Jets won. Let me repeat that, the Jets won. How do we feel about that? Does that make this a more difficult game or does it take some pressure off winning for them? For the Browns it strikes me as another reason to "not take this game lightly". Stefanski has been rock solid, and this year's team has consistently won games they were supposed to win, so I gotta believe we will not stumble as the finish line approaches. IMO only "turnovers" can derail this game. On that note: our D has been ordinary in generating turnovers since Myles has been out. He clearly is being affected by COVID, and isn't 100%. I don't think he's required for this game, but we need the "real" Myles for Pittsburgh.
No way in hell that will happen. Pittsburgh clinches the AFCN with a win tonight against the Bengals. Meanwhile, the Browns are still in a tussle with the Colts, Titans, Dolphins and Ravens for the last remaining playoff berth. All four of those teams would have to lose in week 16 for the Browns to clinch a playoff berth prior to week 17. That ain't gonna happen. No . . . Stepanski will continue the "go 1-0 every week" mantra all the way to the end of the season.
Wrong. The key to the Browns making the playoffs is Miami. The Ravens need help to make the playoffs.
If you beat the jets and the ravens lose to the giants you are in the playoffs. I was assuming you would beat the jets. After the rams against the jets you can’t assume anything.
Beating the Jets and the Ravens losing doesn't eliminate Miami from the picture. (Though it does make it harder for them.)
If you guys have 11 wins and the ravens have 6 losses you are in because nobody else can get 11 wins besides Miami and the Colts and Titans. One of the AFCS teams would be the division winner so 11 wins for you puts you ahead of the ravens to a point that they can’t catch you.
Cleveland controls its own playoff destiny but can wrap things up Sunday if it wins and has 1 of 3 other games fall its way. Two more wins, and the Browns don't need to worry about a thing. That's always been the surest path to a playoff spot, and the Browns have earned that control through a "go 1-0 every week" mentality, which was exemplified yet again in Sunday's 20-6 victory over the Giants. But for the first time this season, the Browns, at 10-4, enter Week 16 with a scenario in which they can clinch their first playoff spot since 2002. If Cleveland beats the Jets on Sunday and gets a little help in one of three Week 16 games, it will earn its long-awaited ticket to the postseason. Here's what needs to happen: The Browns CLINCH with a WIN over the Jets AND Miami Dolphins LOSS or TIE to Las Vegas Raiders OR Baltimore Ravens LOSS or TIE to New York Giants OR Indianapolis Colts LOSS to Pittsburgh Steelers Miami faces Las Vegas on Saturday at 8:15 p.m., setting up a possible win-and-in scenario for the Browns when they face the Jets on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both the Ravens-Giants and Colts-Steelers games will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. The Browns still have a path to winning the AFC North, but that could come to an end tonight if the Steelers beat the Bengals on Monday Night Football. Cleveland would need to beat the Jets and see Pittsburgh lose both tonight and next week against the Colts to set up a Week 17 showdown between the Browns and Steelers for the division crown at FirstEnergy Stadium. If the Browns win their next two games to finish the season with a 12-4 mark but don't win the division, they would enter the playoffs as a Wild Card team with the No. 5 seed.
Go 1-0 this week. Take the Jets serious and take care of business. Nothing else matters because they don’t have control over any of it.
Wow! Pittsburgh is reeling. They look lost. I expected Tomlin to have them playing angry last night, but Cinci looked much more fired up. They pressured and punished the Steelers into some truly poor play. Can they recover and make the Browns game meaningless (playoff wise)? Any thoughts that either Pittsburgh or Cleveland will throttle down for that final game are long gone.
I know a few nervous Browns fans that would rather have the Steelers on there instead of the Colts, just to clinch the playoffs. Okay maybe not the Steelers because fuck 'em but just whatever has them clinch this week.
Then they aren’t Browns fans... (3) Rules 1. NEVER root for a Steelers win 2. If there is an INKLING of a chance at a division title, however that comes about, we want it 3. If we can win the division AND possibly eliminate the Ravens at the same time, well that’s a perfect season my friend
Browns are winning, some fans are stressed out. What is the problem? Terry Pluto CLEVELAND, Ohio – The first email arrived early Tuesday morning. “SCARY PLAYOFF SCENARIO!” That’s what it was labeled. Another screamed: “BROWNS WORST CASE SCENARIO!” They kept coming. Browns fans were sorting through the various playoff possibilities where their team finishes with an 11-5 record and misses the playoffs. Sigh. I’ll tell you what is a SCARY SCENARIO. That would be the Browns being 5-9 at this point in the season and rumblings of everyone being fired ... AGAIN! Or the Browns being 4-10 and Baker Mayfield turning into DeShone Kizer or Austin Davis. The Browns being 10-4 with a smart coaching staff, a growing quarterback and a disciplined team should be reassuring – especially when it’s backed by a wise front office. Once upon a time, I was going through a bunch of “What Ifs” about how several things could go wrong – even though the situation was very positive. A person said to me, “Why are you so intent on borrowing trouble?” I offer that same question to Browns fans. I understand veteran fans are members of a dysfunctional family with abandonment issues after the team moved to Baltimore 25 years ago. But in the name of Paul Brown, why can’t everyone take a deep breath and enjoy this season? Most of us will always remember 2020, and most of the memories will be painful. Sports are a diversion from real life. They are a significant diversion. It’s wonderful when your losing team suddenly (seemingly after centuries) has figured out how to win. The 2020 Browns have delivered their fans a needed and important Christmas present. They have made Sundays fun again! They appear to have found a coach/QB combination that can work together at least for a few years. A year ago, the Browns were 6-8 with a disorganized and generally unlikeable team. Everything has changed in 12 months. I have enjoyed the Browns in 2020 not only because they are winning, they are drama-free. They stay away from what I call The Self-inflicted Stupid. One fan became frustrated trying to decipher all the tiebreakers for the playoffs. He wrote, “I don’t need this stress.” Guess what? I don’t, either. That’s why I’m not answering questions about all the scenarios. I’m not even looking at them. Coach Kevin Stefanski preaches the “Go 1-0 this week” philosophy. I’m on board with that. Let’s think about the Browns beating the dreadful Jets, the Browns being 11-4. How about the Steelers losing their fourth game in a row this Sunday? Now that’s a scenario that is healthy to think about. The virus looms over nearly every aspect of society. Many of us have friends or relatives in extended living facilities and haven’t been able to get within six feet of them since March. Some haven’t seen them at all due to all the lockdowns to try and keep COVID-19 under control. Most of us know someone who has lost a job and/or a loved one. Or both. In terms of politics, this was a dismal year regardless if your candidate won or lost. Social unrest led to even more anxiety. For many families, it’s been a life-and-death year. I haven’t lost anyone close to the virus, but two friends died of cancer this year. It was very sudden for one of them. Another of my friends with cancer also lost his job due to the economic downturn. Now that approaches a WORST CASE SCENARIO!
Sorry to hear about your friends passing, my friend. I also lost someone close to the same......Brutal year. "They stay away from the self inflicted stupid." That's a great line...Credit to Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski. I think Haslam got a dynamic duo right there.
