Dawgs By Nature
Jacksonville and Carolina are the only teams keeping Cleveland from No. 32.
Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season.
CBS Sports - No. 30 (no change)
It’s the same story: Deshaun Watson can be really bad and it doesn’t matter. They won’t make a change, which is absurd.
ESPN - No. 29 (up 1 spot)
Lesson learned: Offseason concerns about the offense were legitimate.
The Browns downplayed the transition from coach Kevin Stefanski’s West Coast-based scheme to a new shotgun-centric attack with Deshaun Watson back as starting quarterback. But it has failed to take off and the many offseason questions, from Watson’s poor performance to the lack of cohesion on an injury-riddled offensive line, have consistently surfaced. The Browns are the first team since the 2014 Jaguars to fail to reach 20 points in each of their first six games.
NFL.com - No. 30 (no change)
The Browns ran their streak to 26 third downs without a conversion into the second half against the Eagles before hitting on two straight. But in spite of a turnover-free game and a decent rushing attack (even after Jerome Ford got hurt), there wasn’t much else to celebrate from Sunday. The Browns had three three-and-outs and settled for four field-goal tries, missing one. It’s clear Kevin Stefanski is trying his best to win games with Cleveland’s defense (which played better) and special teams (which got a huge TD off a blocked field goal), and by minimizing the margin of error with Deshaun Watson. But that formula couldn’t deliver a victory in Philly. The Browns had an opportunity late, with a goal-to-go at the Eagles’ 3-yard line, but two false starts by the offensive line killed off that chance. This loss wasn’t all on Watson, but I thought my friend Nick Shook nailed it postgame when he said of the Browns’ offense: “It’s a bad operation, and as long as Stefanski continues to stick with Watson, there’s little reason to believe it will improve.”
EDITOR’S UPDATE: The Browns are trading WR Amari Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Bills for a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.
Sporting News - No. 32 (no change)
The Browns hung in there better defensively against the Eagles, but sticking with Deshaun Watson keeps sinking the offense. Kevin Stefanski may be OK abandoning ship at this point.
Yahoo Sports - No. 29 (up 1 spot)
Deshaun Watson has struggled mightily to convert third downs before he finally got one late against Eagles on Sunday. You can make excuses for Watson but he doesn’t deserve to start anymore. And now he’ll be without Amari Cooper.
Bleacher Report - No. 31 (down 1 spot)
Had you said before Sunday’s matchup between the Eagles and Browns that Cleveland would hold...
