Keys To The Playoffs
Josh Thornton
The Playoffs. Ever elusive… never experienced. Well, at least not since 2002 for us Browns faithful. Friends… times they may be a changing! As I type this the Browns sit in the AFC’s 6th seed in a 7 team per conference format. Late November and we actually own a berth. No help needed. Owned outright. Man… that’s feels soooo damn good to type!
Now, I know some of you out there are waiting for the other shoe to drop. It has to fall apart, right? Let’s hope not. This squad looks as if they are galvanizing as the season rolls on. While this is good, some other key factors exist for the Cleveland Browns to see themselves playing football in January. Let’s go over what I think are the most important.
1. Continue dominance in the offensive trench.
The big men up front have been nothing short of glorious this season. They have helped keep Baker Mayfield upright and have been a huge factor in the success of our ground and pound approach. You know Chubb and Hunt absolutely love having one of the best offensive line units in the league. Rather its opening lanes for our running backs or thwarting heavy pass rush, these behemoths of football are going to have to keep up the pace as we push into late December. Grinding away games will become the focus. Anyone smell pancakes??
2. Be positive… in turnover differential.
It’s no secret. Teams that stay positive in turnover differential have a much, much greater chance for victory. Not just from game to game, but throughout the season as a whole. We have seen it come to fruition this season a handful of times already. Let’s be honest… with injuries and COVID related absences, our defense is playing at a bit of a disadvantage. Hell, the question marks were looming before the season started. Although not lighting the world on fire, this defensive unit has found a way to work the Browns into a +6 turnover diff. That puts them just behind Kansas City, Tennessee and Pittsburgh, who is at the number 1 spot. Some pretty good company up there at the top, no? Being an opportunistic defense is going to play big in the success of this team throughout the last quarter of this season.
3. The ascension of Baker Mayfield.
Coach Stefanski said it… not me. Okay, so maybe I literally just said it. Either way, its true. Baker has had a quiet season. There has been no lighting up of the stat sheets for our QB1. I’m sure he’s disappointed some fantasy footballers around the country. So what. Stefanski has Baker doing what he needs him to do. He has him grown in this offense and with this team. Most importantly, coach has Mayfield’s confidence building week after week. We all know how dangerous a fully confident Baker can be. We will need him throughout this playoff push and a continued ascension could bring with it the QB play that wins playoff games.
Most of us haven’t been able to be excited for a Browns team in December since the 2007 season. That was another tight race late in the year. We didn’t handle business. We had the playoffs in our grasp… but couldn’t come away with a berth. Not this time. Not this team.
The push is on… and I can’t wait for this ride!
