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1, WHEN WILD-CARDS WERE KINGS
The Browns floor by a wild-card spherical whereas Kansas Metropolis relaxed. Can they hold caring for enterprise?
The dangerous information is {that a} workforce with a first-round bye has gained the final seven Tremendous Bowls.
The excellent news is that we’re not simply sayin’ there’s an opportunity.
The Baltimore Ravens, of all folks, are Exhibit A within the argument for hope.
Extra:10 good reasons the Cleveland Browns can beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs Sunday
The final seven confetti-drenched hoisters of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, all division champs with first-round byes, have been (working backward from final 12 months) the Chiefs, Patriots, Eagles, Patriots, Broncos, Patriots and Seahawks.
All seven losers in these Tremendous Bowls (49ers, Rams, Patriots, Falcons, Panthers, Seahawks, Broncos) likewise have been division winners with first-round byes.
The ex-Browns from Baltimore are the final workforce to interrupt the mould.
The 2012 Ravens have been toast, or so it appeared after they completed the common season in a 1-4 stoop capped by a loss to the Bengals. They managed to limp into the match at 10-6 after which beat groups quarterbacked by Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. That bought them to the Tremendous Bowl, the place they overcame the 49ers within the battle of the Harbaughs.
Exhibit B is the 2011 Giants. They lucked by a 1-5 stretch through the second half of the season to win the NFC East at 9-7. The Giants wanted three postseason wins (Falcons, Packers, 49ers) to get to Tremendous Bowl XLVI, the place they shocked New England 21-17.
It was an identical story in 2010. The Packers went by an unsightly stretch that included a 7-3 loss to Detroit however lucked right into a wild-card spot at 10-6. They gained street video games at Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago to achieve Tremendous Bowl XLV, the place they beat Pittsburgh 31-25.
Groups within the Browns’ sneakers have not gained a Tremendous Bowl currently, however they used to do it on a regular basis.
However overlook in regards to the Tremendous Bowl for a second. The Browns should beat a No. 1 seed simply to achieve the AFC finals.
Right here once more, Baltimore is Exhibit A in causes for hope. The 2019 Ravens went 14-2 and have been a high seed behind league MVP Lamar Jackson. Tennessee upset New England within the first spherical after which gained 28-12 at Baltimore.
Extra:Chiefs don’t make Cleveland nervous. 11 Browns who have been there, done that in playoffs
2, BERNIE KOSAR’S BAKER’S DOZEN
Baker Mayfield nonetheless has tons to show, nevertheless it’s a joke to even ask whether or not he has handed Vinny Testaverde in reputation as a Browns quarterback.
The 2020 Browns, just like the 1994 workforce, are 12-5 after an opening-round playoff win. Whereas Mayfield has performed each sport, although, Testaverde missed a while in ’94 and was 10-5 because the starter, together with 1-1 within the postseason. Mark Rypien dealt with the opposite video games and was 2-1.
Testaverde had a tough day in a playoff loss at Pittsburgh. Mayfield’s postseason expertise in Pennsylvania makes everybody smile.
Plus, Testaverde had a troublesome act to observe, changing Bernie Kosar within the hellish period of Browns soccer that led to the transfer to Baltimore.
Return to Kosar’s finest 12 months for an actual dialogue of standard Browns quarterbacks. Bernie went the gap within the 1986 Browns’ 12-4 common season, after which beat the Jets within the playoffs to get to 13-4.
Mayfield can be 13-5 if issues go effectively at Kansas Metropolis.
Right here is the listing of different Browns quarterbacks who’ve gained 13 video games in a season, counting playoffs:
Otto Graham.
“Otts,” as Browns teammates referred to as him, was 15-0 in 1948. He was a character. Mayfield would have preferred him.
Extra:Doerschuk: Why Cleveland Browns’ first two-win postseason in 70 years would be a win for all ages
3, MYLES, MAHOMES AND MAYFIELD
So you need to ask your self. How a lot do you want Mayfield? How way more can he be?
He is not Patrick Mahomes. Yes, he beat Mahomes in a famous college shootout, however we stay in a special world than we did in 2016.
Mahomes nonetheless should show he can play like a 2018 league MVP and a 2019 Tremendous Bowl MVP over time. Mayfield has taken a professional workforce to the playoffs as soon as.
Sashi Brown’s position in positioning the Browns for his or her 202-21 second is debatable. First, the Brown regime’s 1-31 report of 2016-17 that introduced the No. 1 picks of 2017-18 rely as two years of actual ache.
Second, after blowing up the 2016 season led to the primary No. 1, the decide wasn’t even the precise man. Was it?
On reflection, Mahomes would have been one of many higher No. 1 picks within the historical past of the draft. Take a look at the No. 1s since Testaverde was one in 1987. The very best have been Troy Aikman in 1989, Orlando Tempo in 1997, Peyton Manning in 1998 and a parade of men not near that high quality by 2016, when Jared Goff was the decide. In 2017, the gurus and mystics agreed that Garrett needs to be the No. 1 decide. The Browns adopted go well with. The scouting world is embarrassed that Mahomes slipped to the Chiefs at No. 10.
In 2021, most likely take Mahomes if capable of have any NFL participant for now and the longer term.
What can anybody in Cleveland do about that now? For starters, Garrett may spend numerous Sunday in Mahomes’ face. Mayfield may win the sport.
Attain Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
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