The Never Ending Story (Baker Mayfield Edition)

No one ever said football fans were rational, and supporters of the Cleveland Browns are no different.

The Browns’ season ended just two weeks ago and the amount of discussion on the quarterback position in both the media and on sports talk radio is to the point of saturation. We think in the next few weeks there will be condemnation of what Baker Mayfield eats for breakfast, what beer he drinks, and probably his brand of underwear.

We get it. Browns’ fans are disappointed by the 8-9 record after last year’s playoff appearance. We would bet the organization is also not happy by the finish, but they won’t go out and make crazy moves.

And we want to make it clear we don’t consider ourselves a “Baker Bro”. Our stance is simple. if you can find someone that plays the position better than Baker Mayfield, and the cost to get that guy is not prohibitive, then go get him.

If it makes the Cleveland Browns better, then so be it.

Keep in mind that we are currently in the playoffs, so these are the best teams in the league for this season, and it would figure the signal callers for those teams are among the better ones in the NFL.

This should be remembered if your QB preference for next season’s edition of the Browns is just someone not named Baker Mayfield. There are plenty of guys in the league who it can be debated would not be any different to Mayfield if they were under center next year in Cleveland.

Do you really want Carson Wentz, Teddy Bridgewater, Jared Goff, or Ryan Tannehill? If you do, fine. But we don’t see much of a difference or upgrade over Mayfield. You would just be making change for change sake, and you can’t ignore how #6 played in the second half of last season or the first few games of this season.

We have even seen talking heads saying the watching the games over the weekend shows how far away the Browns really are. Really? Remember the Bengals were 4-11-1 a year ago and Sunday they will play for a chance to go the Super Bowl.

And this happens in the NFL all the time. Teams improve, get a couple of breaks and they make the playoffs. Heck, you can make an argument (and a solid one) that Kevin Stefanski’s crew could have easily been 10-7 instead of how they finished.

We also wince when we hear “statistically” Mayfield was the worst quarterback in the NFL this season. First of all, it’s not true, Sam Darnold was worse among the non-rookies, but this determination is done by looking at the league’s passing efficiency statistic.

Just playing with these numbers, if Mayfield’s last pass of the season, which was picked off in Pittsburgh was simply incomplete, his rating goes up a full point.

We also know once the Browns get inside the red zone, they like to run the football. So, let’s say you add five touchdown throws. His rating goes up by five points.

By the way, the only team with more rushing touchdowns than Cleveland and that had over 30 touchdown passes was Buffalo, and although we didn’t endorse drafting Josh Allen the year he and Mayfield were in the draft, we would freely admit Allen is the better player.

Being dissatisfied with the play at quarterback is one thing, finding a better alternative is a different matter all together. Besides it’s not like Mayfield has never played well. It’s a matter of finding consistency.

Can that happen in 2022? The best option for the Browns’ front office might just be to find out.

Where Browns Need To Get Better (Non-QB Categories)

Believe it or not, and based on the conversation in northeast Ohio over the past couple of weeks, the latter seems to be what fans think, there is more wrong with the Cleveland Browns than Kevin Stefanski’s play calling or Baker Mayfield’s ability to play his position.

We know, hard to believe, right?

But here are other things GM Andrew Berry and Paul DePodesta need to address before training camp starts in late July.

We understand the offensive tackle spots were ravaged by injuries from the opening game of the season, when Jedrick Wills hurt his ankle, but Cleveland needs better play next season out of the position.

We are confident in Wills, who just finished his second season in the NFL. Losing some of his mobility because of the ankle hampered his performance to be sure. And as for RT Jack Conklin, you can make a strong case the Browns’ running game took a big hit when he was basically lost for the year in the Chargers’ game.

The Browns averaged 187.6 yards on the ground through their visit to Los Angeles, and that figure dropped to a still respectable 154.5 the remainder of the season. That includes six games they were held under 100.

Primary reserve Chris Hubbard was also hurt early in the season, so the brown and orange were down to the 4th tackle on the depth chart most of the time. If rookie James Hudson improves and can take Hubbard’s (he’s a free agent) role. That would be a big help.

The team also needs an improvement in the receiving corps.

