The 2008 Detroit Lions remain unmatched for another season as the only team to go 0-16, as the 2016 Cleveland Browns finally got a win. The 20-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers snapped a 17-game losing streak for the Browns that stretched back to Week 14 of the 2015 season.
Chargers vs. Browns 2016 final score: Cleveland wins 1st game in over a year to avoid 0-16 season
A 17-game losing streak was snapped by the Browns to avoid an 0-16 season that looked inevitable.
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The last time the Browns won a game, Johnny Manziel was the team’s starting quarterback, and while Robert Griffin III will get credit for the win Saturday, he couldn’t finish the game, leaving because of a concussion. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by Cody Kessler.
After a slow rally, San Diego had a chance to tie the game with a field goal in the final minutes, but the Browns blocked the attempt to preserve a three-point lead.
On a final drive, the Chargers drove into Cleveland territory but missed another game-tying field-goal try.
It was the defense and running game that Cleveland found success with early that deserved the most credit for the victory.
Isaiah Crowell plowed ahead for two touchdowns in the first half, and Griffin also found success with his legs, erasing a 7-0 lead for the Chargers to take a 17-10 lead into halftime. While scoring slowed down for the Browns in the second half, the team’s defense held Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense to just one touchdown in the second half.
One group that will be happy Cleveland avoided an 0-16 record are players from the 2008 Lions roster, who said they were pulling for the Browns to find a win.
“I feel for them,” former Detroit linebacker Ryan Nece told Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. “To be where they are now, there’s only a few men and a few coaches that have gone through what they’ve gone through. It is extremely challenging, and it’s something that I’m actually hoping that they find a way to get a win, because just to be able to get that monkey off their back in the next two games, I think will be tremendous for them.”
Both the Chargers and the Browns were eliminated from the postseason before Saturday, but the game’s result could have a big effect on the offseason, as the San Francisco 49ers are now two losses away from owning the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
But it’s hard to find too many negatives for the Browns who was close to starting a new era under Hue Jackson and Sashi Brown with a winless season. Cleveland can build around some late-season positive signs heading into an offseason that will still feature plenty of draft capital to work with.
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