Based on the misery of some of their fans, it is hard to believe the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs last season for the first time in 18 years and actually won a game for the first time since Bill Belichick coached the team in 1994.
They are envious of other teams, particularly when it comes to quarterbacks. Apparently, the guy who led the team to the post-season isn’t good enough.
We wrote this summer about the top signal callers in the game and we determined the top five QBs in the NFL were in no particular order Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Russell Wilson.
Sounds fair, right?
Outside of Brady, who we believe no one questions is one of the best, if not the best, there ever was, the other four guys on that list have combined for three NFL championships. Brady, of course, has won seven.
And right now, Watson isn’t playing because of legal issues and Wilson is injured.
The point is Browns think if they had one of those guys, they would win the Super Bowl. Maybe they would, but the reality is the fans of those teams have those guys and more often than not, except for the team Brady is on, they don’t.
The envy has extended to the Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow as well after last week’s drubbing by Cincinnati over Baltimore. We remember a couple years ago, 2019 in fact, when a visiting team went into Baltimore and whipped the Ravens 40-25.
The winning team’s QB was very good that day, completed 20 of 30 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown.
If you remember that quarterback being Baker Mayfield and that team being the Browns you have a good memory.
Cleveland finished 6-10 that season, while the Ravens went 14-2.
No, we don’t think the Bengals will have the same fate at the end of the season, but our point is these things happen. Yes, Cincinnati is much improved, but let’s see what happens after 17 games (or even after they take on the Browns next week) before crowning them as the new bullies on the block.
These folks apparently need to have the other three teams in the AFC North be terrible when the Browns are good to feel comfortable. That’s not reality.
The AFC North might just be the most competitive division in the NFL. Three teams made the playoffs last season, and the team that didn’t, the Bengals, has made giant strides. Yes, the other teams are very good, but so are the Browns.
Will it be easy to win the divisional games? No, but Kevin Stefanski’s team is good enough to do so. We would not be shocked if the Browns won each of the next two games to be sitting at 6-3 after nine games.
And as for the other issue people are talking about, the health of Mayfield, let us remind you that professional athletes don’t think the way other people do. They want to play. If it is at possible to be out there and compete, they will go out on the field and help their teammates win.
That’s why Mayfield said, if he’s hurting the team by playing, then he will sit down. But he thinks he can do the job, and so does the coaching staff.
If Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt think a less than 100% Baker Mayfield is a better choice than Case Keenum, that’s all we should need to know.
They want to win too.
Yes, if Mayfield takes a big hit on the shoulder again, he likely will miss more time and possibly could be lost for the season. That scenario probably doesn’t change if he sits out this week or the next two weeks. He’s going to have to have surgery after the season.
Just don’t pretend these athletes think the same way as we do. They are different cats.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 