Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns are sitting at 2-6-0. That is the bad news.
The Cleveland Browns are only three games out of first place in the division. That is the good news.
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Say what you want about the season. Be negative and point out all the blunders. State how bad the offense has been. Tell us about the roller coaster season with the kicker. Point to bad play calling and all of the injuries.
Yes, all of this has happened. The offensive line has regressed. Key players are now missing from the lineup going forward.
But do not say that the season is already lost. Do not. It isn’t. Nine games remain on the schedule, and there are numerous winnable matches left.
To qualify for a Wild Card seed in the postseason, it will take 10 wins. However, a division title can be much less of a requirement in the win column.
New York Jets (1-7-0), Baltimore Ravens (3-5-0). Las Vegas Raiders (2-5-0), Tennessee Titans (1-7-0), Chicago Bears (4-3-0), Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3-0), and Cincinnati Bengals (3-5-0). Plus, the San Francisco 49ers (5-3-0) have shown several kinks in their armor lately, including ranking #27 in rushing.
The only opponent that is probably a confirmed loss is the Buffalo Bills.
Last year, the Browns won three games, but two of those victories were against the Steelers and Ravens. Both teams went to the playoffs, so it can be done.
Here are the current division standings:
Steelers 5-3-0, division: 1-1
Ravens 3-5-0, division: 1-0
Bengals 3-6-0, division: 2-0
Browns 2-6-0, division: 0-3
As you can see, Cleveland is just three games out of first place. Those three division losses are a huge negative, but the only way to the playoffs is to win the division crown, something this franchise has never done since the division was renamed the AFC North.
Rankings for every team in the division:
This Cleveland team has had to overcome so many problems this season. LT Dawand Jones was lost for the season. So was CB M.J. Emerson and KR DeAndre Carter. Leading tackler LB Carson Schwesinger is out for a while. The offense traded away its starting quarterback, Joe Flacco, and inserted a rookie instead. The run game is finally getting some traction with the addition of rookie Quinshon Judkins.
Three linebackers are all on IR, including JOK, Winston Reid, and Bookie Watson. QB Deshaun Watson still isn’t ready to play. Starting RCB Greg Newsome was traded.
But one thing for certain, the offense has been the Achilles heel for this squad. The left tackle position has been a revolving...
