The buck stops at the head coach’s desk in the NFL.

It may not seem fair, but that’s just the way it works because life isn’t fair. The coaches know it, and accept it, and they’re paid very well to play the role of being responsible for what happens with the team, both good and, much more importantly, bad.

When the Browns mess up, Kevin Stefanski gets all the criticism. And everybody, including me, weighs in on that and tosses a little — or a lot of — mud his way.

And when the Browns excel, he gets plenty of praise.

As such, then, it is time to throw bouquets Stefanski’s way after the huge 33-31 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Of course, we have to praise all the players who helped make the victory possible, especially Deshaun Watson, for a team ebbs and flows, rises and falls, with the performance of its quarterback since he plays the most important position — by far, and it isn’t even close — in team sports. Watson was flawless in the second half, and particularly so down the stretch and on the game-winning drive. It’s why the Browns traded all their worldly goods to get him, for without a good quarterback, a team doesn’t have a good chance to stack wins and get to where it wants to go.

But when you dig further, you find that none of that would have happened without Stefanski and his calm, which is his biggest strength. If he had lost his cool when the Browns overall and Watson specifically were absolutely horrible in falling behind 14-0 in the first 4:47 of the game, then it would have broken the quarterback’s will and that of his teammates and the situation would have just kept getting worse. But Stefanski was encouraging and not discouraging, persistent and not panicked, and everybody on the sideline fed off that.

Stefanski, like most good coaches, will never tell you that, but it’s true.

The Browns are lucky to have him.

Steve King