4 teams the Browns could face in Round 1 of the NFL Playoffs

A win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football locked up a playoff spot for the Cleveland Browns. At 11-5, they're still in the race for the AFC North title and could potentially steal the No. 1 overall spot. But with their wideouts ailing and the Baltimore Ravens needing to lose out for either scenario, that's not an incredibly likely scenario.

Should the Ravens lose this weekend, that thought process could change but for now, the Browns are still comfortably sitting at No. 5 in the AFC. That means they would wind up hitting the road to take on whoever wins their division with the worst record. Right now, there are four teams that could very well land that spot, three of which are in the AFC South. Let's check out those teams and see how they match up with Cleveland.

4. Houston Texans

At 8-7, the Houston Texans are in a three-way tie with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts. Right now, they don't have any tiebreaker advantages, so they're technically third in the division. They will have a chance to get back on top with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts on the schedule to close out the season.

For the past two weeks, they've been without starting quarterback C.J. Stroud and while they edged out the Titans, they were unable to beat the Browns. Cleveland won 36-22 but it could be a vastly different game with Stroud under center.

Also out when they faced off in Week 16 was Will Anderson. Looking ahead to Week 17, Stroud is back but Anderson is not. If Anderson does return for the playoffs, their pass rush could be much better. Cleveland should still have the edge but they need to throw Week 16 out the window and prepare for a much tougher matchup.

3. Indianapolis Colts

With the Las Vegas Raiders coming into Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend, the Indianapolis Colts have a chance to improve to 9-7. That would make their Week 18 meeting with the Houston Texans very meaningful. Perhaps that could even decide who wins the AFC South.

Should Indianapolis pull this one out and land the No. 4 seed, they could be welcoming the Browns back for a re-match from Week 7. In that game, Deshaun Watson made his anticipated return from his first shoulder injury but was able to throw just five passes before being benched after taking a hard hit.

The Browns then turned to P.J. Walker, who led them to a win over the San Francisco 49ers the week prior. Walker had just 178 yards and a pick but the game against the Colts wound up being a shootout. Dustin Hopkins drilled three kicks from beyond 50 yards and Tony Fields recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

Indianapolis nearly pulled it out when Michael Pittman burnt the defense for a 75-yard touchdown but Walker was able to lead a 12-play drive that covered 80 yards. Kareem Hunt punched the ball in from one-yard out on fourth-down which was enough to get the victory.

Should these two meet again, the Browns would have a clear advantage. Their defense had an off-day in Week 7 and Joe Flacco would be able to throw all over the field on them. In the end, this wouldn't be a bad way for the schedule to line up.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars

A two-game losing streak on the road came to an end when the Browns hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14. Joe Flacco was making just his second start with the team and he made it look easy. The 38-year-old threw for 311 yards with three touchdowns which was the first of four-straight games of 300-or-more yards from Flacco.

It was also the first of three games over the past four weeks that Cleveland managed to drop 30 points on an opponent. When it was all added up, the final score was 31-27 but in all honesty, it was never that close. The Jags were gifted a late touchdown thanks in large part to a phantom pass interference call against Anthony Walker which made it look like a tighter contest.

In reality, the defense had its way with Trevor Lawrence. The former No. 1 overall pick had three interceptions, two of which were courtesy of Martin Emerson. They also sacked Lawrence four times with four different players getting a turn.

Also at 8-7 (tied with Houston and Indy), the Jaguars have been given the easiest path to winning the division. While the Texans and Colts have to face off in Week 18, the Jaguars host the 2-13 Carolina Panthers in Week 17 before closing out the season against the 5-10 Tennessee Titans.

They'll be heavily favored in those two games but they're also coming off four losses in a row. Three of those were to AFC North opponents and then in Week 16, Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers handed them a 30-12 loss. The Jags aren't playing well right now and even if they pull out their division, the Browns would have no issues heading to Jacksonville for a re-match.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

It feels weird to say this since they're the defending Super Bowl Champions but the Kansas City Chiefs are heading in the wrong direction as the season comes to a close. They've lost three of their last four games with the only win during that span coming at the hands of the lowly New England Patriots.

At 9-6, they're only one game ahead of the three teams from the AFC South. Now, it's likely they get a win or two to close out the season and remain the three seed, expecially given their schedule. Kansas City is at home for each of those games with the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers coming into Arrowhead Stadium.

When the schedule was announced, those felt like important games but with Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert both on the IR, that's no longer the case. The Bengals have a slim shot of making it whereas the Chargers are out of contention. But that doesn't mean these will be easy for the Chiefs. They proved that in their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders despite Aidan O'Connell finishing with 62 yards on 9-of-21 passing.

Cleveland's last trip to the postseason ended with a loss in Round 2 to the Chiefs. If this matchup somehow takes place, they could look to enact some revenge by going into Arrowhead and ending the champs' frustrating season prematurely. Considering there are no wideouts to worry about for this defense, this could even be a matchup they'd love to see.

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