CLEVELAND, OH – With the 3-1 Indianapolis Colts come to the lakefront, the Cleveland Browns have a rare opportunity for a franchise-changing turning point in going to 4-1.
Thanks to the record-setting 300-plus yard ground demolition of the Dallas Cowboys in their 49-38 win down in Jerryworld, Cleveland has a chance to go three games over .500 for the first time since 1979.
Yikes.
It’s been almost over 40 years since the Browns were at 4-1, and it’s been even longer since they were relevant on both a national and local scale.
One can’t blame a fanbase for being as jaded as the ones in Cleveland, when you’ve been subjected to a seemingly-endless revolving door of owners, coaches and quarterbacks.
While the Browns have beaten the NFL’s equivalent of high school junior varsity squads in the Bengals, Washington Football Team and the Cowboys, Cleveland enters the meat of their schedule with the Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) and Cincinnati Bengals (1-2-1) on the road and the Las Vegas Raiders (2-2) at home.
Yes, while Big Ben has had the Browns number over the years, the Bengals are going to be a future problem thanks to Joe Burrow and the Raiders are the Raidas, the Colts are quietly the toughest team in the AFC no one is talking about.
While we hear a lot about the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, Ravens and the Titans, everyone is sleeping on the Colts and their top-ranked defense. What is also being overlooked is the steady play of former San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers franchise quarterback, Philip Rivers.
While he ain’t Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck, Rivers has a made a career of beguiling the Browns. Combine that with one of the NFL’s best young offensive lineman in Quentin Nelson protecting him, handing the ball to former Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor and pitching it to the likes of T.Y. Hilton and former Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary WR in Perris Campbell, and the Browns are gonna have a real fight on their hands.
Based on early returns, THIS Browns team is built different with an identity, head coach and attitude to for once, stand with the big boys and have a real shot of winning on Sundays.