The Cleveland Browns entered the 2019 season as championship contenders. Now the team is just looking to avoid disaster on Sunday.
Do you remember where you were when the news broke that the Cleveland Browns had traded for Odell Beckham Jr.?
I do. I was watching The Bachelor in my apartment, but never mind that!
The Browns came into the 2019 stacked with talent all over the roster. Hopes were high and fans expected a thunderous start in Week 1 against Tennessee. The result was anything but that.
The team is now sitting with a record of 2-5 in advance of Sunday’s game in Denver against the Broncos. The Broncos are starting Brandon Allen, who is making his NFL debut and playing in his first meaningful game since college. Emmanuel Sanders is in San Francisco and Allen will be without his starting left tackle in Ja’Wuan James.
Once again, this is an easy win for the Browns. On paper. In reality, the team has not shown anything that gives fans confidence heading into yet another must-win game early in a season. Right now everyone is just clinging onto the hype that will evaporate with yet another disappointing performance.
Fans in Cleveland, where I reside, have held onto the fact the Browns had a brutal schedule for the first seven games of the season. 2-5 is obviously not ideal, but things do get easier. Once again, on paper.
The problem with the 2-5 start is that regardless of the schedule, there is minimal room for error. Fans have assumed the Browns will take two against Cincinnati and two against Pittsburgh without Ben Roethlisberger. The former still seems likely with Andy Dalton exiled to the bench but Pittsburgh is playing decent football. They also have a better record than the Browns right now.
There is also still one matchup against the Baltimore Ravens and another one against a Buffalo Bills team that is a Wild Card contender as we speak. 10-6 may be the worst record the Browns can have to reach the postseason, barring a total collapse by the Ravens. That means one more loss over nine games to be safe.
Yet there is another problem. Falling to 2-6 may not eliminate the Browns mathematically, but it would doom the locker room and the coaching staff. All the preseason hype that is still hanging on to the easy schedule would be whisked away as the Browns sit near the bottom of the standings.
Freddie Kitchens, the once risky yet exciting hire, would be on the hot seat through the first half of his first season. The whole operation will begin to melt down as fans claim it is just the “same old Browns” once again.
Does Baker Mayfield have a future in Cleveland? Is OBJ a good fit here or a bust? Should the Browns start over once again? All those questions come with a loss.
Denver has a solid defense. But come on, this is a Browns team that was expected to do great things. There is no more time for excuses when failing against bad teams.
The Browns should win this game on Sunday. The same way the team should have beaten Tennessee and should have held onto a big lead against Seattle.
2-6 would all but end the playoff dreams once again in Cleveland. 3-5 at least keeps hopes alive. Fans can worry about falling to 3-6 once that third win is actually achieved.