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 via their trade back in April, and the Jaguars’ early exit was a best-case scenario for where that pick will land. The only AFC team remainng that could affect the pick was the New England Patriots, but everything on the Browns' end was finalized after New England's 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.
Browns got a Day 1 draft gift they didn’t even have to earn
Who said there was no playoff football for Cleveland this year?
Buffalo’s win over Jacksonville clinched 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 had a rooting interest in Sunday night’s wild-card playoff game in Foxboro, as an upset win by the seventh-seeded Chargers would've bumped Jacksonville’s draft slot to No. 23, improving the Browns’ pick by one.
Still, the vast majority of Browns fans thoroughly enjoyed Sunday night's result, as Mike Vrabel — the Patriots head coach who hails from Ohio State — beat ex-Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers handily, blanking them in the second half of the game.
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
Sunday’s results affected the math positively for Cleveland either way 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 four spots to No. 24 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. Now, the focus shifts back to the Browns' next head coach, whiich could be decided as soon as this week.