Jarvis Landry’s 52 receptions led the team and no other wide receiver caught more than Donovan Peoples-Jones’ 34. And the latter led the squad in receiving yards with a paltry 597.

We understand the Browns use a tight end heavy offense, but they didn’t stand out either, with Austin Hooper catching 38 balls and David Njoku right behind him with 36 receptions.

Without question, the passing game missed Kareem Hunt, who led running backs with just 22 catches. We understand WR Anthony Schwartz should get better as well as his fellow rookie Demetric Felton, but it looks here like several players will need to be added to shore up this unit.

Although the defense got better as the year went along, in the last 11 contests, the Browns allowed more than 20 points just four times, there was an area the team could improve, and that is in stopping the run.

Over the last eight games, the defense allowed 137 yards per contest on the ground. If they could control the ground game better, imagine how good the defense would have been?

And maybe, with more long yardage situations, they would have more opportunities to really dial up some pressure on quarterbacks via the blitz.

Cleveland has very good cornerbacks and the safeties got better and better as the season went on. But if it easy to gain a good chunk of yards on first down, the offense has more options in terms of how they want to play.

That’s why Stefanski likes to throw on first down with short passes. There are more options to guard against when it is 2nd and 4, than when it is 2nd and 9.

It’s not all about the play calling and the QB, although that’s what the radio talk shows will hammer you over the head with.

We are sure the front office knows these things as well, and will work for improvement. That’s what you do every off-season.

Browns Finish With A Win, Now Need To Start Improvement

So, it’s over. A Browns season filled with so many (perhaps too many) expectations at the beginning, ended with a third place finish and an 8-9 record.

It’s difficult to not think about the games against the last two teams to reach the post-season in the AFC, the Raiders and Steelers, and see how close Kevin Stefanski’s squad to making the playoff again this season.

Both games against Pittsburgh were highly contested, and the game against Las Vegas went down to the last play of the game, one in which Cleveland was missing a ton of players due to COVID.

Again, we agree with the Bill Parcells’ theory on a team’s record, but it should be noted that the Cleveland Browns aren’t that far away from playing next weekend in the Wild Card playoff round.

We are sure there will be plenty of debate on the radio waves about the head coach and the quarterback and we will only say this. Both of those positions have to do a better job in 2022, and we hope both learn from what they did wrong this season. Improvements from both spots are a key to making the post-season next year.

And bringing up Baker Mayfield, we will say this. Andrew Berry should look at improving that position, much the same as he looks at every position on this football team. If he can find someone out there better than Mayfield, he should go out and get him. That’s his job.

As for other areas of the team, there is no question the Browns need an upgrade at wide receiver and maybe tight end. Right now, there is no elite talent at those positions, although we would love to see David Njoku turned loose in the passing game.

Cleveland receivers simply don’t make any spectacular plays, and seem to drop way too many easy completions.

As for Jarvis Landry, we are sure the Browns would like him back at a reduced salary, but think about this, if you were making what he’s making, and the team asks you to take a major pay cut, would you be happy?

Landry is a tough guy and has been a great person in the organization since he arrived. The best thing for all parties might be to just move on elsewhere.

We think there will be changes on the offensive line, although the only difference in the starters is J.C. Tretter may not be back with Nick Harris taking over there.

They need more depth at tackle, and we say that knowing Chris Hubbard missed most of the season. Rookie James Hudson could be that guy, but make no mistake, the offense took a drastic dive when Jack Conklin was lost while Jedrick Wills was already battling through an ankle problem.

Defensively, the Browns need to stop the run better, and if they can, they may turn into a dominant unit. The secondary could be deep, and the emergence of A.J. Green and M.J. Stewart just adds to it.

Special teams isn’t being forgotten either. The Browns need a kicker, punter, and kick returners. We know the draft isn’t used for those positions, but if you are a playoff contender, you simply must have a reliable field goal kicker. He simply has to be automatic from 50 yards and in.

As for the famous winds at First Energy Stadium? Phil Dawson mastered them, so it is possible.

In the return game, it could be worse. For years, the Browns best player was probably Josh Cribbs, primarily a return guy, and an elite one at that. Those were by and large bad football teams.

