Cleveland Browns road map for unlikely, but possible, playoff run

The Cleveland Browns are in an interesting spot. At 3-6-1, playoffs are unlikely for the team, but still possible. Here’s how a potential Browns playoff run would have to play out.

The Cleveland Browns making the playoffs is highly unlikely. Any average 3-6-1 team would be looking at the draft at this point. However, the Browns are under new management and looking the best they have all season. Hue Jackson is gone and the wheels seem to be rolling.

Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has been playing great and rookie running back Nick Chubb is arguably playing better. Starting cornerback Terrance Mitchell is returning from IR. Secret weapon Duke Johnson, Jr. seems to be finally getting his well-deserved touches.

The thought of a Browns playoff run is unlikely but not as crazy as it seems. The team is four games back out of first place in its division, so a wildcard spot would have to be the ticket into the playoffs.

The Browns are currently 1.5 games back from the sixth wildcard spot, which is currently held by the Ravens. The Browns have one game left against Baltimore and have already beaten them this season.

Here’s the Browns remaining schedule:

@ Bengals (5-5) Week 12, @ Texans (7-3) Week 13, vs Panthers (6-4) Week 14, @ Broncos (4-6) Week 15, vs Bengals (5-5) Week 16, @ Ravens (5-5) Week 17.

All of these games besides the Texans look winnable. If the Browns go 5-1 over these games the team would be sitting at 8-7-1.

For the Browns to make the playoffs with this record the Bengals, Ravens, Dolphins, Colts, and Titans would need to win no more than three games the rest of the season. The Broncos can’t win more than four of their final six games. These are all very reasonable things for teams that are currently sitting at even records or worse Let’s take a look at the rest of these teams schedules.