Browns on the Bubble?

by Dolfanatic | 6 years ago | 2 Comments

It's crazy to think about, but the Browns are actually in a fantastic position currently for winning their division. Now before closing your browser, I already know what you're thinking; "The Browns aren't even winning the division and there's no way that they're winning the Wildcard. They're only 6-5 as of right now, are you serious?" You're correct on both accounts. However, they're only ONE game back and as crazy as it is, this division is tighter than it seems. The Browns have had a rocky road this season, winning games that they should have lost and losing games that they should have won, but despite all of these close finishes they're actually on pace to winning this division despite looking like a .500 team at this point in time. Being completely honest, given the strength of schedule the AFC North as a whole is still alive statistically speaking, but the Browns definitely catch our eye as favorites to win the division. Here are the facts:

If the Steelers or Bengals win out, either team has a chance at sneaking into playoffs with the right (but extremely rare) occurances. These teams may look like they're statistically eliminated but they're not quite there yet. They're only eliminated from the Wildcard seeding. The Division seeding is still anyone's for the taking at this point in time, even if it does look miles away from the 2 bottom seed teams.

The Steelers have played both the Browns and Ravens twice this season already, but they finish their season with the Bengals.

The Bengals however, have much better odds (despite being a loss back on Pitt after a game that was played much earlier as of this writing that is) with having matchups against the Raiders (who happen to be in between coaches currently) and a must win game against the  flustered Steelers team that can't seem to find their way. All in all though, it's not completely unrealistic for the Bengals to sneak into the playoffs at 8-8 for this reason alone: If this team happens to win out, they take down 2 division opponents while on that path to reach 8-8. The Browns have been inconsistent and every team the Ravens play in the remainder of this season happens to be a team that is out for blood and still in the hunt. Additionally, if it comes down to a tie for division, the Bengals win the tiebreaker due to a sweep of the Ravens and tie with the Browns (which would ultimately depend which teams the Browns happen to lose to in this event.)

The Browns have been inconsistent throughout the season, that's the straight facts. However, with their remaining schedule, they're 6-5 with the worst of there schedule out of the way. Every team that they play has a win rate below .500 and that's definitely something to look forward to.

The Ravens may be in the driver seat for now, but with games coming up against the Falcons (8-3), Chiefs (9-2), Buccaneers (7-5), Chargers (6-5) and Browns (Division Opponent at 6-5) the road ahead of them isn't a guarantee. One game lost means they could lose the division. They need to win out to be safe, but it's not unrealistic to lose more than half of these games either.

Could this be the year that the Browns finally break their playoff drought? Or will it be more of the same for the fans of Cleveland? As exciting as it is, we can't wait for the next week of game outcomes!