Now the Browns have talent, but can’t find a decent return man.

We have faith in the current organization to repair the things that need fixing, and bringing in more talent to get this team back to the playoffs. It’s not a giant leap folks, it’s more like a hop.

Don’t Overreact When It Comes To The Browns.

We try to wait a few days after a Browns game before we comment because football by its nature is an emotional sport, and we feel we can more accurately discuss what happened by waiting an extra couple of days.

There is no question Cleveland football fans should feel disappointed this season. The Browns are no longer the 1-15 or 0-16 squad in terms of talent. This team has many very good players, but sometimes things don’t work out.

And we know that frustrates the hell out of many fans.

A few things we’ve seen the past few days put things in “perspective”.

First, the Browns have lost six games by six points or less this season, and it would have been seven had not Najee Harris went 37 yards in a short yardage burst at the end of Monday night’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Cleveland has played 16 games this year, and had a solid chance to win 14 of them. That should be an encouraging sign.

We also read that over 80 field goals were missed in the NFL this season (and not all of them by Chase McLaughlin). Only one of those misses came against the Browns. That would seem to be an anomaly.

Sometimes the breaks go against you. Sometimes the injury bug bites. We know about the injury issues the Baltimore Ravens have had since training camp, but the Browns had the least number of players who were active for all of the first 16 games of the season.

Through the first five games of the season, the Browns were rolling. They were 3-1 going into Los Angeles for a game against the Chargers, and put up 42 points and 531 total yards in a 47-42 loss. After that, the offense disappeared.

That was also the game Jack Conklin was injured and basically missed the rest of the season, and the Browns primary offensive line back up, Chris Hubbard, was already out for the year.

We believe all fans of struggling football teams have a go to move when assessing blame for a poor season: The head coach and the quarterback. Cleveland is no different.

Folks seem to forget Kevin Stefanski is in just his second season as a head coach. Are they better at their current job than they were after the second year of doing it? Of course.

Stefanski probably would like some do-overs this season, but we are confident he will continue to get better and grow with the position. Remember, the guys who hired him are still in place, and we doubt they have lost confidence in him.

As for Baker Mayfield, he seemed to be playing very well in the first two weeks, before he was injured. Should he have continued to play? That’s a second guess right now. We wanted to play and the team officials deemed him okay to go.

We aren’t going to pretend he played well down the stretch.

We mentioned the Chargers game earlier. Including that contest, Cleveland ran for at least 150 yards in each game to that point, and exceeded 200 yards twice.

After that game, the Browns rushed for 150 yards just four times in 11 games, exceeding 200 only in the Christmas Day loss to Green Bay.

The entire offense seemed to sag with the running game, Mayfield included.

That said, should Andrew Berry look to upgrade at QB? Yes, the same as he should look to get better at every other position. Can he get someone better than Baker Mayfield? Maybe he can. Maybe he can get someone who fits better or can be more consistent.

One caveat. Does Mayfield have the “yips”? Has he lost confidence in himself? We’ve seen the films of receivers being open, but the QB not being able to pull the trigger. If that’s the case, the Browns’ front office may have no choice.

Make no mistake, the front office needs to shore up both the wide receiver and tight end positions no matter who the quarterback is. We like David Njoku and Harrison Bryant as receivers, but neither are in the upper echelon of their position right now, and certainly, none of the wide outs are.

The Browns aren’t a bad football team. A few tweaks and some better health and they should be making another run at a playoff spot in 2022.

Fortunately, Andrew Berry and Paul DePodesta don’t have the same mindset as fans. And that’s a good thing.

Despite The Absences, The Browns Had Good Chance To Win

The Cleveland Browns lost two games in a six day span, and both of those defeats could be classified as gut-wrenching.

Playing with a third string quarterback a week ago Monday, the Browns took the lead late, only to lose on a game ending field goal.

Then on Christmas Day, a possible fourth quarter comeback against a favored Green Bay Packer team fell short on an interception/missed pass interference call.

Of course, as is the custom when the Browns lose, there were criticisms of both the quarterback and the coaching staff. The latter seems a little iffy though.

