 was no different.
Landry, though, has made it clear he won't be satisfied with just an appearance in the postseason.
ClevelandBrowns.com caught up with Landry as he eyed Sunday's playoff matchup with the Steelers.
CB.com: It's been another unprecedented week with a lot of adjustments. What's it been like while you're trying to prepare for such a big game.
Landry: It's tough when you are in a situation and have an opportunity to play in a playoff game. It looks like we're going to miss two days of practice, in a sense. We've been trying to make the most out of these walk-throughs and all of our meetings and trying to go over each and every detail we can possible go over with any look we think is going to be presented to us. It is what it is. Coach Kevin (Stefanski) always talks about hitting the curveball and of course we get another one thrown at us.
CB.com: You've dealt with news about players going on the COVID-19 list all season, but does it hit a little different when it's the head coach?
Landry: Yeah, of course. Coach Stefanski has been a real stickler about all of the protocols, making sure even at practice we're distanced and have our facemasks on and all of the precautions are being taken. Even if someone was a close contact and you never had a positive, he was doing it early in the season. He did all of the things you can ask to make sure we can play football and to be able to keep our organization safe and for something like this to not happen, it's very unfortunate.
CB.com: How good have you gotten at preparing yourself virtually?
Landry: It's just habit now. We've been kind of doing this since the offseason started. You wake up, take your COVID test in the morning and then get back home and on the Zoom call until we have to come into the building. It's just been a natural thing now. We've adapted to it. Our video crew, everybody has been on board to make sure we have what we need to be able to move forward and get the details and things done we need to be able to go out and play football.
CB.com: Overall, how exciting is this opportunity, especially for you?
Landry: It's very exciting. I know my facial expressions don't show it too much but it's an opportunity that a lot of people never really actually get — to feel what football feels like in January. We have an opportunity just to go out and win one game. That's all we have at this point, one game left. That's how we've got to look at it and go from there. Don't look ahead, don't look behind. Just look at this one game like we've been doing all season.
CB.com: Was there a moment this season where you realized this team was capable of making the playoffs?
Landry: I always believed that. Every year I played the game, I've always believed this was the year to make it to the playoffs or the year to make it to the Super Bowl. I've said it plenty of times. I don't train to just win a couple of games. I don't train just to make the playoffs. I know a lot of guys have that same exact mindset when we set out through the offseason and late into the season. It definitely was in my mind, just like it's always been.
CB.com: When you went through last week's game, was it in the back of your mind you could be facing the Steelers again this week?
Landry: I was so worried about finishing that game that I couldn't even look forward the following week. There was everything that happened the week before during the Jets week and being out on the close contact list. I missed my first game, essentially, and we weren't able to pull that game off. All of the emotions of everything — everything just felt like it was on the line. I couldn't look forward or couldn't look back. I just had to be in the moment, be present, and it got us through this one. We've got to try to find a way to do it again.
CB.com: What's going to be more different this week? What the Steelers do, or what you do?
Landry: It's playoff football. You never know. The thing that I can think about the most is in these moments, teams are going to do their bread and butter things, the things that got them to the playoffs. That's something you can anticipate from both sides. It's definitely going to be a tough game, hard-fought game. We've got to compete, they've got to compete and we'll see how it goes in the end.
CB.com: This is a young team as a whole. How can some of the veterans help those players along? Do they just have to experience it themselves?
Landry: I feel like you can't actually ask how it feels to play in the playoffs. I think to every guy it feels a little different. A couple of things remain the same: The intensity level is going to be even higher than the regular season, higher than preseason. The attention to detail: Every play counts. I'm not saying it doesn't in the regular season, but in the playoffs field position, all of these things are so critical because it is the last game. It's about how you approach it and how you handle situations. My biggest thing with our team is we should refrain from self-inflicted things. That's penalties, that's things after the whistle, all of these things. That's something we've harped on and Coach Stefanski has talked about and we've grown from. We're excited about this.
