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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The headline bought you, proper? I promise I’m not making an attempt to trick you or feed Browns followers some line of false hope. However after watching the convention title video games final Sunday, I couldn’t assist however consider the Browns, and I couldn’t escape two overriding ideas.
Kansas Metropolis is clearly the perfect group within the NFL. And the Browns might cling with anybody else.
Admittedly, my thoughts additionally strayed into different Browns-related areas, corresponding to questioning what individuals would have been saying about Baker Mayfield this week if he threw three interceptions in a playoff sport (like Tom Brady), or threw six incompletions on two goal-to-go drives that resulted in killer subject targets as an alternative of touchdowns (like Aaron Rodgers) or flicked a soccer off the facemask of an opponent in frustration after taking a sack within the closing minutes of a radical loss (like Josh Allen).
However largely, I believed there wasn’t something that the Buffalo Payments or Inexperienced Bay Packers, or perhaps even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did on that stage that the Browns couldn’t do.
The best way these three groups performed, none of them are beating the Chiefs, as Buffalo confirmed per week in the past and because the Bucs ought to present in per week in Tremendous Bowl LV. That makes them similar to the Browns, who couldn’t beat the Chiefs, both.
Due to this fact, rolling into the offseason, the Browns ought to solely take a backseat to Kansas Metropolis within the NFL hierarchy. And OK, I’ll give a nod to Brady, the best quarterback of all-time, who’s backed by a top-five protection masterfully run by Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
However the remainder of that backseat is crowded with the Payments, Packers, Ravens, Seahawks, Saints and Browns. You need to make a case for why any of these groups, on the finish of this NFL season, are higher than the Browns, go forward. I could make the identical sort of case for the Browns.
In accordance with Soccer Outsiders’ weighted DVOA, which leans on late-season outcomes, the Browns are No. 8 in offensive DVOA. Kansas Metropolis and Tampa are forward of the Browns, as are Inexperienced Bay, Buffalo, Tennessee, Seattle and New Orleans. The Browns had been twenty fifth in weighted DVOA on protection, however we all know what the Browns protection is. It’s flawed, as is the case with high groups like Inexperienced Bay, Seattle and Tennessee. Buffalo is ranked greater defensively however had no higher luck stopping the Chiefs than the Browns did.
There’s no closing AP ballot within the NFL, so it doesn’t matter. However the aim is to bolster the thought of how aggressive the Browns are, and to indicate how effectively they performed to hold with a Kansas Metropolis group that, I imagine, was someway underrated by too many after they beat the Browns 22-17.
Sure, the Payments final week didn’t have the benefit of KC QB Patrick Mahomes lacking the ultimate 23 minutes of the sport, because the Browns had. However the Payments had been gifted a landing when the Chiefs fumbled a punt by the aim line. The Browns had been denied a landing when Rashard Higgins fumbled by the aim line. That’s a plus-7 for the Payments and a minus-7 for the Browns, but they had been at mainly the identical level with Mahomes within the sport.
When Mahomes went out with about 7:30 to play within the third quarter, the Browns had been being outscored by the Chiefs 19-10 and outgained in yards 320 to 221.
On the identical level, round 7:30 of the third quarter, the Payments had been being outscored by the Chiefs 24-12 and outgained in yards 292 to 222.
The Chiefs put collectively two extra landing drives after that, led by Mahomes, earlier than the Payments added two garbage-time scores to keep away from shedding by three touchdowns. Backside line, I believed the Browns performed the Chiefs harder than the Payments did. I believed the Browns offense, which put collectively two landing drives of 75-plus yards, appeared extra prepared for the second than the Payments offense, which had its solely landing drive of greater than 3 yards solely as soon as the Payments had been down 38-15 and the Chiefs had been joyful to allow them to transfer the ball.
This isn’t to disparage the Payments, who earlier than their Chiefs loss had received 11 of 12, with that solely loss on a Kyler Murray Hail Mary. It’s to push the concept the Browns are on that stage. The Browns earlier than their Chiefs loss had received 7 of 9, and their solely two losses had been the Monday evening Baltimore sport that went right down to the wire and the Jets loss ruined by COVID.
At 11-5, the Browns completed in a five-way tie for the seventh-best file within the league. However the best way they had been taking part in on the finish? Take the Tremendous Bowl groups, after which let’s debate Cleveland-Buffalo-Inexperienced Bay for hours.
However trying again solely takes you up to now. So let’s have a look at how the playoff groups not within the Tremendous Bowl are heading into the offseason.
• Inexperienced Bay parted methods with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and are in a bizarre spot with Rodgers, who didn’t appear happy with how that Tampa loss ended.
• New Orleans is trying on the reported retirement of quarterback Drew Brees, and the Saints have a franchise receiver in Michael Thomas who spent the final season combating accidents and, maybe, some unhappiness.
• Seattle fired offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and that’s the higher facet of the ball for the Seahawks.
• The Los Angeles Rams, by the tip of the 12 months, realized that their backup quarterback was higher than Jared Goff, their supposed franchise quarterback. So that they traded Goff, and a two future first-round picks, to Detroit for Matthew Stafford on Saturday evening.
• The Chicago Bears and Washington Soccer Workforce have high-level defenses, and clearly know they actually don’t have any quarterback.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers removed offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, try to get one other 12 months out of virtually 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger and have some wage cap selections to confront.
• The Tennessee Titans had arguably the worst protection within the league and employed a brand new defensive coordinator, whereas shedding revered offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who grew to become the pinnacle coach in Atlanta.
• The Baltimore Ravens are confronted with figuring out they received their first playoff sport with Lamar Jackson, however he additionally threw a game-changing 101-yard pick-six of their playoff loss to Buffalo that left an enormous query hanging over the offseason. Jackson is a good participant — however think about if the Browns’ season had ended on a Mayfield throw into the tip zone for the tying landing that as an alternative went the opposite method for the ultimate rating in a 17-3 loss.
• The Indianapolis Colts noticed their one-year quarterback, Philip Rivers, retire, however the larger loss could be the retirement of left sort out Anthony Castonzo.
In the meantime, what are the Browns going to lose? The place are the Browns going backwards this offseason? The Browns have to enhance the protection, however there’s a transparent path to do this. Even after 11-5, the upside for the Browns in 2021 far outweighs the draw back.
There shall be strikes that shift the steadiness of energy within the league — Brady didn’t signal with Tampa till final March. Stafford to the Rams is a significant improvement (although it helps the Browns he stayed within the NFC), whereas a brand new residence for Houston QB Deshaun Watson might shake up the convention. And Miami, which simply missed the playoffs, is on the rise. If Watson goes there, look out. The Chargers, with a brand new coach, would possibly make a soar, as would possibly the San Francisco 49ers, who adopted their Tremendous Bowl run with a season disrupted by accidents.
However proper now, primarily based off this season that’s about to conclude and the season that can start in September, I’d take the Chiefs over the Browns and I assume I’d take the Bucs with Brady, who shall be 44 by the point the following season begins.
Then come the Browns and Payments. And I do know which of these groups gave the perfect group extra of a combat.
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