We say that because even though both games were very close, we have to remind folks that Cleveland played both games with a roster ravaged by COVID-19. Both contests were played with a makeshift offensive line and several key players missing defensively.

And they still wound up with a chance to win each game! If that isn’t the definition of coaches getting the most out of their roster, we don’t know what is.

One reason for the criticism is fans judge coaching by one thing, play calling, and there are questions about Kevin Stefanski’s play calling against Green Bay. Cleveland was dominating on the ground, with Nick Chubb gaining 126 yards on 17 carries, and it is valid to wonder why they threw so much.

However, if you take out the interceptions (yes, we know about Butch Davis), it’s not as though Green Bay was stopping the air attack either. Dustin Colquitt punted just once during the game.

The point is even with a short-handed roster, the Browns’ coaching staff had them ready to play both games, and with a single play in each contest, they could have emerged with a victory in either, if not both.

If you thought the Browns were going to go 12-5 or 11-6 this season and cruise into the playoffs, we get this season is a disappointment for you. And certainly, the expectations were high going into the season.

Even with all that has gone wrong this season, with two games remaining in this season, Stefanski and his crew still have a chance to get into the playoffs for the second straight year.

They need help for sure. The Chiefs need to win this week against Cincinnati in the Queen City, which is possible. Kansas City is still chasing a first round bye with the best record in the AFC and the Bengals have had issues putting two good performances together back-to-back.

They also need the Rams to triumph over Baltimore, who are currently reeling.

Since the AFC North has been a schizophrenic division all year, both the Bengals and Ravens could win and make the division moot.

And the Steelers are basically in the same boat as the Browns, so no matter what happens on Sunday, the Monday night game will be no walk in the park. Cleveland needs to play well, and somehow, must figure out how to run the ball against the Steelers

Things happen in an NFL season, and the Cleveland Browns haven’t received a lot of breaks this season. There are many NFL teams who can say the same thing, so it is not as though the world has been against the team.

However, it’s not a bad team either. They don’t need a new coach, and replacing the quarterback won’t be as easy as people think.

The front office will not view the season emotionally, which is the correct thing to do.

But there is still a chance for this team. Hopefully, the cards fall properly, and Monday night is a big game for the Browns

Browns Playing Close Games, Mistakes Show Up Greater In Those.

It was a heartbreaking loss for sure on Monday night. The Browns missing more than half their starters because of the latest COVID-19 breakout, took the lead in the fourth quarter, but then lost at the gun to the Raiders, 16-14.

The loss means the Browns likely have to win their three remaining games on the slate, starting with the tough task of going to Lambeau Field on Christmas Day to play Green Bay, who has already clinched the NFC North, but is playing for a first round bye.

On paper, it says Kevin Stefanski’s crew doesn’t have much of a chance to win the next game, but did anyone have the Lions beating the Cardinals last weekend?

Look, the results have been disappointing this season, because we all thought the Browns 2021 season was going to look much like the ’20 campaign, and the team would go 11-6 or better and cruise into the playoffs for a second straight year.

However, things don’t always work out as planned, right?

We can think of only one game all season long where both sides of the football played well, and that’s the 41-16 triumph at Cincinnati. Cleveland had both the running and passing game going offensively, and the defense held the Bengals to under 100 yards rushing and forced three turnovers.

You can make a case for the win over the Bears as well, when the Browns had their third highest yardage total for the year (behind Kansas City and the LA Chargers’ games) and the defense allowed one yard passing because of all the sacks on Justin Fields.

Most of the league is in the same boat as Cleveland though.

Even within games, the performance of the team fluctuates. For example, Donovan Peoples-Jones made two real good catches in the drive which gave the Browns the lead against the Raiders. But he dropped (or allowed the defender to knock the ball out of his hands) a key pass in the first quarter.

It’s the nature of the NFL that many games are decided on one play or one series. A mistake or failure to execute in those situations costs you a game. We also believe in the Bill Parcells adage of you are what your record says you are.

Let’s say the defense closes out the KC and LA games. Let’s say the offense doesn’t turn it over against Pittsburgh in the 4th quarter. If just one of those things happens, Stefanski’s bunch are in first place in the AFC North at 8-6.

