CLEVELAND — For the second straight season, the Cleveland Browns are dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak during their playoff push.

Cleveland’s postseason hopes were rocked Tuesday when the team placed eight players, including top wide receiver Jarvis Landry, tight end Austin Hooper and starting offensive linemen Wyatt Teller and Jedrick Wills Jr. on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Those players will all likely miss Saturday’s crucial game against the Las Vegas Raiders (6-7).

Defensive end Takk McKinley was also placed on the list with backup guard Drew Forbes, who is on injured reserve, as well as receiver/returner JoJo Natson and tight end Ross Travis from the practice squad.

They join tight end David Njoku, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and punter Jamie Gillan, who were also placed on the list and missed Sunday’s 24-22 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

The loss of Landry is especially tough for Cleveland’s sputtering offense. He’s played well lately, catching his first touchdown pass of the season in Sunday’s win as well as being quarterback Baker Mayfield’s prime target.

Landry leads the Browns with 38 receptions for 397 yards, and Hooper is second with 33 catches. He also caught a TD pass against the Ravens.

The Browns (7-6) are in the thick of a tight playoff race in the AFC and can’t afford any more losses.

With the short week, it’s going to be difficult for any of the affected players to be available. To be eligible, any vaccinated player on the COVID-19 list must be asymptomatic and have two negative tests in a 24-hour period.

An unvaccinated player must sit out 10 days.

The Browns were one of the NFL’s hardest-hit teams by COVID-19 a year ago. They played without star defensive end Myles Garrett down the stretch; didn’t have Landry and three other receivers in a December game at New York and still managed to end their long postseason drought.

They were without Coach Kevin Stefanski and Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio for their wild-card win at Pittsburgh after they tested positive.

RAMS: Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and six of his teammates went on the reserve/COVID-19 list amid the latest expansion of their virus outbreak.

Defensive backs Terrell Burgess and Juju Hughes, tight end Brycen Hopkins, tackle Alaric Jackson, injured nose tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day and practice squad defensive end Jonah Williams also went on the list. Only Beckham has played regularly in a major role for the Rams (9-4) this season.

Coach Sean McVay said the Rams have shut down their training complex in Thousand Oaks for at least two days under the NFL’s intensive protocols. They will conduct meetings virtually Wednesday and won’t hold a practice, although they were unlikely to hold a significant workout anyway on a short week of preparation to host Seattle on Sunday.

CHIEFS: Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones was placed in the COVID-19 protocol, one day after wide receiver Josh Gordon tested positive and two days before a crucial game against the Chargers.

Coach Andy Reid wasn’t sure whether either player will be available when the AFC West-leading Chiefs visit Los Angeles on Thursday night. If a player is vaccinated and tests positive, he needs two negative tests taken 24 hours apart to return to the team, which means it’s conceivable that Gordon and Jones could be cleared by kickoff.

The Chiefs lead the Chargers by one game in the division race, but already have lost to them once.

GIANTS: Saquon Barkley wants to be there when the New York Giants get back on a winning track.

The 24-year-old running back has seen plenty of losses since the Giants drafted him No. 2 overall in 2018, but he doesn’t want to go anywhere else despite speculation about his future in New York.

“I plan on being a big reason why we turn this thing around,” Barkley told The Associated Press for an upcoming episode of the AP Pro Football Podcast.

“That’s just my mindset, that’s my thought process. When I got drafted here, I said I want to be here for the rest of my life. I was born in New York, I’m from Pennsylvania. I live an hour and some change from my parents’ house. This is where I started my career, where I would love to finish my career. I know this thing is going to turn around and I would love to be a part of the reason it does.”

The Giants already picked up the fifth-year option on Barkley’s rookie contract so he’s signed for $7.2 million in 2022. Barkley only has 379 yards rushing in nine games this season after missing the final 14 games in 2020 because of a torn right ACL. He has missed 21 games since a spectacular rookie season when he gained more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage – 1,307 rushing and 721 receiving.

“I put a lot of hard work in the offseason and during the season with my knee, and also having to rehab my ankle,” Barkley said, mentioning the ankle injury that forced him to miss four games this year. “But last week, watching film, I felt like my burst was there a little bit. I felt like my explosiveness is there. I just have to keep going, keep trusting in the system, keep trusting my body, keep trusting the rehab and just keep my head down to keep working.”

The Giants (4-9) already secured their fifth straight losing season and eighth in nine years. Second-year coach Joe Judge’s job security is under scrutiny and GM Dave Gettleman may not be around to even make that decision.

Judge said Monday the team is heading in the right direction even though its record doesn’t indicate it. He has Barkley’s support.

“I think we’ve bought in,” Barkley said. “We have the guys that are bought in. We work. We love football. We have guys who are committed to it. But that’s everywhere in the NFL. That’s why it’s so hard to win in the NFL.”