5 Bold Cleveland Browns predictions in final two weeks of season
By John Suchan
The playoffs are within reach for the Cleveland Browns. Can a few bold predictions and a little luck get this team in them?
This was supposed to be an even better season for the Cleveland Browns after their fantastic 2020 season where they made it to the playoffs for the first time in forever. Unfortunately, the Browns have been stuck in the mud all season and the team hasn’t been able to gain any type of traction and it’s made for a disappointing year so far.
I’ve analyzed the latest scenarios on Cleveland trying to back their way into the playoffs. They aren’t that farfetched, but they’ll still need some help from other teams.
The easiest understanding of the Browns playoff hopes focuses on the team beating both the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night – in what might be Ben Roethlisberger’s last game against Cleveland – and then beating the Cincinnati Bengals at home in Week 18.
While the Browns lost to the Steelers earlier in the year, they did play one of their best games against the Bengals in Cincinnati over a month ago. If the team can do this and win both then they will still need help from either the Steelers or Los Angeles Rams to beat the Baltimore Ravens in either game. If that happened then they will win the AFC North Division, which is their only legitimate avenue to the playoffs at this point.
The Browns lost another heartbreaker this past Christmas Day when they played the Packers up in Green Bay. Quarterback Baker Mayfield had one of his worst games in the NFL when he gift-wrapped four interceptions to the Packers defenders. Those interceptions led to touchdowns for the Packers who are leading the NFC side of the NFL with a solid 12-3 record. When you see that Mayfield threw four interceptions and the Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown four total interceptions on the season then you know you have a problem as a team.
So, with only two weeks of the regular season left can the Browns take advantage of their opportunities and sneak into the playoffs after their subpar season under sophomore coach Kevin Stefanski? With that question let’s jump into some bold predictions for these last two games that will have your heart pounding anxiously and you holding your breath every time Mayfield steps back to throw the football.