Browns end "roller coaster season" with loss to Texans

It wasn't the outcome Browns fans wanted on Saturday. The Houston Texans beat the Browns 45-14 in the Wild Card playoff on Saturday. Cleveland fans at the Train Station groaned as the Texans' score rose during the second half of the game, though they had remained hopeful as the point spread widened. Jeremy Bailey and his wife, Tish, joined others in yelling at the televisions on the Train Station's back patio. Jeremy Bailey had been confident the team could make a comeback in the second half, putting his faith in quarterback Joe Flacco and head coach Kevin Stefanski. The Train Station played host to the Elyria Browns Backers, like it does during the team's regular season. This year, the group was gifted a playoff run, albeit short, for its 20th anniversary. It was the first time since the 2020 season the Browns made it to the postseason, and the first time the Browns Backers group could gather to watch their team in the playoffs together — the 2020 season was during the COVID-19 shutdown. Prior to that, the last time the Browns made it to the playoffs was in 2002, before the Elyria group was founded. For Tyler Bowling and his father, Steve, it was great to get together with the group in the hopes of a playoff win — rather than watching the postseason at home on the couch. The pair, and Tyler Bowling's German shepherd, Zeus, have been paid Elyria Browns Backers for more than a decade. The Bowlings compared this year's team to the 1980s Kardiac Kids for the last-minute plays this year. "It's been a fun year, it's been a heartbreaking year," Tyler Bowling said. "The team's been very resilient and there's been a lot of bad things to happen throughout the course of just this season, let alone the whole organization. … It's been a roller coaster ride of a season and we're just enjoying the ride." It was the first postseason Zeus, 11, was able to show off his singing abilities to "Here We Go Brownies" — as Tyler Bowling spent a season teaching the pup to bark for the "woof woof" portion of the cheer. Browns Backers Vice President Matthew Mangione balanced watching the game with running a 50/50 raffle and other fundraisers. Prior to that, Mangione had spent the day pacing his house counting down until 3 p.m. to head to the bar, he said. The Browns Backers supports the Friendship APL; St. Jude Church Helping Hands Food Pantry; Murray Ridge School; The Chronicle-Telegram Not-Forgotten Box toy drive; Easterseals; Valor Home; and local support for breast cancer survivors and research. Money raised throughout the regular season — and Saturday's playoff game — is split between the local organizations. "We keep everything local," said Amanda Aguilar, another Browns Backer. "We want to see that it's impacting people that we can see down the street." For more information, or to get involved with the Elyria Browns Backers, visit its Facebook page. Dues are $20 per year and help cover food costs for games. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.