With what we just saw in this past game it changes things.
We don't have to win 14 to 10. We can now score. Yes, we are contenders for the Super Bowl.

if I'd rank the team who I think could win it:

1. Baltimore
2. San Francisco
3. Philadelphia
4. Buffalo
5. Cleveland

IMO, if we were at or near full strength (Chubb, Watson, Delpit, JWills not on IR), NOBODY could beat us. We'd put up too many points and our D would just smother the other team. The road to the SB would go through Cleveland. It's unfortunate that fate decided that we we're too strong talent wise, that it felt it was lopsided to have to play us as is and cause our injuries.

BTW, here are the scenarios for us to clinch a berth this week:

The Browns clinch a playoff berth with:
1. CLE win or tie (vs Jets) OR
2. PIT loss or tie (vs Seahawks) OR
3. BUFF loss (vs Patriots) OR
4. JAX loss or tie (vs Panthers) OR
5. HOU loss or tie (vs Titans) + IND loss or tie (vs Raiders)

I agree .. heck, if we just had Chubb I think we'd win it

The Browns can absolutely reach the Super Bowl. Any team can win on any given week amongst the contenders in the AFC.

When the news broke that Watson was out for the season I resigned myself to thinking the divisional round was about the furthest the team could go.

With the confidence the team is playing with and the way Flacco is playing, anything is now possible. They may get beat in the WC round but either way, this team has been incredibly easy and fun to root for. Much different vibe from many of the teams through the 00's, 10' and early 20's. This Browns team has that 80's Browns feel.

It's been enjoyable living in the moment.

Yet to be determined.!

I'm not going to rain on anyone's parade or tell anyone they should not enjoy the Browns wins...but, until it's official and the Browns are scheduled to play a playoff game, I won't allow myself to consider the Browns a playoff contender.

No.

Better NFC Teams SF, Philly, Dallas and or Detroit.

Better AFC Teams Baltimore and Miami.

Browns fall into the category of Buffalo and KC. Good teams that may beat a better team on any given day.

Cleveland's defense can make a difference.

Not a bad place to be and not anticipated after the loss of Chubb and Watson.

IMO any team that makes it to the playoffs are contenders.

No, and as a Browns fan I think any talk of the Browns being a contender will instantly mean we start losing. Or we'll find a new and even more painful way to lose a vital game.

NI fact as a Browns fan I feel that, even if our chances of making the playoffs is 100%, to talk about being a SB contender will result in us Missing the playoffs.... I think we can win against any team. You won't hear me suggest we are contenders, not even to myself in the quietest most remote part of my brain.

If we make the playoffs, then we are contenders.

Here's my question: assuming we get the 5 seed, we are basically a lock to play at the AFC South champ. Which team do we prefer? At Jacksonville, At Houston, or At Indianapolis?

My answer: At Indianapolis

Assuming Flacco and Stefanski continue their current pace (the interceptions have to come down in the playoffs though), I'd put us second on this list. A dominant defense with an offense that scores points and a team that is peaking at the right time...yeah, I'd put us second.

If we win the first game who would we play next? This feels like it is shaping up to be a Joe Flacco returns to Baltimore in the playoffs scenario.

I do think there is a difference between making the playoffs and being a contender.

That sounds like an oxymoron but I think it is true. Any team from the NFC or AFC South that makes the playoffs. I do not see them as contenders. None of those teams are good enough to run the table.

I never thought this before but I do not see a team from the AFC West running the table. KC will not repeat. They are a broken team. No matter what Mahomes does the team is not good enough.

In the AFC: The Contenders are.

In no particular order.

Dolphins
Bills
Ravens
Browns


In the NFC:

Niners
Eagles
Lions
Cowboys
(Rams) remote chance


In the AFC the Ravens are right now the most complete team. But they can be beaten.

So once playoff brackets are in place. Then it becomes who do you draw?

We are contenders until we're eliminated from contention.

Let's also remember players that were placed on the IR are illegible to return for the post season. Do we have some players on the IR now that will be able to come back and play in the playoff? A tackle and a safety or two could be huge help.

We do have a few guys who may return.

Delpit, Ogbo, Thornhill, Hopkins, Bojoquez.

Unfortunately, no tackles will return. And that is one area where it could be a problem. We will face good pass rushers.

Christian and Hudson are well below average and that is being kind.