And yes, we can play the same game the other way too.

Cleveland has been smoked twice this season, against Arizona and New England. Conversely, they have only three wins by more than 10 points (Houston, Chicago, and Cincinnati), meaning they’ve been on the edge the entire season.

When you play this many close games, one play where the execution isn’t perfect, or a dropped pass, or a mix up in coverage, comes back to haunt you.

It doesn’t mean the Browns are poorly coached or do not have talent. It does mean they need to eliminate mistakes, and some of those occur because they are human.

We understand people want others to say they have to get “tougher” or “smarter” and mistakes won’t be tolerated. No one plays a perfect game.

Some of this will happen because of experience.

Maybe, the coaches and team will unlock this the rest of the season. Three wins will get them into the post-season. More likely, this is a blip on the radar, and the Cleveland Browns will be better next season.

To Continue Surviving, Browns Need To Run Better

The late basketball coach Jim Valvano said it while his North Carolina State basketball team was in route to winning the 1983 NCAA Basketball title.

The term is “survive and advance”, and although the Cleveland Browns haven’t advanced anywhere yet, they did survive and have another meaningful game this Saturday afternoon against the Raiders.

And in the crazy AFC, the 24-22 win over the Baltimore Ravens, moved Kevin Stefanski’s crew into second place in the division, moving past both the Steelers and Bengals, who both lost this week.

A win is a win, so we aren’t going to complain about it. Look at some of the other early season favorites in the conference. Buffalo has the same record as Cleveland at 7-6, and next week’s opponent was sitting at 5-3 a few weeks ago, but losing four out of five has them at 6-7.

Even though the Raiders are struggling, if the NFL has taught us nothing this season, it is that things can change in the snap of your fingers. So, the Browns need to improve on Sunday’s performance is they want a victory against the visitors from Las Vegas.

The offense continues to struggle, scoring only 17 points (the other points were the result of Myles Garrett, literally), and although most of the blame is heaped upon Stefanski’s play calling and on Mayfield, it might be another area that is failing.

Last season, Cleveland had one of the league’s best running games, ranking 3rd behind just the Ravens and Titans. And while they still rank 4th in 2021, lately the yards in the ground game have been tough to come by.

In the first five games of the season, the Browns averaged 188 yards per game on the ground. Coincidentally, they also scored 28.4 points in those five contests.

The following eight games shows Cleveland gaining just 116 yards per game rushing, and the points per game has also dropped to 14, half of the total in the first five games.

We understand Nick Chubb missed three of those games, but he has also played in five of the games, and in three of the ones he played in, he rushed for less than 61 yards.

Now, we agree Chubb is one of the best running backs in the game, and we don’t think he has suddenly lost a step, so clearly something is wrong with the run blocking right now, and that needs to be addressed in the last four games of the season.

In the first Baltimore game, Chubb carried just 8 times for 16 yards, as the coaching staff gave up on the running game.

But against the Steelers, Chubb carried 16 times for 61 yards, and then on Sunday, he toted the ball 17 times for 59 yards. In those three games, he totaled 41 carries for 136 yards, just a 3.3 average per carry.

Keep in mind, Chubb averages 5.5 yards per carry for his career.

We have said many times that Baker Mayfield is not the most important offensive player on the Browns, and that it was Chubb.

However, right now, the coaching staff cannot get him untracked, and the entire offense is suffering.

The offensive line, praised by many pundits at the beginning of the season, hasn’t performed up to expectations. This could be because of injuries. Jedrick Wills hurt his ankle in the season opener and hasn’t been right since, and Jack Conklin has had problems with his elbow and then his knee.

And maybe opponents adjusted to what the Browns did a year ago.

Whatever the reason, the Cleveland Browns need to run the football to succeed, and the coaching staff has to figure out a way to unlock that part of the game.

This Week Is A Good Time To Play At Their Best For Browns

With all the doom and gloom about the Cleveland Browns season in 2021, it is hard to remember they are still very much in a playoff race in the jumbled AFC standings.

Yes, they are a .500 football team, the currently the three wild cards in the conference belong to Buffalo (7-5), Cincinnati (7-5) and the Los Angeles Chargers (7-5).

