DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2019 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 40 Ravens 25 Is This a Must Win Game?

Before the season, I had three keys to the season. Coaching, QB play, and Chemistry. Thus far, the coaching and qb have been dreadful. Chemistry has seemingly not been an issue. Will it be if the team drops to 1 and 3 w/a loss to a division rival?

Do the Browns have to win this game? Or do you think they can lose it and still regroup and play well enough to win the division or make it as a Wildcard?

Personally, I am torn on this. Logically, 1 and 3 isn't terrible and there is a ton of time to come back. On the other hand, after all the hype, the inexperience across the roster, a first year HC, a QB struggling to read coverages, and some volatile personalities makes me pray that we win this game because it might get ugly if we lose.

Now..........consider if we win. We will be 2 and 2 and tied for first place in our division. We will have just beaten the team we are tied w/on their home turf. Either the Steelers or Bengals will be 0 and 4 and the other will be 1-3.

We would get some much-needed confidence back and winning this could be the fuel that propels us toward a successful season.

Either way..........I think this is a huge game for the Browns.

If we want to make some noise for the playoffs and be a legit contender this year, yes it’s a must win. If we’re satisfied with gelling and learning as a team, then I guess not so much.

To me, this team should be a winning team already. The expectations should be to win games like this ... so, we’ll see if we’re ready

I wouldn't say this was a 'must win' game if it wasn't for the gauntlet of tough opponents we have coming up. Sure, we played the Rams tough, but we have a whole bunch of opponents coming up that are either very good, or are starting out the season with a lot of momentum. I think the Ravens are more beatable than their last few games would suggest... we just have to not beat ourselves.

I think with some of the personalities we have in the locker room, plus with some of our guys (in)ability to handle the media, it's going to be important to start getting some momentum and build off that. A win vs the Ravens would go a long way to starting that off.

I won't go as far as to say it's a must win. But it's certainly a game where we need to see a marked improvement on the O side of the ball.

I also can't say it isn't a must win. We have a lot of ego's in the building and it could be a turning point in some infighting and seeing the blame game come into play. That would be a total disaster.

A loss could simply mean another step in the process or it could cause a compete melt down. I have no way of knowing how that may turn out.

I'm thinking it is. To be the best in the division, you have to beat the other teams. 2 games below .500 isn't a good look.

Absolutely this is a MUST WIN game. It's a divisional opponent and they are currently leading the Division and have set the current standard. We have yet to put together a great three-phase game and have underachieved in several aspects. It also closes out the first 1/4 of the season and will set us tied w/Baltimore, yet above them due to beating a divisional opponent.

ALSO, it is a must win for our team morale, spirit & psyche. I think last week was a great test, but this is an essential win. If we lose it could be damaging to our spirit and the outside world and media will be relentless in their criticism.

It's not just a must win but the offense has to play well.

If we win and the offense plays like crap I don't think it will mean very much.

Very huge. A loss takes us to 1-3 with a trip to the west coast to play a Niners team headed off their bye.

It might not put a nail in the coffin, but a loss then a loss to SF would.

We don't even need to go there. Win the friggen game this week and head to SF ready to make a roll.

Time to start stacking wins.

In life we don't get many chances to make a good first impression. I think a Win against Baltimore by a Browns team that looks like it's supposed to puts us right where we should have started the season. Baker (and Freddie) need to start building credibility towards what they are trying to do here.

You flub your home opener
You squander a chance to beat one of the top teams in the league
If you blow it against what looks to be your only real competition in the Division and they look like they can be exposed....

Our personalities are too big not to talk about. All the negative noise will just get louder and I don't think this team will be able to block it out over the long haul.

We need to play like it is. It's obviously not a "must win" in terms of making the playoffs, there is plenty of season left... but in terms of the things mentioned such as establishing ourselves as a credible contender, lightening the criticism around the team, building confidence and momentum for the next couple weeks, etc... it's pretty darn important.

The reason I say it’s a must win game is because we have to prove we can beat good teams.

I mean I see people talking about how tough our schedule is throughout the threads.....umm...good teams are suppose to be able to beat other good teams. So far, How many teams with winning records has baker beaten?

Not 'must win' as in the season is over, but must win to stop the wrist slitting definitely.

Zero.

Now would be a good time to get #1

I'm calling this a "Must be willing to adapt" game. So far, we haven't seen the adjustments made on the offense necessary to counter the disguised zone scheme/heavy pressure defenses that have been used to thwart the "Must put on a grand show" offense we've been unsuccessfully and stubbornly sticking to. These adjustments could have and should have been made at halftime week 1. So if Freddie and Co. don't come out this week with a plan to get rid of the ball quickly and into the hands of the play makers, and get Chubb a head of steam by handing off from under center, then Kitchens may be just too stubborn for his own good, and that could cost him his job.

Getting rid of the ball quickly, and relying heavily on the run game is football 101 when trying to protect a young QB, get him into a rhythm, and open up the field. It's not rocket science yet Freddie is acting like he's never heard of the concept. I'm sick of watching the offense stumblefrak around when they coud be picking up first downs instead. You only need 3.4 yards per play, yet Freddie is calling plays like we need to get to the end zone in four plays or less. Enough is enough. If he can pull his head out of his ass and get these very simple concepts working, then we just may win this game. If not, then we're in for a long season and probably looking at a new HC at the end of it. Again. So yeah, this is definitely a "Must be willling to adapt" game.

