Countdown to 2020: Best Cleveland Browns player to wear No. 8

Who is the best player to wear number eight for the Cleveland Browns?

The countdown to the 2020 NFL season is upon us. With 8 days remaining until the Browns season opener, we continue the countdown by celebrating the best Cleveland Browns player to wear number 8: Trent Dilfer.

Your screen is not malfunctioning, and your eyes are not deceiving you. While many fans may have completely blocked the 2005 seasons from their memory…it happened, and for one season, Trent Dilfer was the Browns starting quarterback. Although his time in Cleveland was brief and his play was not spectacular, Dilfer is the best player to wear number eight for the Browns.

By the time Dilfer came to Cleveland in 2005, his career had already been through numerous stages. Dilfer went from a high draft pick to a franchise quarterback to a bust to a pro bowler to a journeyman to a Super Bowl winner to a backup all before he ever put on a Browns jersey. Entering his twelfth year in the league, Dilfer jumped at the opportunity to become a starter again.

Dilfer started 11 games for the Browns and only posted a 4-7 record. However, if you do a deeper dive into his stint with the Browns, you will see that he was not as bad as his record would indicate. In 2005, Dilfer posted a completion percentage of 59.8, a career-best for the 12-year veteran. He also threw for 211 yards per game, which was also a career-high beating his previous best by 14 yards.

Dilfer’s best game of the season came in Week 2 when outdueled Brett Farve. On a late Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, Dilfer went 21 of 32 for 336 and three touchdowns. Dilfer’s quarterback rating of 131.8 was his highest of the 2005 season.

Farve threw for six more yards than Dilfer but needed 12 more pass attempts to reach that total. What separated the two quarterbacks on that Sunday in September was the negative plays. Dilfer played error-free football while Farve threw two interceptions. The Browns left Green Bay victorious by a score of 26-24.

Even with a signature win against a marquee opponent, the honeymoon between Dilfer and the Browns ended quickly. Dilfer took issue with the Browns’ offensive coordinator, Maurice Carthon, and the two were never able to mend their relationship. The relationship had soured so much that Dilfer refused to play for Carthon, and at season’s end, the veteran demanded a trade. Dilfer was granted a trade to the San Francisco 49ers where he would play for one season before officially retiring.

As far as jersey numbers go in Browns’ history, the number eight is one of the weaker ones, but all things considered, Trent Dilfer is the best to wear the number for the Cleveland Browns.