The Browns lost to the Chargers, but beat the Bengals with another contest against them the last game of the season.

All in all, there are 13 teams in the AFC with six or more wins and only New England has nine, and they haven’t had their bye as of yet.

What this means, is despite all of the disappointments from Kevin Stefanski’s squad this season, if they can put together a good stretch of football to close out the season, they can definitely snag one of the seven playoffs spots in the AFC.

An 11-6 mark would certainly make it, but there will be teams with 10-7 records that will be playing on Wild Card Weekend.

Stefanski talks weekly about “one game seasons” and that is exactly how his team has to look at the balance of the schedule because getting tripped up, particularly this Sunday at home against Baltimore will put a huge dent into any post-season plans.

The coaching staff and players can’t talk about more than one game, but we can, and if the Browns can win Sunday and then beat a Las Vegas Raiders’ team that will be (hopefully) braving the cold elements along the lake the following Saturday, then Cleveland will be 8-6 and in much better shape, no?

That would give them three games remaining, at Green Bay on Christmas Day (good luck scheduling dinner around this one), at Pittsburgh on Monday night, January 3rd, and the finale at home vs. Cincinnati, which good have huge implications.

Actually, all five games feature two teams who have the playoffs on their mind, so it won’t be easy. And we never said it would be.

All of this is possible if the Browns solved the issues that have hampered their offense over the last nine games, in which they have scored 40 or more points twice, and less than 17 points in every other contest.

We have referred to the old football adage, “you can’t win unless you can run the ball and stop the run”, many times.

Since the loss to the Chargers, in which the Browns scored 42 points and ran for 230 yards, they have only run for 100 yards or more three times in the past seven contests, and have allowed opponents to exceed that figure in five of the last seven.

Not a good recipe for success.

Granted, Nick Chubb missed two of those games, but the signature of this football team is success on the ground. And although we think Stefanski has the makings of a fine coach, we are sure the analytics people are telling him he abandoned the run prematurely in a few of those games.

Still, if you remember the second half of last season, a number of those games started with success in the passing game, and then were salted away by ramming Chubb and Kareem Hunt down the throat of opponents.

Perhaps that is one thing that will be tweaked after the bye.

The defense against the run must be shored up though, and right away. The Browns’ defense has allowed 500 yards in the last three games in total. That simply cannot happen in the AFC North, and when the weather gets a little rougher.

We know this team has not played its best football to this point in the season. That has to start coming up this Sunday and continue as long as they are playing.

It sound simple and it really is.

Browns Need Solutions During Week Off

We have decided there is something involved with NFL telecasts that cause people to lose their collective minds. There is no other explanation for what we hear from people, both personally and on social media after the Cleveland Browns lose a football game.

Rather than blame the coaching staff and the quarterback, knee-jerk reactions for many, we prefer to look at other areas as to why a team that had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season is instead sitting at 6-6.

This isn’t to say Kevin Stefanski hasn’t made mistakes and/or Baker Mayfield is playing at an All-Pro level. That isn’t true. However, it is far from the only or even main reason this football team is in a funk.

Offensively, the play of the wide receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired, and quite frankly, the Patriots and Ravens have given the rest of the NFL the blueprint to defend the Cleveland running game.

Simply put, it is load the box and dare one of the Browns’ receivers to get open. Outside of the occasional Jarvis Landry play, they can’t do it.

Think about the first drive on Sunday night. Mayfield had a completion to the Baltimore 10, but Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped it. Could the Browns punched it into the end zone from there? Maybe, and if they did, how different is that game.

The Browns are said to have a great offensive line, and certainly the middle of that unit, C J.C. Tretter and guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller are excellent players. However, the tackles are not at that same level, and we say that understanding Jack Conklin has missed a lot of the year with injuries.

To be frank, last year’s first round pick, Jedrick Wills, has had a disappointing sophomore season. He missed some time with an ankle injury earlier, but he is not providing the blind side protection Mayfield (or any quarterback needs).

And Blake Hance is a reserve on the other side.

