aid. When were getting the right shots and sharing the

CLEVELAND -- Hue Jackson has run out of pep talks. At this point, theres only so much he can do to stop this dismal season from an even deeper descent.The Browns record is one thing.Jackson cant lose his locker room, too.As his team recovered from a 24-9 pasting from Pittsburgh, a loss that dropped Cleveland to 0-11 in 2016 and below .500 overall for the first time in 66 years, the Browns coach said its vital over the next five games for his frustrated players to keep fighting -- together.I understand how people feel about us right now, Jackson said Monday.This team is going to continue to work hard. We are going to continue to stick together because we know that is the only way success will come. We have to continue to have each others backs.The Browns are hoping to avoid dubious history. Three NFL teams previously went 0-11 before winning a game -- the 1975 Chargers, 1984 Bills, 2000 Chargers -- while seven had even worse starts.It cant get much worse for the Browns than Sunday, when the Steelers overpowered them, recording eight sacks, taking rookie quarterback Cody Kessler out with a concussion -- his second head injury in 28 days -- and dominating both lines from the outset.Kessler will miss Sundays game against the surging New York Giants (7-3) and its possible the third-round pick is done for the season.Josh McCown, who was sacked four times and absorbed a few more crushing hits when he came in for Kessler in the fourth quarter, will make his third start this season.The 37-year-old McCown has endured difficult seasons before, but those havent softened the impact this one is having.It is a tough, tough time for us, he said. Especially for guys who have been in the league for a little while and in our locker room, it is frustrating.But at the end of the day, we are going to continue to reload, come back to work and fight hard to make it right and get it going. We owe it to the rest of the guys in the locker room, the coaches, the people in the organization and the city to get this thing turned around.Some of the frustration is beginning to boil over.Following Clevelands 21st loss in 22 games, Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise depressing season, vented his feeling by calling out some offensive teammates for not doing a better job of protecting the Browns quarterbacks.Pryor didnt name names, but there was no hiding his anger. And unlike Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas, he didnt lay blame on Clevelands front office for gutting the clubs roster during the offseason to build for the future.Pryor spoke from his heart, which seems fractured.They cant keep getting hit like that, and if I want to voice my opinion, Im going to voice my opinion now, because its going on too much, he said. I dont care if youve got to hold these dudes. Hold them and take the damn penalty and stop getting our quarterbacks hit. I hate that.While Jackson appreciated Pryors passion, he didnt like his message.That is not Terrelles job, Jackson said. I know he is frustrated and we all are. No doubt, we need to protect our quarterback, but that is not for him to say.Lets focus on ourselves and support each other. That is what good teams do, and that is what we are going to work to become.Jackson spoke with Pryor, who caught five passes for 97 yards, another performance that will only help his bargaining power in getting a contract extension from the Browns.Sometimes, like most people, after the game and after the heat of the moment, you are a little frustrated and maybe you say some things that you wish you hadnt, Jackson said.I understand it is coming from a good place. I know that no one wants to see our quarterback getting hit, but I think everybody has to let me be the judge of that.As for Jackson, it appears he hasnt lost the confidence of his players, who remain supportive despite a season testing everyones patience and stomachs.We stand 100 percent behind him, linebacker Christian Kirksey said.Jackson is weathering the storm the only way he knows -- head on. He wasnt prepared to lose on this scale, but hes determined to not let the losing slow him down.I know what I signed up for, he said. I truly believe I am just the man for the job. That has not shown, and I respect that and I understand how our fans and all feel, but I am not running from this. I am going to run through it. We are going to fix this. That is what I came here to do.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL . Jim Brown Browns Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Sheldrick Redwine Womens Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. http://www.brownsrookiestore.com/Browns-Nick-Chubb-Jersey/ . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Greedy Williams Womens Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Ozzie Newsome Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Perhaps this was the type of win the talented and young Minnesota Timberwolves needed to get on a roll.Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 27 points and 15 rebounds, and the Timberwolves showed late-game poise by erasing a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Southeast Division-leading Charlotte Hornets 125-120 in overtime on Saturday night.The more close games youre in and the more you win, the better you get, Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. Repetition builds habits. When you see things happen in a game, it slows everything down.Zack LaVine added 17 points and Ricky Rubio had nine points and 12 assists for the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided being swept by the Hornets for the third straight season.We came back and really made some really winning plays down the stretch, LaVine said. Thats what happens when you keep fighting. Weve been fighting the last four or five games and been in those positions but we got over that hump. It feels good. Now we need to keep it going.Towns, a dominant force on the glass all night, had six points in overtime, including a backbreaking follow off a missed shot with 21 seconds left to put the Timberwolves up by six. Towns sealed the victory with two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining.Charlotte appeared on its way to its fourth win in five games, leading 104-97 with less than one minute to play.But Minnesota battled back to tie the game in regulation with LaVine, Rubio and Wiggins all hitting 3-pointers in the final 39 seconds. Wiggins pull-up from 31 feet in transition with 8.9 seconds tied the game at 106.The Hornets had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Kemba Walker missed everything on a step-back 18-footer at the buzzer.There were a lot of mistakes on the defensive end and we gave up some big baskets, Walker said. We missed some rotations and we have tto be better down the stretch.ddddddddddddWalker led Charlotte with 22 points and eight assists. Frank Kaminsky had 21 points and Nic Batum had 15 points and 12 assists.TIP-INS:Timberwolves: Wiggins and Towns were a combined 22 of 42 from the field. ... Blocked 10 shots.Hornets: The Hornets have given up an average of 16.5 points per game in the first quarter in the last two games, compared to a season average of 27.1 points. ... Cody Zeller had four blocks.STRONG OT STARTThe Timberwolves took advantage of the momentum they had built at the end of regulation, opening overtime with a 7-0 run.You know, it always looks better when the ball is going in, Thibodeau said. When were getting the right shots and sharing the ball, everything looks a lot better. Obviously, playing from a lead is important and we havent been doing that.NOT PHYSICAL ENOUGHHornets coach Steve Clifford said he was especially disappointed with this loss because the team had emphasized getting its defense set and physicality in terms of blocking out.They crushed us with the block outs in the fourth quarter, Clifford said. They had at least four that might have led to nine points. That cant happen. Its been discussed and weve watched it and the reality is we either going to become a more physical group or were not going to win -- at least not every night.TOWNS PASSES GARNETTTowns established a new Timberwolves record with his 27th straight game with at least one blocked shot. He had two blocks against the Hornets.UP NEXT:Timberwolves: Minnesota returns home Tuesday to face the NBAs best road team in San Antonio. The Spurs are 11-0 on the road, while the Timberwolves are 3-6 at home.Hornets: Charlotte heads out on the road Monday night to face the Dallas Mavericks, who they just beat on Thursday night. ' ' '