Cleveland Browns: 3 takeaways from the season finale
The Cleveland Browns committed countless mistakes in the final game of the season, mercifully ending the year with a 1-15 record.
It’s finally over.
After 16 games and only one win, the Cleveland Browns ride off into the offseason with hopes of success in 2017. But the year got off to a horrible start with a Week 17 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in what is becoming a common way for both teams to end a season.
The Browns seemed to do whatever it took to lose the game, although it bodes well for draft position in a game that really didn’t mean anything for either team. Let’s look at that and more in this week’s takeaways.
Have you seen anything quite like it?
It is hard to remember the last time a team squandered so many easy scoring opportunities. From Briean Boddy-Calhoun fumbling what should have been a pick-six, to Isaiah Crowell fumbling near the goal line, the Browns just could not get the ball into the end zone late in Sunday’s game.
Couple those instances with a squandered opportunity in overtime and you have a perfect illustration of the 2016 season. Bad teams cannot finish off drives, and the Browns proved that once again on Sunday.
The fumbled pick-six return may have been the worst, as the ball sat in the end zone after being knocked loose, waiting to be recovered as part of some cruel joke. By the time the Crowell fumble happened, it was hard to expect anything other than that happening.
The Draft crowd is happy
There were a lot of Browns fans, and likely front office members, hoping for a loss on Sunday. While victory was within reach at several points during the game, the Browns couldn’t get the job done and will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Browns also have the No. 12 pick courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles, which gives the team a realistic chance to begin the process of not being the worst team in the NFL.
While some always want to see the Browns win no matter the consequences, Sunday’s loss may help out in the long-term. And given the team had already won a game, there was not much to play for.
All hope placed in the Draft
It wouldn’t be the Browns if fans didn’t have to look at the upcoming Draft as the most exciting part of the year. The hope that the team will draft players to turn the franchise around returns again in 2017, with the two top-12 picks helping to stoke the fires of hope.
While 12 teams are preparing for the playoffs, the Browns will be putting the organizational energy into scouting, while the current players should just go home and forget this whole season happened.
Next: Haslam plans to stay the course
It is unfortunate that a great draft is this team’s only hope, but at least there is something to look forward to as a Browns fan. And at least this miserable season has finally come to and end.