Breaking down the Cleveland Browns December playoff push
By JD Bagley
The Cleveland Browns are entering unchartered territory
The Cleveland Browns are 9-3 and looking to clinch a playoff berth for the first time in almost 20 years. Is meaningful January football on the horizon?
After a spectacular performance this past weekend in Nashville, Baker Mayfield and the Browns look to continue their winning ways down the stretch and clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2002. Now sitting at 9-3 with four games remaining, Cleveland is in control of their own destiny heading into Week 14 where they will take on the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football from FirstEnergy Stadium.
This game is huge for the Browns for many reasons. First off, the Steelers suffered their first loss of the season to the Washington Football Team on Monday night, leaving the door open for the Browns to possibly steal the division if everything works in their favor. Cleveland would have to win its next 3 games (vs Baltimore, @ NYG, @ NYJ), while Pittsburgh would need to lose two of their next 3 (@ Buffalo, @ Cincinnati, vs Indianapolis).
Are the Cleveland Browns a threat for the AFC North throne?
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If this scenario comes to fruition, which is becoming increasingly more likely with the way these two teams are currently playing, the AFC North title will be on the line Week 17 when Pittsburgh makes their annual trip to Cleveland to wrap up the regular season.
Realistically, it’s much more likely that the Browns are fighting for a Wild Card spot rather than the division, but with four games to play, anything is possible. Cleveland has a 1 game lead over Miami and Indianapolis for the #5 seed in the AFC, while Las Vegas and Baltimore sit 2 games back. Even if the Browns lose on Monday when they host the Ravens, they should still be in relatively good shape in terms of playoff positioning.
Head to head wins over Indianapolis and Tennessee could loom large if it comes down to a tie breaking scenario with whoever fails to win the AFC South. The tiebreaker with Miami is to be determined since the Browns and Dolphins didn’t play this year, and the second tiebreaker is conference record which is still up in the air with four games to go.
If Cleveland loses to Baltimore on Monday, the Ravens will have won both meetings this year and would need one more Browns loss over the final three weeks to jump ahead of them in the standings by year’s end. This is assuming Baltimore continues to win as their final three opponents currently combine for a record of 8-27-1.
What the wild card race looks like
The final team in the Wild Card mix that could potentially make Cleveland uncomfortable is the Las Vegas Raiders, who beat the Browns head to head back in October. The Raiders would have to win out while Cleveland loses two of their final four, or the Raiders could drop one game but the Browns would then have to lose three of four.
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Everything is set up for the Browns to break the NFL’s longest playoff drought of 18 years, but this franchise has been king of missed opportunities since their return to the league in 1999. The question is, can they overcome their dreadful past and bring playoff football back to Cleveland? If so they could be picking at the back of the 2021 NFL Draft, the first time that has been the case in years.