Our weakness is at tackle and running back. And the two go together which is not good. There are some ways to compensate. The run game can be converted to screens, and blocking schemes to open some space for the runners. We will use two TE's and other jumbo packages.

Passing attack will be about getting the ball out. Play action with timing routes to qb drops and quick releases. Joe cannot be holding the ball.

We cannot continue with it being ok turning the ball over. We will go home fast doing that.

Yeah, that's who we'd play unless Buffalo/Miami (whoever is the 6 seed) upsets KC

all the world for a home playoff snow globe game

Absolutely. Without a doubt.

I think the term Any Given Sunday applies here. Any team who makes the playoffs has a chance. But the Browns will need at least a couple of Any given Sunday's in a row to make the SB. It can most surely happen but the odds aren't good.

Agreed. Our OT 's aren't good, although I'll give them credit for their effort, and our running game isn't the best. I would give Strong some reps to see what he can do. If we were healthy obviously our chances would be much better.

My preference on who i want us to face in round 1 is in this order. 1.Indy 2.Jax 3.Houston I also think KC will win out and Miami will lose out and the Chiefs will leap frog Miami for the 2 seed and Buffalo will grab the third spot playing Miami back to back.

YES!

Every game can go haywire.

But from the way I look at the AFC today. The Browns can beat any team in the AFC.

As far as pure match-ups Miami IMO is our worst match-up. They have the best offense in yards per game and points per game.

Tua leads the NFL in yards and Hill leads in receiver yards. Raheem Mostert is fourth in rushing with 1012 yards.

They can negate our pass rush because their scheme is all about "get the ball out quickly."

We can score on them but they are hard to slow down on offense. I would rather face the Ravens than Miami.

I wouldn't bet on it happening. Too many injuries. But that hasn't seemed to be a problem yet. If it happens, then someone's getting a statue in Cleveland.

I don't even think you'd see the difference between Watson and Flacco. The way he's playing, he's actually better than Watson. But your point is well taken. Give us our starting Oline and Chubb and I agree, we take the whole thing. Hell, we may do it anyway.

Every team is pretty flawed right now with the exception of Baltimore. The Ravens look pretty complete. We beat them and I think we could again but I wouldn’t put a lot of money on it.

As I said in another thread.. no one wants to play a team with nothing to lose. There’s no realistic expectation that we should win given our comically ridiculous injury situation. And yet…

wouldn’t want to play us if I was any other team in the playoffs. We’re pretty unpredictable and we seem to be operating on like 50% fairy dust. Every few years some team seems to get hot held together by chewing gum, twine, and magic. Maybe this year that teams us?

If major injuries were eventually going to hold us back, it would have happened by now.

That is why we watch sports because it is unpredictable. The best teams in baseball this year never got to the World Series.

When we beat the Niners with PJ. I was in shock. I did not see us doing that. When we beat the Ravens in their house. Again did not see that coming.

I have always believed that the difference between teams in the NFL is not that great. Sure the bottom feeders are bad now. But teams with winning records are pretty close. Close enough that games can always be in question. Turnovers change games. Then add the wacko stuff that can happen. Bad snaps. Wide right. Kick returns.

Another important factor is health. Not just who isn't playing but guys that play injured and don't play well.

The Ravens look good right now. I agree. Lamar is having a great year. He can also have a bad game at the wrong time. His playoff record is not good.

The Browns IMO have an edge. They have played through so much. They are iron forged. They believe they can win against any team. They don't play afraid. They are playing aggressively with confidence.

That can go a long ways. When you have a defense that is as capable as the Browns. You are a problem.

we've had about 3-4 wins that left me speechless: SF, at IND, at BAL, CHI .. maybe even JAX and PIT

Let’s clinch a playoff spot first, before we start thinking about a a SB title.
But, yeah, we are. I fear no team. We’ve already beaten the Super Bowl favourites.

I think we should be able to hang with anyone in the AFC except for Miami. While I've always thought that Lamar poses problems for our D, the numbers don't really establish that as fact. And if Flacco went into Baltimore I'd expect him to rain fire.
Miami has the kind of firepower on offense to overwhelm our D over the course of a game.
In the NFC, I wouldn't want to face SF again, and Dallas looks scary these days. Maybe add Philly to that list.

I think we have a legit shot, but it's VERY matchup dependent.

I made the same point about Miami. They are the best offense in football.

