The Browns didn’t just win a game on Saturday when they edged the San Diego Chargers 20-17 in their home finale. They also took the first step in learning how to win.

 

And in the long run, that could well turn out to be more important.

 

The NFL has done a great job of making its teams — and games — very close.  That’s what the fans want. You know the old saying, “On any given Sunday …”

 

Even the struggling Browns have been involved in a number of tight contests this season. Before they topped the Chargers to get their first win of the year, the Browns had suffered two-, three-, five- and six-point losses in their first eight games.

 

The difference between competing for a playoff spot and competing for the No. 1 overall pick in the next year’s NFL Draft is learning how to make plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter, when most games are decided. The key is staying close for the first 3 1/2 quarters to put yourself into position to win the game. And then when the time comes to make that play, you make it. Or, as was the case Saturday, you wait for the other team to fail to make it.

 

It’s a lot more complicated than that, obviously, but that’s the gist of it.

 

Now the Browns need to remember how they did it, and try to do it again on Sunday when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season finale. Only this time, they’ll have to do it on the road in a hostile environment. It will be fun — and interesting — to see how the Browns react to this new-found confidence.

 

It’s a whole lot better than the alternative. Browns fans know that all to well.

 

Now, about Robert Griffin III, the concussion he suffered against San Diego and the quarterback situation going forward … oh. man!