Jets locked in at No. 2 in NFL Draft after win over Browns, likely ending bid for Trevor Lawrence

For the second straight week, they ended the game in victory formation. Now they will pick second in the NFL Draft.

The Jets held on to beat the Browns, 23-16, in their home finale at empty MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The win, coupled with the Jaguars’ loss to the Bears, clinched the second-worst record in the NFL for the Jets.

The odds of the Jets (2-13) getting the first pick were greatly diminished by their unexpected win over the Rams last week. This sealed it. The 1-14 Jaguars, who own the tiebreaker over the Jets based on strength of schedule, will have the first overall pick. It will be a shock if it isn’t Lawrence, the stud quarterback out of Clemson.

But the Jets players never concerned themselves with the future, only with doing everything they could to end this miserable season on a positive note. They’ve shown resilience to beat potential playoff teams in back-to-back weeks.

"It means a lot to us as players to actually win a game and not continue to go home losers," said impassioned linebacker Tarell Basham, who made some huge plays on defense Sunday. "We got children. That’s the last thing you want to go home and explain to your kids every week why you’re a loser. You want them to be winners, but you can’t seem to win.

"This is big for us as players, as men, as coaches, as an organization. This is big."

With the No. 2 pick, the Jets could take Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields or possibly trade down for more draft capital and grab another quarterback. But their incumbent quarterback, Sam Darnold, played his second straight clean game.

Darnold completed 16 of 32 passes for 175 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Receiver Jamison Crowder caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and threw a 43-yard TD pass to Braxton Berrios as Adam Gase used some trick plays against the undermanned Browns.

Cleveland (10-5) put six players on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday night after linebacker B.J. Goodson tested positive. Starting receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, as well as linebacker Jacob Phillips and receiver KhaDarel Hodge, were deemed high-risk close contacts.

The Browns still had the best rushing duo in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, but the Jets made them look pedestrian. Each scored a rushing touchdown, but the NFL’s No. 3 rushing attack was held to a season-low 45 yards even though the Jets were without run-stopper Quinnen Williams.

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield also was ineffective. He threw for 285 yards and no touchdowns, was sacked four times, fumbled three times and lost two of them.

"Plain and simple, I failed this team," Mayfield said.

Mayfield fumbled on Cleveland’s last play of the game, on fourth-and-1 from the Jets’ 16. Basham delivered the hit and forced the fumble, his second of the day.

Hunt recovered the fumble, but inside two minutes, the player who fumbles is the only one allowed to recover it. The Jets took over on downs and Darnold knelt three times.

"We got so much knock back from our interior guys that Baker had nowhere to go, forcing him to slide out my way," Basham said. "I was coming down to make the initial contact to stop his momentum and get him to go back and I was able to pop the ball loose.

"Blessed to be able to make such a play as a team at such a critical moment of the game."

The Jets led 20-3 late in the third quarter. The cushion could have been bigger, but Sam Ficken had an extra point and a 50-yard field goal blocked.

The Browns scored rushing touchdowns on back-to-back drives to make it a one-score game, moving within 20-16 on Hunt’s 4-yard scoring run with 12:38 left. Cody Parkey missed the extra point.

It stayed that way until Basham strip-sacked Mayfield deep in Browns territory. John Franklin-Myers recovered at the Cleveland 17 with 3:14 to go. The Jets settled for Ficken’s 34-yard field goal with 2:52 left to extend their lead to 23-16.

Cleveland had one last chance, and it started badly for the Jets. Ficken’s kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Browns the ball at their 40. But the defense stood tall.

"Our guys are so resilient with everything that we do," Darnold said. "We’re playing more consistent throughout the game. Obviously, it’s too late, but it’s coming together nicely."

This is not what long-suffering Jets fans wanted. They wanted the Jets to be in position to take Lawrence. But Basham said there’s only one fan he cares about.

"My daughter’s my fan," he said. "And she’s pretty excited about her dad winning these last two games."