The Cleveland Browns should’ve been eliminated from the AFC North race in Week 14. Instead, their playoff hopes were alive headed into Week 16. However, they needed a long list of things to break their way, including a Titans loss to Washington on Saturday. That didn’t happen, and the Browns’ playoff hopes are over.
The Browns’ playoff hopes ended on Saturday night
The Browns needed a lot of thing to go right, including a Titans loss. That didn’t happen.
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
All the Pittsburgh Steelers had to do was beat the hapless Oakland Raiders to take a three-game lead over the Browns. The Steelers have the head-to-head tiebreaker against Cleveland this year, so three games would’ve been enough of a cushion to guarantee the division crown wouldn’t belong to the Browns.
It won’t now. A week after inexplicably losing to the Raiders, the Steelers were finally able to get that elusive win over the Patriots. The Browns are officially eliminated from AFC North contention, but they might not finish at the bottom of the division this year.
The last time the Browns didn’t end up dead last in the division was their sterling third-place finish in 2010. It’s been nothing but fourth out of four in the seven years since. But this could be the year their streak of last-place finishes in the AFC North finally ends.
The Browns are winning games now. Since Hue Jackson’s firing, they’ve been a tough team to beat. The Browns are 4-2 in the span, and Baker Mayfield came into Week 15 with a 121.8 passer rating in the last four weeks.
Cleveland left Denver with a 17-16 win over the Broncos on Saturday. Now if they can close out strong with wins against the Bengals and Ravens, a spot in the playoffs is still possible, even if it’s highly unlikely.
Here’s how the Browns could get in. Yes, the Browns still have a chance to make the playoffs — and it’s the middle of December!
The Browns’ path to the AFC North title is dead
Cleveland’s only chance at becoming a division champion for the first time since 1989 was to win out for an 8-7-1 record. And because the Steelers already own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Browns, Pittsburgh had to lose out to finish 7-8-1.
The Steelers’ win over the Patriots ended that hope for the Browns.
Plus, even if the Browns won out and the Steelers lost out, there’s still the Ravens.
If Baltimore lost at home to Cleveland in the regular season finale, the Ravens could still have secured a spot ahead of the Browns in the next two weeks by beating the Buccaneers and Chargers to get to nine wins.
The Browns were fortunate to be the only AFC North team to win in Week 14. In Week 15, all four of them won.
An AFC Wild Card berth would take a miracle
Cleveland’s only chance is to win out, get some help, and pray for the Colts and Titans to tie in Week 17. If everything worked just right, the Browns, Colts, and Titans would all own identical 8-7-1 records and Cleveland would win the tiebreakers.
- Baltimore Ravens (8-6): The Browns have to end up ahead of the Ravens. And if the Browns win out, they’d hand the Ravens one of the two losses necessary to keep them from a winning season. So Cleveland needs Baltimore to lose to the Chargers in Week 16.
- Indianapolis Colts (8-6): The Colts finish the year against the Giants, and Titans. The Browns need Indianapolis to lose to the Giants and tie the Titans.
- Tennessee Titans (8-6): It’s the same story with the Titans, who wrap up their schedule with Washington and Indianapolis. The Browns need the Titans to lose to Washington and tie Indianapolis.
- Miami Dolphins (7-7): The miraculous win over the Patriots kept Miami in the mix, and that’s even more incredible when you consider that the Dolphins are No. 29 in offense and No. 29 in defense. But the Week 15 loss to the Vikings put them back on life support. The Browns need either the Jaguars or Bills to beat the Dolphins.
The only other team in the AFC with six wins is Denver, but the Browns knocked them out of the way in Week 15.
The top priority for the Browns is finishing the year with two more wins to lock up their first winning season in 11 years. If they do, it probably won’t get them into the postseason. But there’s still a tiny glimmer of hope. When’s the last time the Browns could say that in December?
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