{"id":98472,"date":"2020-11-23T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=98472"},"modified":"2020-11-23T07:17:01","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T12:17:01","slug":"cleveland-browns-2020-journey-thus-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/11\/23\/cleveland-browns-2020-journey-thus-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns 2020 Journey Thus Far"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Browns<\/a> 2020 journey has been great for fans. Cleveland being 7-3 for the first time since 1994 has boosted morale for the team and anyone rooting for them beyond levels they could only have imagined.<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Browns 2020 Journey Thus Far<\/h2>\n

Dan Lesmerises of cleveland.com<\/a> pointed out something of interest. Despite the seven wins thus far, which have been abundant by Cleveland\u2019s standards, most people outside the circle of fandom really don\u2019t know much about the Browns. Perhaps, he thinks, they\u2019re not even impressed by the wins.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s recap the season thus far and see if there is anything to be impressed about<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Week 11 Was Good. Right?<\/h3>\n

A win against the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> was expected merely because quarterback Carson Wentz<\/a> <\/strong>has not performed well at all this season. However, securing a win because the opposing quarterback is having an appalling season shouldn\u2019t be a game plan. Obviously.<\/p>\n

The Browns were ahead in the second half. They are notoriously bad at winning when they\u2019re not leading by halftime. Just as they had with past opponents, they slapped the Eagles defense with an excellent running game. To top it all off, Myles Garrett<\/a><\/strong> didn\u2019t get to play and the Browns were quite brilliant without him. He\u2019s considered their best player, so the Browns should be proud of themselves.<\/p>\n

Bad Weather Browns?<\/h3>\n

Weeks 8 and 9 were all about the atrocious bad weather. Passes were being blown sideways by the wind, but the Browns somehow won against the Houston Texans<\/a>. It was by the skin of their teeth, a tiny 10-7 victory. The week before that against the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>, the wind was a factor too, coupled with the fact that Nick Chubb<\/a><\/strong> was out. Garrett played half the snaps he normally would. A 16-6 loss wasn\u2019t a surprise.<\/p>\n

They Almost Lost to the Bengals\u2026<\/h3>\n

The Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> game was meant to be a cake walk. If it wasn\u2019t for Donovan Peoples-Jones<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0catching the game-winning pass, that 37-34 win could\u2019ve easily been a humiliating defeat for which they would never have been forgiven. They would\u2019ve given the public reason to laugh at them again. Winning by three points is questionable as it is.<\/p>\n

The Steelers Were Going to Win No Matter What<\/h3>\n

Baker Mayfield<\/a> <\/strong>was underperforming in an epic way and was picked off by Minkah Fitzpatrick<\/a>.<\/strong> The Browns weren\u2019t ever going to recover, especially against the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> who ate all their opponents for breakfast. 38-7 was expected. The week before that, the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> were without their best defender, Darius Leonard<\/a>. Philip Rivers<\/a><\/strong> had a bad day, so the Browns got that one.<\/p>\n

Playing Weak Defenses and Quarterbacks Means Browns Win<\/h3>\n

The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> defense is weak for the most part, so winning against them was a given. Odell Beckham<\/a> Jr<\/strong>. played a major role in that. Week 3 was easy. Washington<\/a>\u2019s Dwayne Haskins<\/a><\/strong> threw a whopping three interceptions. Browns had that win in the bag.<\/p>\n

In week 2, poor Joe Burrow<\/a><\/strong> was struggling in his second career start with the Bengals, yet the Browns won only by five points. It\u2019s surprising that both their wins against Cincinnati were not bigger.<\/p>\n

The season opener against Baltimore Ravens<\/a> was Kevin Stefanski<\/strong>\u2019s first game as head coach, and Lamar Jackson<\/a><\/strong> was still playing like a franchise quarterback. A huge 38-6 loss for the Browns induced PTSD-type reactions from fans.<\/p>\n

The Browns have come a long way. While some wins weren\u2019t as big as they should\u2019ve been, and they got lucky in some circumstances, they\u2019re fine. Playing decent football and being so close to entering the playoffs means something – even if their wins haven\u2019t always been mind-blowing.<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>