Browns Beat Titans. Are The Browns Good?

 

The Browns are 5-2 and on top of the AFC North.  This is rare territory.  The last time the Browns led the AFC North this late in the season was in 2014 when Brian Hoyer was getting ready to be deposed for John Football and that ensuing disaster.  It does have a similar feel to that 2014 team where the team is winning games but there is this nagging feeling that maybe it's a bit of an illusion.  I'm not sure of what to make of it.  On the one hand, you can only beat who is on your schedule.  On the other hand, it was the Tennessee Titans and it was a sketchy win.  Still, would you rather be a relevant 5-2 or a "fuck these fucking fucks" 2-5?  Sundays are much more fun when you're in the mix.

To provide context on the Browns right now, they are -13 in point differential and have played the 27th most difficult schedule.  The good news is that their remaining schedule is the 28th most difficult.  This thing can keep right on going into the playoffs where they can get waxed by an elite team.  That my friends is what we call "an entertaining Browns season", one that I will wholeheartedly sign up for today.  The other piece of good news is they play the Steelers again this week, and those guys sorta suck too.  I can easily come up with a winning scenario for the Browns this Sunday.  The downside is that I can also easily come up with a losing scenario too.  This is what the Browns will be for the rest of the year.

Watson had probably his best game as a Cleveland Brown.  He threw for 308 yards, though that was admittedly padded with long runs after the catch from Concepcion a few times and that dagger from Fannon at the end.  Watson is 24th is average yardage per attempt, but he's about the same as Sam Darnold and Joe Burrow, so I think that's more of a reflection on how NFL offense is being run in 2026 as opposed to his inability to get the ball down the field.  Concepcion dropped what was Watson's best pass of the game on an easy walk in TD on that post route or Watson's numbers would have been even better.  It really seems like that Doomsday scenario is coming into fruition where Watson is going to get extended by the team and we'll be stuck watching him for another three years.  The team is going to win too many games to get their pick of QB in the draft, and it doesn't seem like the fail safe answer is playing in college ball anyway.  Of course, with this being the Browns and Arch Manning stinking up Texas, Manning would fall to Cleveland regardless of where they draft.  Why is it I can see Arch Manning struggling in a Browns uniform in the new Grift Dome in 2028 as one of the team's ex-quarterbacks leads somebody like Washington deep into the Playoffs?  Dare to dream.

The bottom line is Watson is now going to be a Brown forever.  I suppose it's like a variation of going to pick up your high school girlfriend to go to the party and when you get to the door she says, "My best friend Mandy came over so I told her she could come with us!  Isn't that great!".  Sure, you are going to the party, but dammit you really don't like Mandy at all.  You had this idea in your head about how good it was going to be going to the party with your girl (in this case the Browns sitting on top of the AFC North) but now you've got Mandy smiling in the back seat of the car talking shit ruining the vibe.  This then takes away the total enjoyment of the party because the entire time you are at the party, you are thinking "How can we ditch Mandy?".  But you know, you KNOW you can't, and now you're supposed to be having a great time at this party with Deshaun standing there... I'm sorry.  I meant "Mandy".  Fuck.  He's getting extended as the starter.

I can't figure out what the Browns being 5-2 means...  They beat the shitty Titans, the Huntley led Ravens who the Bengals just DESTROYED, Steelers on a TH, a crappy Panthers team, and a crappy Bucs.  They won, but those teams all sort of blow.  BUT they have the Steelers/Saints/Texans/Raiders on deck, so why can't they beat them too?  Shit, I don't know.  The Patriots went to the Super Bowl last year, and they clearly weren't that good, so why not the Browns?  They could just as easily go to the Super Bowl and get killed by a variation of the Seahawks as any other flawed team from the AFC.  I can't remember an NFL season where it was this late in the year and it wasn't clear as to who the really good teams were.  Are the Browns one of the really good teams?  They might be.  Then again...

The Browns v Steeler games is one of those rare times where the game matters to both franchises and the teams are evenly matched.  Browns defense=Steelers defense.  Watson=Rodgers.  Browns can't run the ball.  Steelers can't run the ball.  Both teams keep winning but no one is sure how.  Dare I say, this is exactly what the NFL attempts to manufacture with the league structure where (insert John Facenda voice) "on any given Sunday...".  It's still a wonder to look back and see how the Browns have managed to stay at the skinny shitty side of the bell curve of the NFL franchises for so long, but it seems like they have somehow found their way to be part of The Great Middle.  They will be within a FG on the point spread for every game left on their schedule except maybe Week 17 @ Cincinnati.  If they stay relatively healthy, the Browns will be "in the hunt", which is really all the fan base has ever wanted.  It's a real game coming this Sunday at the Steelers and the calendar will say "November".  It's hard to believe, but here we are.  

Go Browns.