I'm surprisingly nonchalant about all this. Yes, it's a bitter disappointment, but think about it:
This team has managed a .667 record without Nick Chubb and without Deshaun Watson, for the most part. What that means: the Browns have dealt with catastrophic injuries and an unusually high number of nagging injuries to even get to this point. And, this is key: never once, have I seen any signs of 'quit' in any of them. They have found a way. They have made a way. And our boys are still toe-to-toe with the teams that used to bully them on a regular. That is evidence of the "change of culture" I've been ranting about for 20 years in this community.
These Browns are nobody's door mats. Ask any of the Ravens players who have been sitting in ice baths and lying on training tables, since Sunday's epic. Elves have been for real all along.
We all believed that this team would run on the strength of #24's ground production and #4's ability to return to form. Fun Fact: this year's Browns team has not been able to rely upon either of those assets/weapons all year. And yet, here we are: beginning the second half of the season 1 game out of first place. How long has it been since Fandawgs have seen their team in such a strategic spot at this point in the season? How often, since 1999?
I don't care what anyone else thinks, I'll speak this truth for myself: I can't remember a season when this team has entertained me more. Maybe the playoff year with those back-to-back wins over the Stoolz, but that was weird- empty stadiums, and all...
Njoku: 13 yards gained after point of contact. Freight train.
Tillman drops Van Noy (I loved seeing a Browns player flip the script on a Division rival who's been punking us for >20 years)
The Rugby Scrum
The Pick 6
OL producing another 178 ground yards.
...and that's just the most recent game. You don't get to 6-3 without effort like this overall.
Point: this team has earned its 6-3 record. Without its 'stars.' And with a rotating roster of wounded still giving it all.
I can't wait to see what's next. Why?
...because we're halfway into the 2023 season, and the Cleveland Browns are not 3-6.
Remember what that felt like? I'm certain you do.
_________________
I'm with Rish on this one.
Until I see any signs of "the same old Browns," I'm going to keep watching what this current bunch will do. They are still writing their chapter in this story. There are still many blank pages.
I simply don't have room for doom & gloom.
I'm too busy having fun watching this bunch deal with everything the refs, the NFL and The Fates throw at them. They ain't stopped; they ain't quit. They've dealt with everything up 'til now, and I've seen no evidence that they might start giving up now.
I'm still down for this ride, even if #4 isn't driving the bus.
.02
Quoted to add: And that 6-3 is by way of going through the toughest part of our schedule, and we often did it DESPITE whomever our QB was at the time. All of them literally put points up for the other team that we had to overcome. What remains of our schedule is FAR easier. If we can pull out the 'W' this week, we're in the driver's seat to the postseason. We can do that with DTR.