This leaves the Browns vulnerable to outside speed rushers and is one reason Stefanski favors quick throws as part of the attack, to ease the pressure on his tackles.

We aren’t giving up on Wills, but it will be interesting to see if his spot is addressed in the draft.

We also keep coming back to the defense. Yes, yes, we know they forced four turnovers against the Ravens. Want to know what they didn’t do?

Stop the run. Again. Baltimore rushed for 148 yards, and when it counted in the fourth quarter, shoved it down the defenses throat, eating five minutes off the clock.

Isn’t that the same as Mayfield having big stats, but then failing to lead a fourth quarter comeback?

It is the sixth time in the last eight games, the defense has allowed more than 100 yards on the ground, and that’s a killer.

And the 148 yards by Baltimore is the LEAST gained running the ball in the last three weeks.

If you cannot stop the run in the NFL, you have a big problem. If you look at the teams allowing the most rushing yards, it’s a lot of losing teams, the Lions, Texans, Jets, and Giants among them.

The Chargers, Vikings, and Steelers are also in this group. LA has the best record on the group at 6-5.

Yes, it’s a passing league, but you must stop the run.

The remaining schedule isn’t easy, but a win after the bye in the rematch against Baltimore puts the Browns back on the periphery of contention. As the head coach said, it’s a week to week battle right now.

Hopefully, some solutions will be found in the week off.

Thoughts As Browns Start The Stretch Drive

The playoff destiny for the Cleveland Browns is right in their collective hands. The next two games (with the bye in between) are against the division leading Baltimore Ravens, and four of the remaining six games are against teams from the AFC North.

If Kevin Stefanski’s squad starts playing their best football starting Sunday night, they stand a good chance of playing beyond the 17th game of the year.

We think 11-6 will get a spot in the tournament for sure, but 10-7 will give you a decent chance in this year’s AFC, but you will be subject to the tie breakers. So, Cleveland needs to go at least 4-2 the rest of the way.

A split vs. Baltimore keeps them in it, but losing both (and the Browns have certainly struggled recently against the Ravens lately) has them looking toward next season.

Here are some thoughts on the Browns heading into this critical stretch:

**There has been a great deal of discussion about whether or not Baker Mayfield should be playing while he is battling his injuries. We feel it indicates a lack of confidence in Case Keenum. Remember, the coaching staff seemed reluctant to start Keenum in the Denver game.

It is crazy to think while Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt are watching practice and see Mayfield hobbling around and not being able to make plays, that they think screw it, we are just going to play Baker even though Keenum is probably better.

Conversely, we don’t believe for a minute that Mayfield is “forcing” his way out on the field.

Our guess is the Browns will have a different backup QB in 2022.

**There is no question the Browns need to upgrade the wide receiver position in the off-season. This is not an indictment on how the team handled the Odell Beckham Jr. situation either.

Jarvis Landry hasn’t been a 100% since early on, and although Donovan Peoples-Jones has stepped up, he’s been hurt lately. Anthony Schwartz can fly, but seems to have trouble getting off the line against press coverage, which can be addressed by getting stronger.

Beyond DPJ and Schwartz, no wide out is averaging over 12 yards per catch. If they were open, we think Mayfield would find them (and yes, we know Landry was open on the first pick he threw against the Lions).

**The defense against the run has slipped badly since the beginning of the season. In the first four games, the most yards given up by the defense on the ground was 82. In the seven games since, they’ve allowed more than 100 yards rushing in five of them.

We know the Browns can run the ball, and the old rule in the NFL (which still holds true, by the way) of “you can’t win if you can’t run the ball and you can’t stop the run”, only holds to Cleveland on the defensive side of the ball.

They allowed 168 yards on the ground against Detroit even though the Lions were playing an extremely inexperienced quarterback.

Is Jadeveon Clowney’s injury that much of a problem?

The Ravens love to run the football, so if Joe Woods and his staff don’t address this before the game Sunday, it could be a long night for the visiting team.

All of the concerns and worries about the Cleveland Browns can be eased by a victory in Baltimore. Win, and you get a week off to heal up before coming home for three of the last five, including a rematch with the Ravens.

It’s right there for Kevin Stefanski and his team.