5 things the Cleveland Browns must do to find success in 2015
By Thomas Moore
Sep 7, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked by Cleveland Browns linebacker Chris Kirksey (58) and defensive lineman Armonty Bryant (95) during the second half at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh won the game, 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports
If the Browns ever hope to have a chance to stop being the division’s little sibling, they need to start winning consistently within the AFC North Division.
Since returning in 1999, the Browns are 27-69 against Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati, and have never won more than three games in a single season against those teams.
The picture becomes even bleaker when you consider that the Browns have not won in Baltimore since 2007 nor in Pittsburgh since 2003. And with the Browns playing the ninth-hardest schedule this fall (for what this worth), if they once again go 2-4 or 3-3 in the division, it puts even more emphasis on those non-division games.
“I think it’s the best division in football. Hopefully we’ll get out there and prove that.” – Head Coach Mike Pettine
The AFC North was the only division to send three teams to the playoffs last season, and the division’s cumulative record of 38-25-1 was an NFL best. The AFC North has sent more than one representative to the playoffs six times in the past seven seasons.
“You have to build your team around what you’re going to see on a weekly basis,” linebacker Paul Kruger told Monday Morning Quarterback late last season. “A lot of teams have taken the same approach in scouting. You have to have a game plan that allows you to defend consistently what teams in your division are doing.”
The Browns made the playoffs for five consecutive seasons in the late 1980s in part because they went 21-9 within the division from 1985 to 1989. Own the division and the path to the playoffs (or at least a winning season) gets a whole lot easier.
It looked like the Browns were on the right track last year as they rolled over Pittsburgh at home and Cincinnati on the road, but being swept by Baltimore and just splitting with the Steelers and Bengals derailed that progress.
“If you look at the teams, everybody’s looking to run the ball, everybody’s looking to play great defense, and again like I said, it’s very competitive just because we all know each other and a lot of the guys on the teams know each other,” head coach Mike Pettine told The Baltimore Sun. “I think it’s the best division in football.”
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