Everyone's thinking wild thoughts about the Cleveland Browns after its huge win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8. After all, the Ravens are a force, and the odds were stacked against the Browns with a new quarterback under center and with a new play caller in the booth on offense.
But, after the win, it became pretty clear that the Browns have been working with some serious talent on both sides of the ball all season long - its just been untapped with Deshaun Watson trying and failing to lead the team to wins and with the defense exhausted each week with trying to keep the team close in games in vain.
Jameis Winston had three touchdowns and had three receivers gain 79 or more yards in a single game. That's two more receivers over 79 yards than what Watson was able to deliver all season. And, Winston did it in a single game.
Read more: Jameis Winston needed just one half to show Deshaun Watson was never Browns' answer
That might be why, after the win and a day removed from the highs of the victory at home, Juan Thornhill told reporters that he's thinking ahead instead of worrying about the record the Browns currently hold. And by ahead, he means a postseason berth.
"When we were 1-6 and we started going into this AFC, this past week I stepped up and said something. I had to like, tell everybody to take a step back. Like, don't think about our record. Think about what's ahead of us. And, it was all AFC opponents at that point. At that point we were 1-1 in the AFC and now we're 2-2. I looked at the teams in the AFC and everyone's like, neck and neck. You might have four teams in front of us with a better AFC record," said Thornhill to reporters.
He added, "But other than that, everyone else has just one AFC win or two AFC wins. And we're sitting at two wins. I don't think anyone sitting here, even when we were 1-6, like 'the season's over.' We're just continuously trying to stack wins and keep this thing rolling."
Thornhill has a point. While the team has a current four percent chance of making the postseason, the teams ahead of it include the Indianapolis Colts, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are the Browns' opponent in Week 9 and represent an opportunity to take a jump in playoff positioning if the Colts continue to struggle, as well. It's good to think positively, especially after a hard fought win like in Week 8. We'll see if Cleveland can, again, do the improbable.