NFL Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns Ready for Second-Half Playoff Run

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By @writered21

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Yes, the recent opponents that have faced the Cleveland Browns haven’t been that good, and yes, the Browns laid an egg in one of those games, getting hammered by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But wins last week over the Oakland Raiders last week and today over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have improved Cleveland to 5-3 through the first half of the NFL season. Playing a schedule befitting that of a last-place team from the season before, there’s every reason to believe in these Browns. While they won’t be favorites to win the AFC North, Cleveland is definitely a Wild Card contender at the very least.

If there’s any doubts about whether the Browns are for real, those will certainly be answered one way or the other this Thursday night, when Cleveland visits the Cincinnati Bengals for perhaps the biggest AFC North game to date.

The Browns have already earned a split with the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, and should have beaten the Baltimore Ravens at home, but were unable to finish the game strong. Now, with two games left against the Bengals, one at the Ravens, and a reasonable non-division schedule where only a home game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 7 stands out as difficult, today’s 22-17 victory over Tampa Bay stands out as another signal of the Browns’ revival.

Yes, you can argue that it was only the Buccaneers, and they are 1-7. While that’s true, remember who the Buccaneers beat — the Steelers, while in Pittsburgh. Cleveland has already accomplished something one of the alleged top teams in its division couldn’t. And more importantly, now in the clubhouse at 5-3 through eight games, the Browns have assured themselves of being third in the AFC North by day’s end, just a half-game behind Cincinnati for the lead. Baltimore visits Pittsburgh tonight, and with both at 5-3, the loser will take up residence in the AFC North cellar for at least the rest of the week.

While the Browns need to find more consistency in their running game in order to turn the next corner toward being a really good football team, quarterback Brian Hoyer more than made up for that today, throwing for 300 yards and two touchdowns (with two interceptions). Hoyer hit eight different receivers and had four completions of 25 yards or more. The defense struggled to contain the Tampa Bay offense at times, but most importantly, they kept the Buccaneers off the scoreboard enough to post Cleveland’s second two-game winning streak of the season, and the fourth win in five games overall.

Cleveland may not have what it takes to be a winner all season long. But to assume the Browns are going to fold as winter comes is probably foolish at this point. For all the attention the return of LeBron James has brought to Cleveland, people need to start paying mind to a Browns team who could be more than just a simple nuisance to opponents for many weeks to come.

Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.

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