Not a must-win.

Too early for that.

We'd be two games behind the Ravens, but with plenty of season left. Not worried about steelers or bengals. Things could change but this division is looking to be a two-horse race.

It is however, a huge game that would be a confidence boost, put us in first place and maybe jump-start a run.

I'm quickly falling back into my negative I don't care about the results of the game mindset. So I can only imagine how the mindset of the team is.

I agree that this is a must win, not for just the playoffs. But for the culture change of not having the losing mentality anymore which we were getting rid of last year. It feels like we have taken so many steps back in that department, so to me this is a very important game.

Another loss and that oh well here we go again, we're gonna lose again mindset creeps back in just a bit closer.

Totally agree...I wo think it would've been more a must win if it was at home.. lot of season left... but it would be huge if we win

This is a statement game, vers.

I think no team actually knows who they are until about half the season is played. If we can get to 5-3 or even 4-4 after 8 games, I think we will be just fine. Is this a must game. I do not think so.

"MUST WIN" is the most debated term in football it seems like :-P

To me this is the definition of "MUST WIN": "Do you have to win this game or be eliminated from the playoffs?"

And the answer is no. In THEORY, we could lose this week and still end up 13-3 at the end of the season.

However, I agree it's HUGELY important in terms of gaining confidence, keeping the media off our backs, preventing drama, etc.

Add to that the fact that it would be a HOME LOSS for the team we are most competing against in our division, a division WIN for us, and an AFC win for us, and I'd say it would change our playoffs chances by a margin of 15-20%.

So for instance, say we are currently a 40% chance to make the playoffs, it would change us to a 55-60% chance and a loss would drop us down to 20-25% chance, so it's VERY IMPORTANT BUT NOT 'MUST WIN'.

Every game is a must win game when you only play 16 games in the regular season.

I don't think our goal should change. We've gotta win our division to make the playoffs.

In that, I'd say this is a very important game. not a must win (i've seen the chargers go through bad beginnings of seasons and come back to win their division), but it's a very very important game.

The regular season goal is the regular season goal. Win the division. We win the division, we don't need to worry about all the other teams. In general, the teams in our division all play the same schedules, so that's our measuring stick.


We win this game, we're 2-2 with the tiebreaker over the Ravens. We've got momentum going into Monday Night vs the 49ers.

So, it's the most important game of our season so far. That's for sure

I kinda agree. Need to at least look at it that way...

Especially division games.

so first part, they're talking about lamar and his comments about running. the second half of the video, they are talking about what baker mayfield said about wanting this season to be easy.



i really dont like Nick wright that much, but he might have a point.

Interesting.

Or at least 'must winnish", I guess. I have never put much stock in post-loss speechifying such as admitting to needing a different call, need to see the tape, so much to learn here, this could be a real catalyst, we need to move on, we practiced well, and we battled.

I would rather see a ferocious focus on winning and handing out punishment rather than a casual shrug and "I gotta do better." Do better while you can. Snappy explanations in interviews after we lose are not your job. More touchdowns. Fewer interviews and commercials. Script more deeply. And differently. Our losses have seemed to me to be agonizingly similar.

Every game is a must win. If it’s not, it’s time to get out of the game.

We really need a win .... its too early in the season to declare it a must win IMO ... especially in this division ... its not very good again this year IMO but i’d rather not fall 2 games and the tiebreaker behind the rats regardless of how early in the season it is ....

It’s gonna be interesting to say the least .... IMO this is one of the most unpredictable games we’ve had in years ...

LETS GOOOOOOOoooooooooooo

For the fans it is a must win. Most are already throwing the team under the bus. If they lose this week, it will be full mutiny

Is This a Must Win Game?


Captain Obvious

I think we are about to find out what the Browns are made of.

I have always thought teams that consistently win in the NFL are the teams that grind the best. Never give up or never give in, this is truly gut check time.

I also think the Ravens are made of paper, I really do LJ may have had success against suspect defenses he is about to see the 1st real defense of the season so will see if he is truly improved or just has padded numbers because he played against horrid defenses. I think the later is likely true.

This isn't a must win but its awfully close to a must. It sure would go a long ways towards making everyone on the team/fans/coaches feel a lot better about where we are going.

It's time to grind.

To remain relevant in the division, for the foreseeable future, yes it is

J/c

I thought we’d “find out a lot about our team” against the Jets after the embarrassment against the Titans ... and we played like crap offensively.

Then I thought we’d find out a lot about Baker and the O after TWO poor performances and on SNF at HOME ... and we played like crap again.

Lol, at this point I don’t think the offense is capable of showing us anything that would warrant us to win at Baltimore

This is the first must win game of the Mayfield era.. A loss tomorrow and I see it getting out of control. This team really is lacking leadership. From both the QB and HC position. That doesn't fare well

I think a win here completely changes the narrative. I think it's a huge game for us. If we win, all is right w/the world.

+1

I can't see us winning after the latest Mayfield social media fisticuffs, and I take back saying the Browns are a good bet at +7. I agree with lead....this team is lacking some serious leadership. Focus is in all the wrong places.