The Browns have gone all in on the mantra of 1-0. Coach cliche sure but in our case it works. It works because of all the adversity they have faced since the second game of the season.

We keep stacking wins now. We become more dangerous each week. Joe gains more chemistry. We are hopefully getting some guys back on defense. In the meantime the guys playing are gaining experience and playing well.

Our biggest hole is OT's and the run game. We are adapting to that, but it will not turn into a strength.

Let's get this one tonight out of the way.

No doubt OT's are the weak line position, but they aren't playing poor....maybe marginally good.

I think that is the problem in the running game and why people think a guy like Ford lacks. No doubt Hunt is pretty much done. He has lost his burst, but at RT you need a bulldozer in the run game if you want to run wide. We just don't have that which makes it easier for a D to guard against the run.

My feeling is we need to be thinking a RT in the draft if the right guy is there. It has to fit close to BPA and all, but you can usually find solid RT candidates in the 2nd/3rd round. Conklin is good when he is out there, but it is evermore sketchy he will be out there. We need better to back up and or take over the position.

Just win today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

Not sure about the future of Wills.

But Dawand Jones I like him a lot. He was outstanding in pass protection.

Conklin is terrific in run blocking. Obviously he has not been able to stay on the field.

I will not be surprised to see us in 13 personnel.

I agree with your closing sentiment. And to respond to the thread's title, we are not SB contenders yet. A team isn't a contender until it is in. So unleash the Elf, get the notch tonight, and then contend clear to the end! It is wonderful playing "meaningful football" this late in the season for playoff berths.
Go,Browns!

Agreed. Get the win tonight to put us in and then go from there. Yesterday was 59 years since our last championship. It would be fantastic to win one again!!! Surreal might be a good word!!

The one spot where I think we match up with Miami better than most is Tyreek Hill. We have JOK; the rare linebacker that can keep pace with him.

Bills - Eagles - Chiefs - Titans: All four beat Miami. I think we stack up against any of them favorably. Heck, we embarrassed the Titans. It'll be easier if the defense gets healthy, but since there is a real solid chance of facing them in the playoffs, we do have to consider it, but I think we can handle them.

The feeling about this team is very different from the past in a very positive way. A win tonight will further solidify whether it really is different or the same old same old. We are at home where our D has been dominant, a playoff berth on the line and we are playing a team that is out of it that has a poor O. We should win.

If we actually make it to the SB, downtown will look like Ancient Greece with all the statues.

NOW we are officially Super Bowl contenders! Tonight this defense had some serious "badassery" and played inspired ball. We climbed a mountain of reasons to roll over and lose. This team has been an inspiration for our fans. Think for a moment about what "next man up" has meant this season thus far. Elf in The Land, y'all. Go, Browns!

This team is Super Bowl contenders, but they must stop turning the ball over in the playoffs!!!

I can truthfully say that the rest of the AFC contenders (Baltimore, Miami, Buffalo, KC, Jacksonville) probably would not want to see us below them on the bracket.

It is one thing to get into the playoffs.

It is another to be "A Playoff Team."

We are not limping into the playoffs. We are blasting into the playoffs with Momentum.

We have a great defense and now through Iceman Joe we got the offense to go with it.

We have some time now to heal some players and get ready to slay the dragons.

It has now been determined..."the Browns are playoff contenders..."

Are the Browns Super Bowl Contenders..?...

..."yet to be determined"..

BUT, I will add, now that the Browns have punched their ticket to the playoffs, the Browns chances of playing in a Super Bowl are just as good as any other team that qualifies for the playoffs..!

When I look at the other AFC teams, I think we truly can beat each one of them. I think Buffalo might pose the biggest problems and Miami's offense is dynamite ... but we still could beat them

SB? No, imo.

As others have already posted, we CAN NOT turn the ball over as much as we have.

The margin for error is extremely slim. Going into the playoffs, I agree we can hang with most AFC teams. But, we can't have these turnovers.

As has been proven, we can overcome most of the injuries, but not leaving the opponent with short fields in the playoffs.

I think Divisional Round is a reasonable expectation. The defense can't bail us out all the time. We'll be on the road, and that's seems to be a difference so far.

I like to buy into the Team of Destiny thing (and I am now a believer in Flacco, though not so much at first), but the realist in me believes our high-powered offense can only go so far with the trouble we've been having with turnovers. And we'll have to keep putting a lot of points on the board. Plus, I'm not sure I trust our new kicker in the clutch.

