CLEVELAND — The Browns hadn't won a football game since Barack Obama's presidency. Their last victim, the Chargers, still called San Diego home at the time. Bud Light actually cost money in Cleveland.

But everything changed Thursday night.

The pivotal moment was easy to pinpoint — with 1:42 remaining in the first half, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield strode onto the field, making his NFL regular-season debut with his team trailing 14-0. Some 67,000 fans were immediately electrified as the New York Jets became petrified.

And just like that Mayfield was completing pass after pass ... just like that the Browns got off the mat ... just like that, they had a 21-17 breakthrough for their first victory in 635 days.

And just like that, Cleveland has a team primed to make its first playoff run since LeBron James was in high school.

You read that correctly. Mark it down, Freezing Cold Takes.

This was more than just a long-awaited win. Right, Jarvis Landry?

"It definitely felt that way," said the Cleveland receiver, who had a game-best eight catches for 103 yards and even pulled the Browns even in the third quarter with a two-point conversion pass to Mayfield on a "Philly Special"-like play.

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It definitely felt different in the bowels of FirstEnergy Stadium as players rejoiced in a raucous locker room while coach Hue Jackson and Browns legend Jim Brown exchanged a meaningful embrace.

But Mayfield was the catalyst, instantly moving the previously languid offense with his precision passing and quick decisions after replacing concussed starter Tyrod Taylor.

"He was so ready for this moment," said Landry. "He grabbed it by the horns."

This is what the Browns envisioned five months ago as they sat atop the draft board and surprisingly took Mayfield, who clearly outplayed Jets counterpart Sam Darnold on Thursday.

"This one is definitely up there," said Mayfield, who won the Heisman Trophy and dozens of games in college. "I have had some great memories, but I am just getting started."

So are the Browns.

Mayfield played like a veteran, not a 23-year-old, completing 17 of 23 throws for 201 yards. He came out firing, his first three professional passes connecting for 47 yards and producing a field goal in a first half when Cleveland otherwise managed no points and totaled just 112 yards.

Jackson wouldn't commit to Mayfield as the permanent starter — yet — but there's no way he won't be in the lineup when the Browns travel to Oakland in Week 4. Mayfield already has the respect of his teammates. And there's no unseeing an attack that scored 21 points under his direction after going nowhere with Taylor. Even Jackson had to admit the pace picked up with the rookie at the controls.

"He has that magnetism," he said of Mayfield. "It was his coming-out party."

Now 1-1-1, the Browns are really just a few converted kicks away from being 3-0. They have many of the key attributes of a playoff-caliber team:

►They're decisively winning the turnover battle, running their league-best takeaway total to 11 after pilfering the Jets three times in the second half (Cleveland's plus-nine differential is six better than any other team)

►The defense has stars emerging at every level, including pass rusher Myles Garrett, linebacker Joe Schobert and defensive backs Denzel Ward and Jabrill Peppers

►A run game that entered Week 3 ranked fourth in the NFL gashed the Jets for 133 yards with Carlos Hyde (98 yards, 2 TDs) leading the way

►The Browns finally moved on from the Josh Gordon sideshow after trading him to New England this week, but appear to have a legit deep threat to replace him in rookie Antonio Callaway (who could do more damage with Mayfield after Taylor missed him several times Thursday)

►A kicking game that failed Cleveland in Weeks 1 and 2 may be stabilizing under rookie Greg Joseph, who made both field-goal tries and his lone PAT attempt Thursday in his own NFL debut

"What we need to realize as a franchise now is that everybody has their job," said Mayfield. "It's not all on one person. It's not all on me right now."

True. A talented roster is blossoming around him. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the AFC North, the controversy-racked Steelers — they tied with Cleveland on opening day — appear as vulnerable as they've been in years. And the Ravens and Bengals are learning there won't be any more gimmes when they visit Northeast Ohio.

"What has happened in the past," said Landry, "has nothing to do with us. This is a new team. For us to win this one, I think that it is going to create some momentum and energy for us."

Just maybe enough to power the Browns all the way to January.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis