Cleveland Browns: The final winnable game of the season
The Cleveland Browns need to pick up a victory this Sunday against the Chicago Bears to avoid the likely fate of going 0-16 in 2017.
It feels weird to talk about the Cleveland Browns having a winnable game while the team sits at 0-14.
Technically every game is a winnable game, but the Browns like to defy statistics and find new, painful ways to lose on a weekly basis.
But this Sunday’s game is not only winnable, it is also the last realistic chance the Browns have to win this season. Because no matter who lines up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17, that Steelers team is not going to lose to the Browns and give the team its only win.
The Chicago Bears are among the worst teams in the NFL, yet that is relative when adding the Browns into the conversation. The Bears enter as 6.5-point favorites this Sunday, against a Browns team that is 3-11 against the spread this season, according to OddsShark.
I try to be optimistic and say the Browns will put up 30 points and rally together for a win, but that is just not realistic at this point, especially when the coach fails to inspire his guys with insane quotes like this.
#Browns Hue Jackson on Crowell: "We have to do a better job of making sure he's involved that way. Let's move on to the Chicago game. Just because you run for 59 yards don't mean that....all 5 of us could have run through that hole. Being inspired to run is breaking tackles..."
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) December 22, 2017
Can you believe that?
Expect the usual amount of passing this Sunday against a Bears defense that ranks 10th in passing yards allowed per game. What could go wrong?
The only way the Browns are winning this game is if the defense forces Mitchell Trubisky to make several mistakes, and that means getting some takeaways for once. The defense is good at bending and not breaking, but that doesn’t work if the offense is punting or turning the ball over all game.
As for a prediction, I’ll go with the Browns. Why not? Let’s say, 13-10, although I wouldn’t bet real money on this game. I don’t want to bum myself out before Christmas can even get here.
Next: Discussing the 0-16 parade in the DPD Podcast
So you heard it here first, the Browns will provide fans with another Christmas Eve miracle and will get John Fox fired over the holidays.