I'm am excited as anybody else though.

Not only have they clinched a playoff spot but no worse than the five slot, and only b/c they didn't win the div over Baltimore but the Browns have a better record than the AFC west div leader and the afc south div leader.

The Browns even the game prior had secured a place above Cincinniati, above Denver, the raiders, chargers, unless they'd win their div, which they won, ... above the jets, above the pats, above the titans
and after beatin the Jets have secured a clinch of a playoff spot #five or the div. win,
over the steelers, over the bills,
over both of whichever two don't win the afc south of the jaguars, colts and texans < one of which will likely face the Browns in the opening round,
and only by the '2nd place in your div if a three way tie among teams with an = w/L/ record rule keeping either of them alive and the Browns as not yet clinching a berth until they could secure a 2nd place in the afc north over Pittsburgh keeping any chance of putting the Browns back at 8th or ninth place in the conference,

The Browns playoff game will likely be at the Jaguars, <no
or at the Colts < My bet of who it'll be,
or the texans,? c'mon, slim chance
or at the Chiefs if they win and finish behind the Colts or jags
or... bills and dolphins

I’m hoping for a win or two in the playoffs. But I honestly don’t think we’re going through Baltimore and winning.

They are the best team playing right now as hard as that is to say. That bastage QB over there is league MVP and unstoppable. He just is.

I am loving the Flacco storyline as much as anybody and the idea of him going into Baltimore to advance to the SB is such a fun idea. I just can’t imagine beating Lamar in Baltimore.

I hate the Rats.

yeah we aren't contenders this year as built, we aren't even the same team that beat BAL.. I think they beat us by 3+ tds if we play them as of right now.. But if some how we see them in the conference champ game then who knows.. Maybe that would be the icing on a storybook season but I think we are too thin everywhere and Baltimore is playing better than they have in 10 years.. I don't think anyone is beating them or even staying close to them..But there isn't another team in the playoffs I don't think the browns can't beat, problem is the one that is stands in the way of a super bowl. We haven't really played anyone special these last few games, with more injuries mounting, its going to be vital that some of the ones like delpit and oko come back. All i know is second half of the jets game we had 13 yards passing.....for a half..yikes

ouch nvm, saw the bracket and we play baltimore if we win against jax.. Only thing we might be able to capitalize on is them having a week off.

Wouldn’t the rat birds play the lowest seed? If one of the wild cards below us win, then they should play Baltimore in the div round

From the Google machine:
Once you get to the Division round, the same seeding rules apply, with the lowest remaining seed playing the 1 seed (who has automatic home field advantage for the entirety of the Playoffs), the second lowest remaining seed playing the second highest, and so on.

https://www.printyourbrackets.com/images/nflplayoffbracket.pdf


winner of 4/5 seed plays 1 seed in division round, not sure if that changes if a lower seat upsets a higher seed in the lower bracket. I'm assuming its based on the 4/5 seed winner would be the lowest if 2/3 advance as they should

j/c
Are the Browns Super Bowl contenders?

imho, this question has already been answered:
Yes.

They have won their place in the Second Season... with an 11-5 record.
With a season-long locker room policy of: "we're 1-0... let's go get this next one."

They are pros at this in ways that other teams have not been tested. Our "next men up" have placed this team in the playoffs. And once the playoffs land, all bets are off.
One and done.
Against a team that has played 1-0 ball all season.

I don't care what the active team roster looks like right now.
I don't care how many Game One #1's are currently in rehab.
I don't care what the betting odds are for a CLE SB.

I don't care about any of that.
I'm just having the time of my life watching this story spin out. Elves knocked down 11 wins to lock down a ticket to the ball.

Oh, bros- consider this: the '23 Browns locked their playoff berth before the regular season had even played out.


I'm not predicting anything.
I'm asking:

"Why not?"


After everything we've seen... after all the haymakers this team has taken from The Injury Fates...
after dragging Gramps off the couch to blaze a 4-game late-season win streak...
to winning the last 2 games without our ST #1's?


Why not?

As crazy as this season has been, why should we expect the laws of logic, reason, or even physics to start kicking in now?



I am having an absolute blast being a Browns fan this season.
For as long as this season persists, I'm gonna live on the edge of my seat, not worry about the next game, and be thankful that I stuck with'em long enough to cheer like I used to.

