Josh Gordon played well in his first game back from a suspension, but his teammates might be giving him the cold shoulder in the locker room.
Gordon caught eight passes for 120 yards on Sunday, and the Cleveland Browns defeated the Atlanta Falcons 26-24 on a Billy Cundiff field goal as time expired.
Gordon looked good on Sunday, particularly since he had not played in a game since the preseason. Many reports last week speculated about limited usage for Gordon, snap counts, and not forcing him the ball. When the game mattered, however, Gordon was on the field, and quarterback Brian Hoyer had no qualms about looking Gordon's way, targeting him 16 times during the game.
Other members of the team have not been so quick to welcome Gordon back into the fold.
According to media reports, Gordon had some telling comments in a recent interview. "The lowest point of all this I think was the disassociation from a lot of friends you thought were close or you thought you were kind of cool with really not checking on you anymore, [not] hitting you up anymore, [not] wanting to hang out," said Gordon.
"As far as even people in here (with the Browns), I don't want to throw names around, but I can see it."
Browns Coach Mike Pettine expressed thoughts that Gordon still has some work to do, but added that Sunday's game was a great start. The win took Cleveland's record to 7-4. They are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. All three teams sit a half-game behind the Cincinnati Bengals by virtue of a tie the Bengals had earlier in the season.
Every team in the division is in the thick of the playoff race, although at least one will miss the playoffs. Still, the division looks like the best division in football from top-to-bottom. It is also the first time in NFL history that every team in a division is at least three games above .500.
Below you can see Gordon expressing how glad he is to be back with the team.
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