Are the Cleveland Browns, Freddie Kitchens in a no-win situation in 2019?

There are a lot of expectations surrounding the Cleveland Browns in 2019, but are they and head coach Freddie Kitchens in a no-win situation this season?

The Cleveland Browns enter the 2019 season with mammoth expectations for an organization that was 0-16 just two seasons ago, despite having a second-year quarterback under center and a rookie head coach at the helm.

Because of the roster building of general manager John Dorsey, the Browns have been able to build one of the most talented rosters the franchise has ever had. And they also do not lack much talent on either side of the ball, leading to a lot of hype for the 2019 Cleveland Browns.

After finding their franchise quarterback in Baker Mayfield and surrounding him with weapons like Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and David Njoku, the Browns offense has the potential of being one of the most explosive offense in the league.

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The defense also boasts young talent across the board, including Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Joe Schobert, Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, and Damarious Randall. And with former Cardinals head coach and respected coordinator Steve Wilks running the defense, the Browns should not be a one-dimensional team.

But for a team that have not had a record above .500 since 2007, they may be in a no-win situation in 2019, especially head coach Freddie Kitchens. With the expectations surrounding the Browns this season, a mediocre season would not be viewed favorably.

Cleveland is seen as the favorite in the AFC North and is expected to be crowned the champions of a division in flux. The Browns are favored to win the AFC North with +125 odds, according to Ben Axelrod of WKYC.com.

But not only are they seen as a favorite in the AFC North, but there are some odds makers who see the Browns as one of the favorites to win the AFC Championship, trailing only the Chiefs and Patriots.

Now that the Browns have the talent to be a competitive team and potentially make some noise later in the season, there has been a lot of talk about what the ceiling is for this team. But if the Browns hit slumps throughout this season and don’t reach the playoffs, there is little doubt the season would be viewed as a failure.

However, there is a good chance that the Browns do hit those slumps throughout the season and do not reach the expectations put on them. This is not a team that has been together for a long period of time and have built up good chemistry yet. Instead, this is a relatively new team with a bunch of changeover on the coaching staff.

There have been several teams over the years who have stockpiled talent expecting to make a run at the Super Bowl. It is has varied levels of success, but seems to never work out the way organizations hoped. Last season, the Rams spent most of their cap space on expensive veterans to take advantage of a quarterback on a rookie contract, but could not overcome the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Although they almost had the success they wanted out of stockpiling talent, it still did not push them over the edge to a Super Bowl victory. The Philadelphia Eagles also used an aggressive offseason to attempt to win a Super Bowl in 2011, with a self-proclaimed “Dream Team” moniker. But they also did not have the success they expected.

The Browns may be taking a different approach than both of these teams, but they are a cautionary tale for how a season full of expectations can go by the way side. The Browns may be set up better for long-term success, but expecting them to be AFC Championship contenders in their first season together is a little bit much.

And with a rookie head coach who only has half a season of experience as a coordinator in the NFL, it will create a more difficult dynamic for the team. Kitchens has done his best to try to temper expectations knowing the tough road ahead of them this season, but it has yet to work – at least outside of the building.

If he is unable to temper the expectations of those that follow the league and the Browns do struggle, the perception could be he is not ready to be a head coach. With a roster as talented as the 2019 Browns, the belief would be there are no excuses for Kitchens to be managing a losing team. So it has created a lot of pressure on the rookie head coach to win, and win right away.

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The Browns may win their division and reach the playoffs and have their best season in more than a decade. But with the built-up belief that they are a team who could be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, then they may be in a no-win situation this season.

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