This is what being a Browns fan used to feel like all the time.
I'm glad to still be around to feel it again... no matter how this season plays out.

I've finally gotten my wish:
the Cleveland Browns have established a FO/Coaching/locker room culture that is built to compete/excel in the NFL. I can enthusiastically live with that, going forward.


.02

Easiest path for us. Week 18. Mia beats Buff \ Ind beats Hou\ Tenn beats Jax \ Pitt beats Balt. Wild card round. Buff beats Mia \ Pitt beats KC \ Cle beats Jax. Division round. Buff beats Balt \ Cle beats Pitt. Afc championship Cle over Buff. We would be at home for the final 2 games before the SB.

While Miami can be dynamic on offense, they've laid some eggs on the road and have some big injury concerns right now.

IMO Baltimore, Buffalo, and Cleveland are the 3 best teams in the AFC. Having those other two play each other in the divisional round would be ideal

As Baba Ram Dass once wrote.

"Be Here Now."

After next week the playoff bracket will be filled out.

No more "ifs."

We have one goal. Beat the team we play.

The playoffs have the teams that have earned the right to play more games.

The Niners and Ravens are the current top seeds. We beat the Niners with PJ Turnover. We beat the Ravens with Broken Shoulder Watson.

Whoever we play. Whenever we play any team. That is the team we beat.

Damn straight we are Super Bowl Contenders.

We played last Thursday. We have over two weeks to heal up and prepare. It is like having more than a "bye week."

"LET"S GET READY TO RUMBLE"

Their Quarterback Got Injured. This NFL Team Got Better.
In a season rife with injuries, the Cleveland Browns lost starter Deshaun Watson and their season looked doomed. Then they signed Joe Flacco and emerged as a Super Bowl contender.

Joe Flacco has Browns fans dreaming of their first Lombardi Trophy. NICK CAMMETT/GETTY IMAGES
By
Andrew Beaton
Follow
Jan. 1, 2024 10:01 am ET




When Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on his first drive as quarterback of the New York Jets, it wasn’t simply another catastrophe for a woebegone franchise. It also served as a grim omen for the rest of the NFL.

Over the course of the rest of the 2023 season, star quarterbacks that franchises had invested fortunes in continued to go down and to not get back up again. When the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins suffered season-ending injuries, their teams’ Super Bowl hopes plummeted instantaneously.

But one team has defied this unfortunate trend and emerged as an even stronger contender. Even more improbably, that same team has one of the league’s most miserable histories at quarterback.

The Cleveland Browns enter the final week of the season having already secured a playoff berth with one of the best records in the entire league. That’s because when they lost Deshaun Watson, the quarterback who they had bet their future on, they found a replacement off the scrap heap who has turned into one of the most unlikely sensations in NFL history.

Joe Flacco, a 38-year-old who once won a title but whose career appeared finished, has Browns fans dreaming of their first Lombardi Trophy.

One way of understanding the playoff picture a week away from the start of the postseason is by looking at which teams have managed to keep their quarterbacks upright. The Baltimore Ravens, who clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC by blowing out the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, rose to the top because Lamar Jackson finally stayed healthy into December. Even the reigning-champion Kansas City Chiefs, who have looked uncharacteristically shaky, won their division and have a shot to win it all because Patrick Mahomes has played every game. The top of the standings this year is essentially a list of teams with healthy passers.

The Browns are a glaring exception. And what makes that especially remarkable is that they invested more than any team in NFL history in a quarterback—only to improve when he went down.

“You think you’re coming into a good situation with a good team and there’s a possibility for this,” Flacco said recently, “but you never quite know.”

When Cleveland traded for Watson from the Houston Texans in 2022, the blockbuster move was especially jarring because of the circumstances. Watson had just sat out the entire 2021 season while he wanted to be traded. At the same time, numerous women had sued him and accused him of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.

But that controversy wasn’t reflected in the extraordinary price the Browns paid to acquire him. Leaping at the rare opportunity to acquire a star quarterback still in his 20s, Cleveland dealt three first-round picks as part of a package to Houston—and then followed that up by giving Watson a groundbreaking contract worth a fully guaranteed $230 million over five years.


