Dawgs By Nature
Wanting to win and expecting to win are two very different things in the NFL. Not for the players on the field or the coaches, but for fans, media and the higher-ups in the organization, expectations are key. For the Cleveland Browns, the 2025 season held hope, not expectations, that the team could turn things around despite a younger roster, the loss of key veterans and few proven commodities on the offensive side of the ball.
Even the most optimistic fans were thinking closer to seven or eight wins than double digits and playoffs.
Of course, the quarterback competition was won by veteran Joe Flacco, who the team thought gave them the best chance to win right away. Week 1 saw a game that the Browns should have won (missed kicks) and Week 5 showed a game Cleveland could have won (passivity).
Now, despite low expectations going into the season, fans are storming the castle wanting a change. While Cleveland fans are sick of losing, according to Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated, the team’s strategy “looks like it’s working out.”
How so?
After “a real look in the mirror at where the roster was last year…”
We can now say the first steps have been good ones. Defensive tackle Mason Graham and linebacker Carson Schwesinger look like long-term cornerstones. Running back Quinshon Judkins is already the team’s bell cow, and has given the Browns tough yards and big plays. Move tight end Harold Fannin Jr. is a bona fide weapon. Dylan Sampson has brought versatility to the running back room. And Dillon Gabriel looks like he belongs, even if the third-round quarterback isn’t the long-term answer under center.
The problem for Browns fans is that they’ve been waiting for a consistent winner since 1999. The two playoff appearances under GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski are the first time since Marty Schottenheimer that the team has made the playoffs multiple times under the same leadership.
Schottenheimer last coached Cleveland in 1988.
The Browns hope for this season was to compete with Flacco rallying the troops once again. Their roster moves told the underlying story and the strategy was more about the future than the present. At 1-4, the present doesn’t look so good and has Cleveland fans frustrated, but the future looks bright as the team’s soft reset strategy has a great NFL draft class to build on.
