Jets and Browns square off after making some changes during their bye-week breaks

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns are coming out of their bye-week breaks looking a bit different.

Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams and Michael Carter II were all traded by the struggling Jets before the NFL deadline this week.

“When opportunity comes, and if it’s an opportunity that’s going help you as a team, you take it,” coach Aaron Glenn said.

In Cleveland, there weren't any stunning, roster-altering trades. But coach Kevin Stefanski shook things up for his struggling offense by ceding play calling duties to first-year coordinator Tommy Rees ahead of the Browns' matchup with the Jets (1-7) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

“I do think it’s important with a play caller that you have a call sheet of plays that you’re really comfortable with," Stefanski said. "So, certainly this week, making sure Tommy’s got the quote, unquote, final say. I’m letting him kind of put this thing together.

"Obviously, I’m helping and making my suggestions, but I want him to feel comfortable and confident with what’s on that call sheet.”

The Browns (2-6) are 30th in the league in scoring, averaging only 15.8 points per game, and are 31st in total offense, averaging 263.5 yards per game. Cleveland has scored more than 17 points only once in its past 13 games going back to last season.

Rookie Dillon Gabriel’s 75.8 passer rating in October was third lowest in the league and he had the fourth-worst completion rate (59.4%) among starters. The third-round pick is 1-3 since taking over for Joe Flacco, who was traded to Cincinnati.

“I think it hasn’t really changed much in terms of day to day, just going about our business that way,” Gabriel said of the play-calling change. “But I think it’ll be good. I think it’d be good for the guys. Just want to get this thing going in the right direction.”

He'll try to get that done against a Jets defense that jettisoned three starters.

Gardner was traded to Indianapolis for a first-round draft pick in 2026 and another in 2027, along with wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. A few hours later, Williams was dealt to Dallas for a second-round pick in 2026, a first-round selection in 2027 and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Those deals came a few days after Carter, one of the league's top nickel cornerbacks, was traded to Philadelphia.

“I was surprised,” quarterback Justin Fields said. “It’s a tough feeling. You’ve built these relationships with guys in the locker room and the next day off, they're gone. You can’t control any of that stuff. You just have to get back to work the next day and keep going.”

Cleveland comes to the Meadowlands on a 12-game road losing streak, the NFL’s longest skid away from home since Jacksonville’s 18-game run from 2019 through ’22.

The Browns have not won away from Cleveland as the road team since Week 2 of last season against the Jaguars. They've been outscored 366-170 during the streak and have dropped their past seven by at least 13 points.

“We’ve just got to put an emphasis on starting fast and playing fast once we go on the road as well," cornerback Denzel Ward said. “And still bringing that home energy to those away games, even though we’re not going to have the fans cheering for us and everything, still feeding off each other’s energy, going out there making plays early and getting it going.”

Cleveland still has a long way to approach the franchise record of 25, which occurred between the 2015 and '18 seasons.

As he did leading up to the Jets' 39-38 comeback win at Cincinnati two weeks ago, Glenn is staying mum on who his starting quarterback will be against Cleveland.

Glenn has cited not wanting to give the opponent a competitive edge, but it would be a surprise if Fields isn't under center when the Jets take the field Sunday.

Fields, who appeared to be heading to the bench before an injury to Tyrod Taylor, responded with one of his best performances. He went 21 of 32 for 244 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 31 yards. Fields also hasn't thrown an interception in any of his seven starts.

But when asked if he expected to start this week, Fields said simply: “We'll see.”

Myles Garrett set the Browns' single-season sack record (since it became an official statistic in 1982) with five at New England two weeks ago.

The All-Pro pass rusher is second in the league with 10 sacks and anchors a unit that is ranked second overall, allowing only 276.9 yards per game.

Garrett, who leads the league with 15 tackles for loss, needs two sacks to become the first player to reach 12 in six consecutive seasons, breaking a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor (1985-89).

Not only are Gardner, Williams and Carter gone from New York's defense, linebacker Quincy Williams found out this week he lost his starting job.

The older brother of Quinnen Williams has been a starter since joining the Jets in 2021 and was an All-Pro in 2023. But he told reporters he was with the backups when he returned from the bye because his coaches didn't think he was producing up to expectations.

Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said Williams will remain a big part of what the Jets are doing on defense and the benching wasn't necessarily a motivational tactic.

“You just have grown man conversations,” Wilks said. “You put out there exactly what they need to do and I think he understands that. As he stated, he’s willing to be able to correct some of those things. That’s what I like about him as a person and who he is on the field as a player as well.”

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AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed.

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