Cleveland fans don't deserve this.
The Cleveland Browns entered Week 16 with a 90 percent chance of making the playoffs, which they have not done since 2002.
Then they lost four wide receivers and two starting linemen to COVID-19 protocols. They subsequently lost 23-16 to the New York Jets. And now they’re one step closer to missing out on that long-awaited return to the post-season.
It’s really the most Cleveland Browns thing you could ever imagine. A team that has exceeded expectations with surprising efficiency just … fails to follow well-established COVID-19 precautions and here we are.
What did the people of that fine city do to deserve this? I really don’t know. Is this some sort of cosmic, karmic retribution? Why is this happening? If you have a theory, I’d love to hear it.
I mean, look at this: The Browns had a chance to complete a comeback against the Jets, and they looked fairly competent in the attempt. Baker Mayfield relied on RB Kareem Hunt and TE Austin Hooper to catch the ball, making it all the way to the Jets’ 16-yard-line. Facing a 4th-and-less-than-1 all he had to do was plunge forward a little bit, with the ball. He just needed to carry the ball with him, a few inches, really. The ball is key.
He did not bring the ball. And in that situation the football cannot be advanced after a fumble. And judging from the replays showing Hunt scooping the ball and driving forward, even if the ball could have been advanced it was not, in fact, advanced.
How does this keep happening?
Now 10-5, the Browns still have a 57 percent chance of making the playoffs. In fact, if they win in Week 17 they’re in.
Cleveland will host Pittsburgh next week. The Steelers clinched the NFC North Sunday with a comeback win against the Colts, and since Kansas City has already clinched the No. 1 seed and the only bye, it’s conceivable the Steelers rest some players.
But let’s not ignore the fact that one Browns player tested positive for COVID-19 and others were deemed high risk; the virus could continue to ravage the team by making players sick and interrupting the week of practice. Myles Garrett had coronavirus earlier this year and has been open about how much it affected him.
So it’s not like the Browns have an easy path. And a loss would be disastrous.
The Ravens (at Cincinnati), Dolphins (at Buffalo), Colts (vs. Jaguars) and Titans (vs. Packers tonight, at Houston) all have 10 wins already. The Browns’ only path, then, is for the Colts and Titans (Cleveland has a better conference record than Indianapolis and beat Tennessee) to both lose out … which seems quite unlikely.
It’s not like we’ve been very high on the Browns. My colleague Steven Ruiz dubbed them frauds early in the season and has not been swayed. First-year coach Kevin Stefanski has finally installed a QB-friendly scheme to get more out of Mayfield, but Cleveland still needs most things to go right to be competitive. Mayfield isn’t great if he’s pressured, or has his first option taken away.
That means Cleveland has a difficult decision to make as Mayfield enters the final year of his rookie deal, and paying him like a franchise QB probably doesn’t make the most sense. But all of that worry was supposed to be in the future.
This year was the one when Cleveland fans got to see playoff football for just the second time since the Browns returned. It still could be.
Or the Cleveland Browns could deliver heartbreak the way only the Cleveland Browns can. Again.
