Before Cleveland fans could cry, “Dilly Dilly!” as the locks came off the free-beer fridges following their team’s first win in 635 days, some where shouting, “Philly Philly!” But Browns coach Hue Jackson insists he didn’t take the play that ended with quarterback Baker Mayfield catching a two-point conversion from the Super Bowl LII champs.
“We did not steal that from them,” Jackson told reporters after the victory. “Please. I know everybody wants to think that. We have had that in our back pocket for a while. Go check my tricks from before, and go check [offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s] tricks from before. We all have them. It is just when you pull them out and use them. That is what that is.”
He’s right. The Eagles weren’t the first team to use that play, and they won’t be the last. The fact that the Eagles used it in a high-profile spot naturally will cause many to identify that play with the defending champs. But others have done it, others will do it, and Browns fans will now associate it less with Nick Foles and more with Baker Mayfield’s coming-out party in Cleveland.