Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills scored a huge playoff win at Jacksonville on Sunday, and the support could be felt all the way in Northeast Ohio.
It’s been a stressful week for fans of the Cleveland Browns, a team in disarray that’s currently casting a wide net in its search for a new head coach. It only reached higher levels on Sunday when the Jaguars took a 24-20 lead over Buffalo with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter of their AFC wild-card game.
But Josh Allen did Josh Allen things, and the Bills rallied for a 27-24 win, and one major assist to general manager Andrew Berry and the Browns.
Cleveland holds Jacksonville’s first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the Jaguars’ early exit was a best-case scenario for where that pick will land. It's not quite finalized, either, as the pick could move another spot up the draft board based on the result of the Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots game on Sunday night.
Browns’ second 2026 first-round pick via Jaguars has a chance to get even better
Who said there was no playoff football for Cleveland this year?
Buffalo’s win over Jacksonville clinched at least the No. 24 overall pick in the 2026 draft for the Browns, in addition to their own pick, which is No. 6 overall.
Browns fans also have a rooting interest in Sunday night’s wild-card playoff game in Foxboro, as an upset win by the seventh-seeded Chargers would bump Jacksonville’s draft slot to No. 23, improving the Browns’ pick by one.
With respect to the Jaguars 1st round pick held by the #Browns:
— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhardNFL) January 11, 2026
- JAX loss + NE loss = 23rd pick
- JAX loss + NE win = 24th pick
Either way, Sunday’s results affect the math for Cleveland after Jacksonville’s 13-win regular season. Early mock drafts, like the latest from ESPN’s Jordan Reid, had the Browns slotted 28th for that pick and selecting Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane. If anything, moving up at least four spots should give the team better options at landing either an offensive tackle or wide receiver, depending on what the decision ends up being at No. 6 overall.
Buffalo came through big-time for the Dawg Pound. We’ll see if Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers can add the cherry on top.