New York Jets quarterback Trevor Siemian greets Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. PHOTO: SCOTT GALVIN/REUTERS
It didn’t take long for that to go wrong. The allegations against Watson resulted in an 11-game suspension to start last season, and by the time he returned to the field, he looked rusty and ineffective.

This season, Watson’s performance hardly resembled his heyday, but it was good enough for a club with arguably the best defense in the NFL. In the five games in which he took most of the snaps, Cleveland went 4-1.

Then Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder surgery, leaving the Browns to turn to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a rookie they had selected in the fourth round of the draft. It quickly became clear he wasn’t the answer. He tossed four interceptions before throwing for a touchdown, and it was apparent that the team needed someone else to keep the offense afloat.

It was an unexpected twist when the Browns turned to Flacco after he spent most of the season on his couch, seemingly headed toward retirement. But what Flacco has done ever since taking over makes something else even more surprising: that nobody else had brought him in.

Flacco, who was under center for the Baltimore Ravens for the majority of his career, spent the past few seasons mostly as a backup for the New York Jets. But the Jets never re-signed him, even after Rodgers got hurt, and instead let a season that began with title hopes unravel behind poor quarterback play.

The Jets were hardly the only team whose fortunes were torpedoed by a hurt quarterback. This was a season when more than a billion dollars of passers were sidelined by injuries—and it has shaped the playoff race. The Los Angeles Chargers turned in a disappointing season while Justin Herbert played through a finger injury, before another finger injury ruled him out for the year. The Bengals’ hopes plunged when Burrow required wrist surgery, and they were officially eliminated from the playoffs Sunday when they lost to Kansas City.


Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore, right, celebrates with tight end David Njoku. PHOTO: SCOTT GALVIN/REUTERS
The Browns, though, are headed to the postseason despite losing Watson. And they are beginning to look more dangerous with Flacco under center than they did before he arrived.

Cleveland has now won four straight games, including Thursday night’s 37-20 shellacking of the Jets, while Flacco has played like a gunslinger capable of beating any team in the postseason. In Flacco’s five starts, he has averaged 323 passing yards and thrown for 13 touchdowns. While his aggressiveness has produced eight interceptions, he has also shown his veteran savviness with a league-low sack rate.

“He’s doing a nice job of playing within himself and playing within the scheme and all those type of things,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said, “but he’s also making plays,”

It’s a rare feeling for a franchise that has often felt cursed, particularly at the quarterback position. But that script flipped entirely this season—because another quarterback calamity prompted them to sign Flacco.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-playoffs-cleveland-browns-joe-flacco-ravens-lamar-jackson-85953567

I would call that bracket non-authoritative.
The #1 seed plays the lowest remaining seed. So, it 8s entirely likely rhat the Ravens will end up pkaying the Bills or someone else and then we play them with Flacco, in Baltimore, for the AFC Championship.

And buffalo could beat the ravens. But if buffalo wins at Miami next week they take the East and the 2 seeding.

Regardless of seeding the Super Bowl is almost certainly going to run thru Baltimore. Best case scenario is they trip up somewhere but likeliest scenario imo is they’re waiting for whoever in the AFC championship game. If we make it that far, I would place zero bets. Man would that be epic. Flacco coming back to Baltimore in the AFC championship? Pffft, crazy talk. This team and this town would be off the hinges

If you handed this script to a room full of Hollywood producers, you'd be laughed out of the room.
But that's just how crazy this season has been. About halfway through the season, I stopped dropping my head into my hands over all the injuries, and looked at the record. Then, I took a moment to look at how that record was achieved. And that's when I just started chuckling at The Football Fates' latest attempt to write a Browns season.

Elves have defied logic, reason, and The Curse to get this far.
And now, they've defied the immutable laws of roster attrition.
So why not? Why not see Flacco, going up against the team that he once represented in countless BAL/CLE beatdowns?

At this point, anything's possible.

Strap in. Wear your seatbelt. Take a firm grip on the handrail. Keep your hands and feet inside the ride until it comes to a full stop.

Members Only content..... which I find interesting as I didn't know you could do that through YouTube.

Ask me again in 22 days.

Answer to topic question-----YES----- anybody in the second season is a SB contender---we have beaten the best---Baltimore and San Francisco ---so, definitely we are legitimate Super Bowl contenders--- praise to WHOLE organization.

A little off topic but watch the Steelers find a way to get in the playoffs

There is some interest in this weekend. Of course we will find out who we will play.

