3 keys to victory for the Cleveland Browns in AFC Wildcard
By Zane Harris
How the Cleveland Browns can win the Wild Card round
The Cleveland Browns have made their birth in the playoffs in eighteen years. Their first-round matchup is against an opponent that they have become very familiar with. That team is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns defeated the Steelers in the final game of the season for both teams. The final score of the game was 24-22. This is a little concerning for the Browns when considering that the Steelers were resting a handful of their key starters.
The Steelers will be back to full health for gameday while the Browns are already going into the game at a disadvantage. A COVID breakout has devastated the team in the final two weeks of the regular season and shows no signs of stopping for the playoffs.
Players like Joel Bitonio, Ronnie Harrison, and Olivier Vernon will all be missing the monumental playoff game. Bitonio and Harrison are listed as out due to COVID. While Vernon was placed on injured reserve due to a ruptured Achilles that he suffered in the final regular-season matchup against the Steelers.
While the Cleveland Browns are underdogs coming into the game, there is still a chance that they can play the role of the underdog perfectly and pull off an upset against their arch-rivals. The Browns are still a team that won eleven games in arguably the toughest division in the entire NFL.
They have persevered through hardships due to injury along with COVID keeping players sidelined. If any team is able to pull off a victory out of nowhere it is the Browns. Along with this, the Steelers have a record of 1-4 in their past five games after not losing one of their first eleven games.
However, there are a few key things that Cleveland must achieve and take care of if they want any chance of winning their playoff matchup.