Cleveland Browns mailbag: Realistic final 6 game outlook

Having served the 11-game suspension Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson returns, what are realistic expectations for the final six games?

The Cleveland Browns gave up a ton of draft capital and committed a lot of money to Deshaun Watson and they are finally going to see him step on the regular season field. Fans are interested to see if it was all worth it and if Watson can be part of the answer for the franchise.

Let’s discuss realistic expectations for the final six games and other reader questions.

How realistic is the Browns winning out at 10-7? (@StevieMac937 on Twitter)

It’s possible though not probable. They do have a pretty easy remaining schedule compared to other teams in the NFL.

In the final six games, Cleveland should be favored in four, if not five, games depending on how fast Watson shakes off the rust. Winning seven games in a row in this league isn’t an easy thing to do but it’s entirely possible they win at least four of the final six games.

How much do you think these last six games affect the momentum for next year if we do miss the playoffs? (@bradkoch04 on Twitter)

There could absolutely be a large impact on momentum, if your team starts showing a lot of positives to build off you carry that into recruitment for free agents to start. You can point to things like — no we didn’t make the playoffs but when we were healthy did you see the improvements?

Having the film to point to and not just hypotheticals could go a long way in terms of morale and attracting free agents for 2023.

We’ve lost four games with a combined total of nine points. There have been breakdowns on defense but are we being too harsh on them? (@scaifedarren on Twitter)

Perhaps at times but overall, not really.

The defense has lost plenty of games this year even if those losses weren’t by a ton of points. There have been flashes of what they could have been but too many times it looks like they have given up before the final bell. They can still show more improvements but major changes are coming for this defense in the offseason.