More than anything I want to watch our team. Because right now any time we suit up. I am thrilled to be a fan. The game has no meaning other than we end with no more injuries.

In many ways I don't think we could have a better scenario than clinching early and being able to rest players. We had a really early bye week. We have guys who get to rest nagging injuries and really get prepared to play next week.

The energy of the city and the team is really off the charts. IMO the Browns will be raring to play.

More than any single factor in the playoffs IMO it is about pressuring the quarterback. Constant pressure humbles the best. Makes no difference who it is. If we are on him in 1.9 seconds. It will get into his head. It will get him off his spot and force him to throw it early or throw it away.

That factor is what makes the Browns real contenders. We now can score which makes our defense more lethal.

The other obvious factor is we must limit turnovers.

I feel really good about our chances.

To answer the question of this topic everyone who makes the playoffs is a contender unless or until they are beaten. Only at that point would they no longer be a contender.

Actually, this is a little more than a "no meaning game." First, every game is important especially heading into the playoffs. Coming off a win, even if it does nothing for position, is much more important for the mental state of the players and team than coming into a playoff game following a loss. The other important factor of the game is the potential NFL record that could be attained. If Cincinnati should win, it would be the first time ever in the Super Bowl era and not happened in over 88 years that every team in a division would all finish the regular season with a record over .500. In a year full of accolades, showing the AFC North as the best ever would be fitting and sending a strong message to the rest of the NFL. Just not too confident in the Bengals pulling off the upset of our red-hot Browns.

psst the Bengals are favored by 7 and playing their starters.

The upset will be if the Browns win.

I agree!!! This is one of the first times, realistically, since I became a fan in 2004 where I look at the other playoff teams one at a time and think it is possible for us to beat them. Not just a wish either, a legitimate shot. This team feels like it as "it" and can complete, come back, and fight with any other team in the league. If they all play as one I think anything is possible.

Yes because of their defense.

this didn't age well....

Not until they upgrade the QB and WR positions

Yes, this team will enter the 2024 season as a Super Bowl contender. It will be a different team, but the nucleolus will be back. This season the Browns played as tough a schedule as the team ever had winning 11 of 17 games vs 13 teams with winning records. Doing so while leading the league in turnovers and players on the IR. Every team experiences adversity with injuries but not on the level this Browns team did in the 2023 season.

I do think you will see and offense more geared toward Deshaun Watson's strengths in 2024. Looks like Stefanski figured out what Deshaun does well last couple games he was under center. The 2nd half vs the Ravens on the road the offense looked unstoppable vs one of the top defenses in the NFL. Thanks to Flacco the team identified two key offensive weapons in Amari Cooper and David Njoku. Getting Chubb back will be huge and adding a threat opposite Cooper is a priority. Maybe they can do more with Elijah Moore that the injury to Watson held back this year?

The defense was very strong at home. With a relentless pass rush. Why did that rush not translate on the road. That will be what Schwartz has to figure out. Usually, they say that defense travels. But this defense did not. I expect year 2 under Schwartz to show improvement to an already strong unit.

What this year did that no other year ever did for the Browns since the return was it established a culture in Cleveland. An identity of who this team is and a home field advantage that can be feared like the dawg pound days in the old stadium.

Zero chance the Browns enter the season as Super Bowl contenders. I’m pretty certain if you are handicapping this thing the Browns odds will be right in the middle of the pack, maybe top of the bottom half.

Too many question marks about Watson, Chubb, and how legitimate this season was.

Positives are Stefanski is better as an underdog than a favorite.

A lot will depend on how hungry the players are after this seasons failures. Since they know Berry will be there to give them their participation trophy pat on the back (one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen) after failing miserably, the desire to win won’t come from Berry or Kev…and we know it won’t come from the likes of Garrett…so they better find some guys who hate losing more than they like winning.

The Browns are no longer Superbowl contenders

It would take a moron for anyone to think that making the playoffs with five different starting QB's was a failure. I'm quite sure the Browns players don't.

Although technically 1 started in a game where we rested starters.

True. I just wonder how that's any different than so many who credit Watson with a win where he barely played and threw for 0-4 when he was forced to leave the game? I think even if you say 4 starting QB's in one season that statement would still apply.

In three weeks all records will be 0-0 again… then we can start the cycle of having our 2024-25 season hopes and dreams dashed once again.